New Owners

[portugull]

On 30th March David Phillips gave a few details on the impending sale of TUFC to Gaming International.

He confirmed GIL had a period of exclusivity but did not indicate how long this period would last.

Nearly 7 weeks later David Phillips has made another statement from which it is clear GIL are still within "the period of exclusivity".

Would it be reasonable to suggest that 2 months is the maximum for such a period i.e. 31st May.?

My point is that if after 2 months GIL cannot proceed, possibly because they are getting nowhere slowly with Torbay Council,then how long do the Board give them.

[Gullscorer]

A move to a new stadium is essential if the club is to survive well into the 21st century. With all the revenue streams this would provide, the club would be in a long-term sustainable situation and the new owners would turn a decent and well-deserved profit into the bargain.

We might even be in a position to host the Eurovision Song Contest..

However, with Gaming International seeking to do business globally, there can be little doubt that the club in the future would be stronger, richer, more secure, and with greater opportunities worldwide, outside the European Union. Vote 'Leave'..

[Parry]

One of the stand out benefits for me is the location of the new ground- especially if they make another station there.

[northlondongull]

I think that few would deny that a new stadium could be a great asset for the club. It could provide the revenue streams away from football which we crave. HOWEVER as is the case with most things, the devil is in the detail here and could is the key word. The stadium could equally be run for the benefit of Stadia UK and leave the Gulls high and dry. The worry is that Stadia UK appear to be here for the stadium and not the club but we can take some solace from the fact that without a professional football club, the stadium has the potential to become a white elephant.

Hopefully more will transpire in then next week or so but I think that Clarke Osborne has some important statements to make if and when they do complete the takeover.

[Across the Bey]

A move to a new stadium is essential if the club is to survive well into the 21st century. With all the revenue streams this would provide, the club would be in a long-term sustainable situation

Absolutely, just think of the potential revenue streams that would come with such a move and the chance to annex those revenue streams to the stadium. A restaurant or bar, a public gym, a 3G pitch, a futsal sports hall, training pitches, extra parking charges etc.

I'm not saying this would be a huge stadium complex and it would have to meet the need of the local demographic, however the potential is there to be able to streamline those revenues and make them profitable. To state the obvious there would have to be something in it for both GI and TUFC and the devil is certainly in the detail, talks over something like that would be substantial and would clearly take some time to get moved through. There are plenty examples where a move to a new stadium has worked with a similar set-up. Perhaps there is something bigger in the wings that we aren't expecting. The recent opening of the bypass and the green light for a new train station at Edginswell lends itself nicely for a move to the outskirts of town.

[Oh Fer Christ Sake]

Is it too simple to suggest that a Conference club with no facilities at all costs £250,000.
Add £5m for a stadium complex.
Add £3m over 5 years to reach the upper edges of L1.

Take away (figure out of arse) £4m over those 5 years as income from the complex and end at a figure of £4.25m. Sell the lot for £6m and walk away with £1.75m for 5 years work. What's the national average wage, £27k? Beats the shit out of working for a living.

[SteveDeckchair]

The financial structure and motives of the new owners are all that matters. We need people on the inside to fight the club's corner or we could end up getting sold down the river. I hope Dave Phillips will do this but he needs to be objective in his dealings with the new owners. Once the deal is done, any influence over the decisions affecting our club will probably disappear out the window.

[Gulliball]

That is exactly my concern. We're told that this is the chosen buyer and no comments will be made until things are finalised, which is standard practice, but by which time it would be too late to have any influence in anything. This isn't a usual takeover either, as we're trusting the future of the club to Dave Phillips making a good deal with GI. Once we're sold we're in their hands, and no-one knows anything about them.

[Dave]

I don't think any of us are that naïve we have not thought, realised that G.I / Stadia UK could be in it just for a stadium, but from a business perspective what an earth would be the point of that ? what would they have to gain from a stadium on the outskirts of Torquay that Torquay United could not use because say the rent was to high.

We only have to look at the Ricoh arena, Coventry City moved out after a dispute over the rent being be charged, after a full years lost income it was not long before the stadium owners came to an agreement that suited both them and Coventry City.

If G.I were to build a stadium with out facilities for TUFC to make enough money to exist or an exorbitant rent the club couldn't afford to pay, no else is going use the stadium, and the recent yellowfest 2 proves if you can only attract shit acts, tends equal no ticket sales, it would be business suicide.

[Across the Bey]

I would argue that the Ricoh was way too ambitious from the start and even had to be scaled back to the size it is now. I don't think is it comparable to TUFC's situation and would point to clubs, who, are a similar size to us, have moved to a new stadium with new facilities with relative success. Morecambe, Shrewsbury and Burton all spring to mind.

We aren't talking about a 45, 000 seater with retracting roof and hard floor for concerts (which was originally planned for the Ricoh) to host Yellowfest once a year, we are talking about a sustainable, compact and streamlined stadium complex that not only serves Torquay United but the local community and surrounding population, fit for purpose and fit for the 21st century. The Hive (albeit with superior transport links) would be an example I would look towards. It's also been mentioned, for GI, that with no football club, there would be no revenue. So what would be the point of having a stadium on the outskirts of town with no tennant and no revenue, you are right it would be business suicide.

I am as dubious as any other fan at the moment, about the length of time this takeover is taking. However, I would like to think that the length of time represents the fact that a sitituation like the Ricoh will not happen, and that David Phillips is making sure that every single aspect of this deal is being paid the minutae attention it deserves.

This is all of course still, speculation only.

[lucy6lucy]

Absolutely, just think of the potential revenue streams that would come with such a move and the chance to annex those revenue streams to the stadium. A restaurant or bar, a public gym, a 3G pitch, a futsal sports hall, training pitches, extra parking charges etc.

I'm not saying this would be a huge stadium complex and it would have to meet the need of the local demographic, however the potential is there to be able to streamline those revenues and make them profitable. To state the obvious there would have to be something in it for both GI and TUFC and the devil is certainly in the detail, talks over something like that would be substantial and would clearly take some time to get moved through. There are plenty examples where a move to a new stadium has worked with a similar set-up. Perhaps there is something bigger in the wings that we aren't expecting. The recent opening of the bypass and the green light for a new train station at Edginswell lends itself nicely for a move to the outskirts of town.

Welcome to the forum GI

[Across the Bey]

Thanks for the welcome!

My knowledge of stadium development doesn't expand that far unfortunately. It's probably on par with a slug.

I would be as sad as any other supporter to see us leave Plainmoor. However, I wouldn't begrudge the club any oportunity it has has to move forward. If that oportunity presents itself, as long as things are done right, then why not move to a new stadium. As a club we have just been the brink, maybe this is our coming back. If it helps to secure the future of TUFC for generations to come then yes, I'm all for it.

Coincidently it has been revealed this morning that Dave Phillips has come out and said that we could be in a new stadium within 2 to 3 years!

[wivelgull]

'Across the bey' is good; It joins the ranks of great names on this site. I take it it is 'bey' as in:
'A pint of lemon top please, bey' (when there was plenty of rough cider around in the down-at-heel Torre pubs)
or
'allright bey' (translated as 'Good morning')
or even
Mr. Ellacombe bhoay. (One of the contributors to this site)
Sometimes up here in North East Yorkshire I say 'Morning, bey' to a passer-by and they don't know what I'm talking about. Mind you, if I said 'Nowthen!' when I met someone in Torquay he or she wouldn't know either.

[Gullscorer]

Some guidance for the new owners:

Bey = bay,
buy = boy,
yer tez = here it is.

Tez prapper Deb'm..

[wivelgull]

Oh.