Kevin Foster MP supports TUFC in his weekly newsletter

[gullpower]

From Kevin Foster MP's weekly news letter:
TUFC,

"On Monday I was at Plainmoor to watch the Gulls secure a vital 3-1 win over Braintree and keep their hopes alive of avoiding relegation.

Yet it is the action off pitch that has again been the focus with The Guardian running an article highlighting some fans fears for the future of the club. If you have not seen it you can read it on their website by clicking here. The Club issued a rather sarcastic statement in response to it which you can read by clicking here.

The future of Plainmoor is rightly something that will attract a lot of debate and my understanding is that any final decision to sell the Freehold of Plainmoor would almost certainly involve all Councillors. The Guardian article mentions a decision on the Freehold being taken this week, yet I am advised this has been postponed till at least July.

I believe that a successful TUFC playing in the League again would be of benefit not just to the faithful who head to Plainmoor, but the bay as a whole. Any talk of a new stadium must be based on solid business plans and real cash commitments, not pretty pictures and unrealistic projections.

During my time in Coventry I sadly saw first-hand what can happen when a club embarks on building a new stadium without a solid business plan for its future in place. A facility like Exeter Chief’s Sandy Park that used the brand of TUFC (As a league club) to attract non-matchday revenue could be a boost, yet I remain healthily sceptical of any plans. Plainmoor provides a suitable home for league football in the bay and meets the needs of the club, it should be protected for that use."

This piece appears under the comments on the calling of the General Election and while Kevin Foster is not of my political persuasion I'm going to vote for him if he's going to support us to make sure that we're not sold down the river by GI. I'm sure the cynics amongst us will concluded that that's why he's supporting us. But that's the point. As suggested on another thread, if every Torquay fan were to write to, ring up, badger on their stalls in the high street and email all of the candidates standing locally, it maybe possible to raise the profile of the GI/Plainmoor issue and who knows, maybe even make it a local issue in the General Election.

[Wraysburygull]

I haven't heard the reference to Exeter Chiefs before . Anyone know what that's about ? Positive statement though

[AndyC]

I think he is saying we should aim to build a stadium like Sandy Park and make use of it as much as the Chiefs do.

[Glostergull]

If you read it properly. what its saying is build a stadium and operate it like exeter do. Their Sandy Park Stadium is run as a 7 day a week operation apparently and generates income all the year round. Plainmoor only partly operates and mostly during the winter. Hardly anything runs in the summer. the Bowling alley has been leased out. Not sure who by. if not the club then we don't even get any income from that. The Bar has been franchise out. The shop has been too so not much out of that. only the Gulls nest generates anything during match days and thats limited. The Huts selling what is loosely called fast food only generates before and during the match, and closes at half time.
Most clubs can hire out rooms for meetings. Some can hire out halls for exhibitions. Some can hold social functions on a regular basis. Plainer can't do any of this. So if a new venue was built to cope with a decent amount of revenue extra to the football then it has to be a decent size enough to fit all this in. 2500 supporters can't sustain a stadium without it nowadays. so its no good GI building us a nice new home and then saying we built it we will take the extra revenue. we might as well stay at Plainmoor.

[Plainmoor78]

If you read the paragraph as a whole he is saying that he is sceptical that a new stadium is actually needed and that plainmoor is adequate for the clubs needs. He is basing his scepticism on his experience with Coventry city.

[westyorkshiregull]

Exeter is better position geographic terns. I know not far but that site next to m5 is excellent

It's our home and also ibdobt want to be osborne tenement anyhow....sky high rent ECT

Plainmoor is our home f off ozzy

[gullpower]

With a bit of imagination, investment and refurbishment couldn't more use be made of the facilities at Plainmoor?

[Gullscorer]

Clark Osborne says he wants to build a new stadium. So, instead of spending money on buying the freehold of Plainmoor, why doesn't he buy the land for a new stadium and start building? And why doesn't he invest adequate money in the team to avoid relegation and get them promoted? A successful team and a new stadium (or even staying at Plainmoor and making the best use of it) would bring in new revenue streams and increase attendances at matches.

So why is he so keen on buying Plainmoor's freehold? If he's going to build a new stadium he doesn't need it. And success for the team on the pitch means that a new stadium will not be needed until much later: say, at least five years. The first priority must be to make the best use of Plainmoor and achieve promotion through the leagues. This is where substantial initial investment is required.

Does Mr Osborne wonder why he's not trusted? Or does he think we're all stupid?

[midtable]

If Kevin Foster stands next to his fellow Conservative the mayor Gordon Oliver and declares the freehold is not for sale all is good. But if as it sounds that he is just trying to harvest TUFC fan votes then it is rather disappointing.He never mentioned Torquay United's plight before an election was called. Go figure.

[Plainmoor78]

If Kevin Foster stands next to his fellow Conservative the mayor Gordon Oliver and declares the freehold is not for sale all is good. But if as it sounds that he is just trying to harvest TUFC fan votes then it is rather disappointing.He never mentioned Torquay United's plight before an election was called. Go figure.

Not publically but he has responded to fans who contacted him individually.
By the way I am not a tory.

[hector]

I'm not remotely Tory, in fact this governments disgusts me, yet for a Tory, I think Kevin Foster appears to be quite a decent MP and I think he is genuinely supportive of the club and it's supporters. Likewise, I don't think he is just saying this because an election is looming. He responded in the same way a couple of months ago, back when his deceitful leader was lying and saying there wouldn't be an election, so Mr Foster is clearly just not jumping on a popular bandwagon now - he was supportive of this issue anyway. As much as it pains me to say it, because of his Tory leanings, TUFC are probably better off retaining a supportive MP, who is of the same political colour as the council and mayor.

[gullpower]

If Kevin Foster stands next to his fellow Conservative the mayor Gordon Oliver and declares the freehold is not for sale all is good. But if as it sounds that he is just trying to harvest TUFC fan votes then it is rather disappointing.He never mentioned Torquay United's plight before an election was called. Go figure.

I have emailed him a couple of times and his responses were informed and supportive.

[Gullscorer]

He even supports Brexit now, having voted Remain in the Referendum..

[SenorDingDong]

So if a new venue was built to cope with a decent amount of revenue extra to the football then it has to be a decent size enough to fit all this in. 2500 supporters can't sustain a stadium without it nowadays. so its no good GI building us a nice new home and then saying we built it we will take the extra revenue. we might as well stay at Plainmoor.

This is exactly the argument against GI's new stadium, even if they are genuinely interested in building a new stadium and aren't trying to screw us for the freehold - newsflash they're not!

If we move to a new GI owned stadium, we'll be the tenants of GI paying them a rent that they can set at their own whim (even if they don't own the team in the future). That amount can be anything they damn well please as we won't have the option of going and playing in another stadium due to the lack of facilities south of Exeter. Indeed it would put us in the same position that Bristol Rovers struggled against in GIs past form, although slightly safer given that GI wouldn't want to evict the anchor tenants from a stadium they've just built - although as I said before this stadium will not be built, the Rovers example alone shows GI aren't interested in running stadiums but evicting clubs out of them to demolish the stadium.

Furthermore the benefit of the new stadium - i.e increased revenue generating capacity, will not benefit the club at all due to the fact all this cash will go into GIs pockets. You could argue that they'll use this to fund the club further but I highly doubt it, they'll fund the club to the minimum level needed to keep it average in the league it's in, thus providing them with 23+ days/nights a year when the facility is used and money is coming through the turnstiles and no more.

The only way a new stadium away from Plainmoor makes sense (and commercially it certainly does if the club retain the profits as Exeter has shown) is

a) If the Council funds it as part of a development project - HIGHLY unlikely
b) out of the blue another Paul Bristow but significantly wealthier emerges buys the club, builds a new stadium (placed under the clubs' legal ownership) and runs the club for fun, being happy to run at an initial significant loss - Even more unlikely
c) out of the blue another Paul Bristow but significantly wealthier emerges - builds it and gifts it to the club - Less likely than Louie Spence coming out as straight

So unless I happen to win a significant EuroMillions jackpot, the near term aim besides sorting out GI, is to maximise the utilisation of Plainmoor's current assets, Merse has frequently alluded to the fact that the rooms under Bristow's Bench are basically gathering dust at the moment.

[Southampton Gull]

Because GI have a solid track record of delivering err stadiums.............