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Football stadiums
My original thinking on the Olympic Stadium was that West Ham was likely to move there after 2012, not that all their fans are keen on the idea. I thought that the Spurs application was something of a diversionary tactic to give them a Plan B and allow them to put some pressure on Haringey council over planning issues.
The owners of Wrexham have emphatically denied charges of asset stripping over a controversial plan to sell the Racecourse Ground to a new company and lease it back. More than 1,500 people have signed an online petition against the move. Wrexham chairman Ian Roberts has said that if he receives the position he will ‘stick it in the drawer’.
Blue Square Bet premier club Cambridge United has been up for sale by chairman Paul Barry and director Adrian Hanauer. Seattle-based businessman Barry is willing to sell up to someone who can secure the long-term future of the club which is in need of new investment.
Lower league and non-league clubs in Yorkshire have been hit hard in the pocket by the recent freezing weather. Many have gone for extended periods without the home games that provide vital cash flow. Christmas holiday games can be particularly lucrative and Bradford City estimate that they lost 15 per cent of their annual matchday income when their Boxing Day fixture against Chesterfield was called off.
Fans around the country have been lending a hand to clear snow and ice for Boxing Day matches. The pitch is generally left to ground staff because of the risk of damage, although at my non-league club fans were asked to help there with plastic shovels. Premier League clubs like Wolves have undersoil heating systems working at full blast, but ice in the stands and on approaches poses a safety risk to fans who can volunteer to help clear it.
With the Uefa financial fair play rules leading to sanctions from 2013-14, top clubs need to have a strategy in place to make sure that they can comply. It is suggested here that the idea of a European Super League is back on the agenda and it was certainly considered seriously some ten years ago. However, I do not think it is really viable. The domestic competitions remain important both to clubs and to fans.
Blackpool’s big Boxing Day fixture with Liverpool is in danger of being called off because of the effects of the cold weather. Two league games have already been postponed this season against Manchester United and Spurs. The club could face a substantial fine from the Premier League.
Mansfield Town will return to their Field Mill ground on Boxing Day when (weather permitting) they will play another former league club Grimsby Town. Chairman John Radford has reached an agreement with landlord Keith Haslam.
Earlier this week a group of Olympian athletes, including Kelly Holmes, issued an open letter making the case for the running track to be retained at the Olympic Stadium after 2012. This was indeed the original plan for a legacy stadium, but football would generate bigger revenues and athletics tracks and football do not always necessarily go well together.
Having played a FA Trophy match against also homeless Worksop at Ilkeston Town’s out-of-use New Manor Ground, the crisis at Mansfield Town has deepened. The Blue Square Bet Premiership has told them that they cannot play league matches there or at Alfreton Town’s ground. They could face a fine and a points deduction