Revised version of the opening post should you wish to furnish the mayor with information about Gaming International.tufcjon wrote:Those who may strongly want or not want to see Plainmoor handed over to Gaming International can email their thoughts to the mayor Gordon Oliver:
[email protected]
The chief executive of Torbay Council (Steve Parrock), present and past MPs (Kevin Foster and Adrian Sanders) and the editor of the Herald Express (Jim Parker) are also worth contacting.
A Potted History of Gaming International:
1. Gaming International started life as the Bristol Stadium Company in 1932. After various name changes it did not become Gaming International until 2001 when it acquired interests in the Japanese pachinko market.
2. From 1932 to 1997 the company operated Eastville Stadium in Bristol. The company bought the stadium from Bristol Rovers in 1940 and acted as the football club’s landlord until its departure in 1986. Clarke Osborne, current chairman of Gaming International, served as secretary of the stadium company when Bristol Rovers were forced to vacate Eastville.
3. The Bristol stadium company also operated the dog track at Oxford between 1952 and 1975. Early in his career Clarke Osborne was general manager at Oxford between 1973 and 1975. The track was sold to the local council for housing but was later revived by other greyhound racing operators.
4. Land adjoining the Eastville Stadium was sold to Tesco in 1985; the rest of the site to IKEA in 1997. With the closure of Eastville the stadium’s greyhound licence switched to the newly-acquired Swindon site. This soon became the company’s operating base. Despite many promises greyhound racing was never re-introduced in Bristol.
5. During the mid 1990s the company started to run the greyhound and speedway stadium at Poole together with the dog track at Milton Keynes. It also became involved in the Milton Keynes Bowl at this time.
6. Gaming International continues to own and operate the Swindon track whilst leasing Poole stadium form the local council.
7. Gaming International remains involved in the Milton Keynes Bowl, chiefly an open-air concert venue, but greyhound racing no longer exists in Milton Keynes. Plans to build a new facility next to the Bowl did not come to fruition and the dog track closed in 2005. A fire destroyed the stadium shortly afterwards and the land is now used for housing.
8. The Milton Keynes Bowl has been subject to a string of redevelopment proposals none of which have come to fruition. The site is basic and has not always been used to its full potential.
9. Gaming International purchased the greyhound and speedway stadium at Reading in 2002. This was operated by Stadia UK, a subsidiary business, until the cessation of greyhound racing in 2008. The company’s plans to move to an adjacent site did not materialise and the stadium has since been demolished without being replaced. Proposals at Reading also involved a “racinoâ€, a combined race track/casino concept.
10. The Swindon site was identified as inadequate and suitable for re-development as early as 2003. Active efforts to build a new stadium commenced in 2007 but so far work has not started on a new track. A revised planning application has been made as recently as May 2016.
11. Football ceased at the Poole Stadium when Gaming International (which operates at Poole as Stadia UK) constructed a new dog track. Since this time there have been a number of proposals either to rejuvenate Poole Stadium or move the operation to a new site. A further proposal is expected shortly.
12. Gaming International moved into Japanese pachinko gaming (a form of pinball) in 2001 following the purchase of Miyadera Gaming Center. This necessitated refocusing and restructuring of the business under a reconstituted board. The venture was unsuccessful and had been concluded by 2005. After this time Gaming International returned to its core business of operating greyhound and speedway venues in the UK.
13. The Bristol stadium company participated in the Centre for Sport project in 1985 which would have seen a joint greyhound and football venue built at Stoke Gifford near Bristol. Plans did not progress after initial discussions and proposals.
14. In 2003 Gaming International joined forces with Steve Lansdown (Bristol City) and Geoff Dunford (Bristol Rovers) in a venture known as South Gloucestershire Arenas. This proposed a 30,000 capacity stadium for both clubs on the Severnside marshes. The project was abandoned after a few months.
15. Between 1996 and 2001 the company (then known as the BS Group) had a stake in the leasehold of Hereford United’s Edgar Street ground. This was in partnership with Chelverton Properties with the plan to sell the ground to a supermarket chain. BS Group was able to secure a stake by making a loan to an ailing Hereford United that was heading for relegation from the Football League in 1997. BS Group withdrew from Edgar Street in 2001.
16. Other company operations have included Knightstone Island (Weston-super-Mare) and Eastville Market (Bristol). The company was also briefly involved in an unsuccessful bid to build a greyhound track at the rugby league ground in Dewsbury.
17. According to Companies House Clarke Osborne’s latest business venture is the incorporation of Riviera Stadium Ltd on 22 March 2016. On 20 July 2016 this company was announced as the main vehicle for the purchase of Torquay United.
18. Clarke Osborne and Gaming International worked in partnership with Moirai Capital Investments on proposed schemes at the Milton Keynes Bowl and North Star (Swindon), neither of which have been seen through to conclusion . In 2014 Moirai was named as the “preferred bidder†for a £45 million project at Clennon Valley, Paignton. This status was withdrawn several months later. As of July 2016 it is being reported that Moirai is likely to also lose preferred bidder status for an £18 million development on Exmouth sea front.
Sources: Companies House, local newspapers, trade magazines (all in the public domain).
