Elsewhere in League One, trouble at Walsall.

[Publius Ovidius]

Their play-off dream ended last night with a cruel 4-3 loss at Huddersfield with only ten men, conceding two goals in injury time. Strings can probably judge the mood in the local area the best but I imagine Walsall must be a pretty sombre place today.

wasnt cruel at all...best team won.

 

[strings]

If I were a Walsall fan, I would be getting very worried.

Freehold on Bescott Stadium put up for sale

The official line is that the club will not be harmed as their lease is secure for the next 17 years. However, I can't help but think that come the end of their lease, Walsall will end up homeless. After all, the bescott is on a very valueable piece of land with fantastic access to the M6.

Freehold on Banks’s put up for sale

Walsall Football Club’s Banks’s Stadium has gone up for sale with a price tag thought to be around £10 million.

But no asking price has been revealed by DTZ, the property agents appointed by owners Suffolk Life to handle the sale of the freehold on the 11,000-seater stadium.

Walsall Football Club has just over 17 years left to run on its current lease on the stadium, with options to extend this with rental increases linked to inflation.

DTZ said today the sale would only see a change in the ownership of the freehold, and “will have no implications on the ownership or operation of the football club.”

Nick Allan, a senior director at DTZ, added: “This is a unique opportunity to acquire the freehold interest in the home of Walsall Football Club as well as a highly prominent landmark investment fronting the M6 motorway.

“Walsall FC has a long and proud history on and off the pitch and in recent years has prided itself in developing commercial income, in particular its advertising and conferencing and events business.”

The sale includes the stadium and just over 17 acres, including its conference facilities, the Saddlers Supporter’s Club, an all-weather training facility and extensive advertising hoardings.

Current rental income from the League One club, and three telecommunications masts on the site, totals £466,752 a year.

Current landlord Suffolk Life provides pensions and investments and has assets of £3.7billion currently invested, much of it in property.

Walsall Football Club said today it had been informed by Suffolk Life of its decision to sell up.

In a statement, it said: “The club would like to take this opportunity to assure all employees, supporters, sponsors and commercial partners that this does not affect the Walsall Football Club Limited in any way and that the club will continue to operate as normal.

“The football club has a secure lease on the Banks’s Stadium site and a change in the ownership of the freehold of the site will purely reflect a change of landlord.

“For the avoidance of doubt it is the freehold of the Banks’s Stadium site that is for sale and not the football club. The ownership of the club and directors’ shareholdings remain unchanged.

“All contractual and commercial commitments the club has also remain unaffected.”

 

[Jesus Gul]

They could learn a thing or two from the Bahrainis when it comes to protesting