Falmer Funding

[The Oldman]

You can understand the media and more importantly the public thinking Falmer will not happen with all the credit crunch stuff around. The BBC was only asking what many folk around me are querying. They do not all read the Albion website or this board you know!

 

[The Large One]

You can understand the media and more importantly the public thinking Falmer will not happen with all the credit crunch stuff around. The BBC was only asking what many folk around me are querying. They do not all read the Albion website or this board you know!

I'll never understand the media.

They operate to their own agenda, blinding the gullible with their puerile shit. Spiteful bastards to a turn.


I'll never understand the public either.

They are operated upon by a spiteful media's agenda, being guillibly blinded with puerile shit. Dumb bastards to a turn.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I'll never understand the media.

They operate to their own agenda, blinding the gullible with their puerile shit. Spiteful bastards to a turn.


I'll never understand the public either.

They are operated upon by a spiteful media's agenda, being guillibly blinded with puerile shit. Dumb bastards to a turn.

I think you are giving the media too much credit if you think it has any agenda other than to make sure it has a story for that night's show or the next edition of their paper...

 

[BensGrandad]

Don't know where you've heard this but it's incorrect. Secretary of State's letter dated 23rd July 2007; Annex A (ie the approval for Falmer) states:

"1. The development for which permission is hereby granted must be commenced within five years from the date of this permission."

Thank you for putting me right on this. In my defence I did say that it was a vague recollection in the back of my mind and that I could be wrong, as it appears I am, thankfully.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The BBC was only asking what many folk around me are querying. They do not all read the Albion website or this board you know!

Oh yes they do!

John Young, the reporter on that BBC South East piece, used to be a registered user of NSC.

 

[Seagull73]

Oh yes they do!

John Young, the reporter on that BBC South East piece, used to be a registered user of NSC.

What's Andy Naylor's username?

 

[Bish Bosh]

I'll never understand the media.

They operate to their own agenda, blinding the gullible with their puerile shit. Spiteful bastards to a turn.


I'll never understand the public either.

They are operated upon by a spiteful media's agenda, being guillibly blinded with puerile shit. Dumb bastards to a turn.

That last comment reminded me of the term 'lumpen proletariat'...used to hear it a bit back in the 1970's. Plus ca change!

 

[Blackadder]

What's Andy Naylor's username?

Das Reich.

Hope that helps

 

[Tooting Gull]

I'll never understand the media.

They operate to their own agenda, blinding the gullible with their puerile shit. Spiteful bastards to a turn.


I'll never understand the public either.

They are operated upon by a spiteful media's agenda, being guillibly blinded with puerile shit. Dumb bastards to a turn.

I really think Knight and Co should have enough about them to be able to deal with this.

And they haven't helped themselves over Falmer funding. The most speculation occurs in a vacuum of information, so if you don't tell people things they want to know they start, quite reasonably, to wonder what they're not being told, and why they're not being told and drawing their own conclusions.

The best thing Knight could do at the fans' forum is give an honest and wide-ranging assessment of the financial landscape, how it has changed since the project started, the issues now (including anything credit-crunch related) and the prospects and likely costs.

In the past when pushed on this stuff, he has tried to make a fool out of the person asking the question for a cheap laugh and dodge the issue. It's way past the time for that.

 

[steward 433]

At the end of the day the funding will be in place for us to start in December.

The vacuum of information is because of the highly sensitive nature of the funding deals from the tier one lending institutions.

We all know that the financial climate has changed since the project was first started.

In my experience of the building industry the credit crunch will NOT affect the building of the stadium one iota, What it might affect is peoples disposable income and susequentially the number of fans attending and possibly the admission prices to the new stadium.

The good thing at the moment about the credit crunch is the prices of steel and crude oil are starting to slide substantially

 

[The Oldman]

Oh yes they do!

John Young, the reporter on that BBC South East piece, used to be a registered user of NSC.

OK John Young reads the inside news but from my experience members of the public around here who have no idea that the Albion website or NSC exist, think the credit crunch is very bad news for the new stadium. So, it does not surprise me at all that looking for a story to fill the news bulletin some bright newshound asks the question as to how Falmer is shaping up given the current problems regarding new building projects in Brighton & Hove.

Against that background I thought it was quite a reasonable piece. Not Pullizer prize winning but for local news OK.

 

[supaseagull]

The good thing at the moment about the credit crunch is the prices of steel and crude oil are starting to slide substantially

I know it's a bit off topic but just wait until the Iranians join the Nuclear club...Oil will hit $225 a barrel!

 

[steward 433]

I know it's a bit off topic but just wait until the Iranians join the Nuclear club...Oil will hit $225 a barrel!

I doubt it!!

The Iranians don't produce enough to cause that much of a rise and the Yanks have just discovered a huge field in Alaska 6 times the size they first estimated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Large One]

I really think Knight and Co should have enough about them to be able to deal with this.

And they haven't helped themselves over Falmer funding. The most speculation occurs in a vacuum of information, so if you don't tell people things they want to know they start, quite reasonably, to wonder what they're not being told, and why they're not being told and drawing their own conclusions.

The best thing Knight could do at the fans' forum is give an honest and wide-ranging assessment of the financial landscape, how it has changed since the project started, the issues now (including anything credit-crunch related) and the prospects and likely costs.

In the past when pushed on this stuff, he has tried to make a fool out of the person asking the question for a cheap laugh and dodge the issue. It's way past the time for that.

But people HAVE been told. And told. And told.

When we're given dates and deadlines, and those deadlines haven't expired, what do people want? Nothing is being said because nothing has changed.

'We expect to announce a contractor in September, and from there we can finalise the funding package. We expect to be starting on site in December.' Excellent, thanks Martin. I'll wait until September until I expect an announcement as to who's building it, and how much it will cost. And I'll expect to see some movement on site in December. If it doesn't happen, I'll expect a statement or explanation. Until then...?

The funding package is also creating a lot of interest with major tier-one banks. The community stadium project is unique and the business case is very strong, making the stadium project an attractive proposition for lending banks - even during this credit-crunch period. We expect to announce a preferred funder on in the latter part of this year, and certainly before we move on site.

This is not secret, privileged information, it's common knowledge, readily available, issued by the club on more than one occasion.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

But people HAVE been told. And told. And told.

When we're given dates and deadlines, and those deadlines haven't expired, what do people want? Nothing is being said because nothing has changed.

'We expect to announce a contractor in September, and from there we can finalise the funding package. We expect to be starting on site in December.' Excellent, thanks Martin. I'll wait until September until I expect an announcement as to who's building it, and how much it will cost. And I'll expect to see some movement on site in December. If it doesn't happen, I'll expect a statement or explanation. Until then...?

The funding package is also creating a lot of interest with major tier-one banks. The community stadium project is unique and the business case is very strong, making the stadium project an attractive proposition for lending banks - even during this credit-crunch period. We expect to announce a preferred funder on in the latter part of this year, and certainly before we move on site.

This is not secret, privileged information, it's common knowledge, readily available, issued by the club on more than one occasion.

Exactly, and well said TLO.

 

[BensGrandad]

I will be accused of being a deafitist but I go along with the principal of 'no smoke without fire'.

I am certain in my own mind that unless 1 man comes up with mega bucks we will struggle to finance Falmer.

It is obvious to any long term supporters that the projected attendance figures needed to repay the debt are 'pie in the sky' hopes that will never be achieved unless we are at the top end of the Championship at least. If me , an ordinary supporter, can see this and form that opinion how must somebody whose job it is to investigate these loans etc see it.

I hope that I am wrong but I do not hold a lot of confidence for raising the money by other means other than 1 very wealthy man.

 

[Tooting Gull]

What you say is partly fair TLO, but it's all very, very broad-brush and non-specific. Too much so for my taste, and evidently for others.

I agree there are some limits to what you can say at the moment, but Knight's responses on this issue in the past have been a little bit 'just don't worry yourself about it', and with our history that hasn't gone down too well in all quarters.

 

[Simster]

What you say is partly fair TLO, but it's all very, very broad-brush and non-specific. Too much so for my taste, and evidently for others.

I agree there are some limits to what you can say at the moment, but Knight's responses on this issue in the past have been a little bit 'just don't worry yourself about it', and with our history that hasn't gone down too well in all quarters.

But the crux of the matter is that nothing was *ever* scheduled to happen before December and this BBC piece is a complete and utter non-story. I'm no Knight apologist these days, but let's wait and see where we are in January. If nothing is happening, then is the time to worry.

 

[The Large One]

I will be accused of being a deafitist but I go along with the principal of 'no smoke without fire'.

I am certain in my own mind that unless 1 man comes up with mega bucks we will struggle to finance Falmer.

It is obvious to any long term supporters that the projected attendance figures needed to repay the debt are 'pie in the sky' hopes that will never be achieved unless we are at the top end of the Championship at least. If me , an ordinary supporter, can see this and form that opinion how must somebody whose job it is to investigate these loans etc see it.

I hope that I am wrong but I do not hold a lot of confidence for raising the money by other means other than 1 very wealthy man.

That is such a bollocks phrase, deserving of scorn.

What it really means is taking a free-hand to create an hysterical, irrelevant or sometimes downright wrong tale about any given circumstance, and the complete evasion of any responsibility to back it up.


I know you adore and cherish the concept of one man running a football club for his own pleasure, glory and means, but it's not going to happen here for the foreseeable future.

Similarly, if you have so little faith in the financial package being delivered, and the repayment methods to be implemented (in other words, you don't think enough people would turn up), where do you think we'll find your fabled 'one man' who would be mental enough to come forward and spunk his fortune on such a folly?

 

[The Large One]

What you say is partly fair TLO, but it's all very, very broad-brush and non-specific. Too much so for my taste, and evidently for others.

I agree there are some limits to what you can say at the moment, but Knight's responses on this issue in the past have been a little bit 'just don't worry yourself about it', and with our history that hasn't gone down too well in all quarters.

There's a kind of circular join the dots in this project, where the answers have to be a bit vague, because they're dependent on other matters which also need resolving, which are in turn dependent on further issues, which in turn dependent on the first issue.

I think once the contractor has been chosen, and the final cost arrived at, that will unlock many other questions that will arise as a result of this.

Once we know the cost, we can finalise the legal agreements. Once the legal agreements have been signed, we can finalise the financial packaging and so on and on.

I remember having a conversation with Derek Chapman about this once, and he said they've got a programme (a kind of extremely advanced spreadsheet apparently) which takes into account all varying aspects of costings, payments, timescales, contingency plans - all sorts of stuff that pretty soon lost me. The figures have to be flexible because there are no completed hard and fast final costs. However, the working relationship with PriceWaterhouseCoopers is such that they confirm that there is a pretty healthy set of parameters in which the funding of project remains viable.

What I mean by all this is that they can't give definitive answers because they don't know themselves.