#SellBeforeWeDai Action/Inaction Group

[Crusader Royal]

Alternatively, How much money does STAR collect up each year form Subs (ignore travel/assume that breaks even)..... Had they hung onto every penny since we moved to the Madejski Stadium in 1998 and announced their intention to fans to save enough cash to one day purchase the freehold to the stadium if it ever came up for sale then I reckon STAR might well own the ground the Stadium is on now.

Swindon supporters own a share/most of the ground their stadium is on, The club own the stadium and pay rent to the land owners. This would prevent the club from selling the ground because they don't own it, but if they had a lease that allowed them to build/own a stadium on that land for 100 years then they get all the benefits of that and no real incentive to buy land elsewhere and relocate.

Chelsea have a similar arrangement with fans owning the pitch.

Is
Swindon didn’t own their ground anyway, the club own more of it then they did previously having leased it from the council for years.
Preventing a club from moving is all well and good but can put big limits on the club (see Chelsea’s ongoing problems with increasing capacity). Moving and building a better stadium shouldn’t be an issue, It’s selling the land for profit and leaving a club homeless that is the problem.
Imagine if we had been prevented from leaving Elm Park…..

The land that the County Ground sits on , which includes the Cricket Ground , Swindon Football Foundation and the Athletics track forms part of covenanted community land. Which was bequeathed to the Council many years ago. The ground is leased on a 250 year term. The club has to spend the notional rent directly on the upkeep of the facility. Due to the covenants the opportunity for commercial redevelopment is limited.

https://www.swindon.gov.uk/news/article ... d_purchase

No, Swindon Town FC and their Trust now each own 50% of the ground having bought it in 2023
Whether that is a good move or not is hard to know if they had security of tenure anyway and the rent was purely notional.

[Silver Fox]

Last AGM I think STAR had about £80+K in the bank which is enough to get a campaign for a phoenix club going.

Probably get called Hollywood by the other clubs in the Reading & Disrict league with that budget.

i think we need Kate Winslet and Nicholas Hoult at the helm for that

[Fox Talbot]

Last AGM I think STAR had about £80+K in the bank which is enough to get a campaign for a phoenix club going.

Probably get called Hollywood by the other clubs in the Reading & Disrict league with that budget.

i think we need Kate Winslet and Nicholas Hoult at the helm for that

Not to mention Ricky Gervaise and Kenneth Branagh!

[katweslowski]

Not to mention Ricky Gervaise

I know it's tongue-in-cheek but he has no interest in the club. He was a guest on "Stick to Football", talking for about an hour. https://youtu.be/99mDleOf46I?si=NiyqMs8O9Hi3ixtY&t=3345

During a section titled "Ricky's Love of Football", which lasted around 6 minutes, he said:

* I went off football for about 30 years
* I didn't have a team, I watched England
* Got back into football during Covid
* What really got me back into it was the documentary "Sunderland till I die"
* I loved seeing the struggle of the club, the manager and the players
* I watch every game on TV now and love it

... with absolutely no mention of Reading.

---

Quite ironic those points about Sunderland, as his own home-town team are in a much worse state than them

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Let’s get Chris tarrant involved

[Dirk Gently]

Last AGM I think STAR had about £80+K in the bank which is enough to get a campaign for a phoenix club going.

Probably get called Hollywood by the other clubs in the Reading & Disrict league with that budget.

i think we need Kate Winslet and Nicholas Hoult at the helm for that

Most phoenix clubs can usually discover a fair few high-value asset investors who will contribute - they needn't be Hollywood stars but 50 such people each putting 50k in is £2.5M, and the same value as has the same value as 50,000 "ordinary" fans all putting 50 quid in. Structure it right legally and maybe such donations can be written off against tax (not a guarantee, though)

ISTR the Portsmouth rescue was based on a significant number of such high-value asset investors - they're absolutely the key to things like this, rather than everyday fans who will do their bit but don't have the resources to raise large sums.

I sincerely hope STAR have been doing work on identifying and contacting such people.

[bcubed]

Not to mention Ricky Gervaise

I know it's tongue-in-cheek but he has no interest in the club. He was a guest on "Stick to Football", talking for about an hour. https://youtu.be/99mDleOf46I?si=NiyqMs8O9Hi3ixtY&t=3345

During a section titled "Ricky's Love of Football", which lasted around 6 minutes, he said:

* I went off football for about 30 years
* I didn't have a team, I watched England
* Got back into football during Covid
* What really got me back into it was the documentary "Sunderland till I die"
* I loved seeing the struggle of the club, the manager and the players
* I watch every game on TV now and love it

---

Quite ironic those points about Sunderland, as his own home-town team are in a much worse state than them

Caught a bit of that
Very cringeworthy
Didn't really feel he's bothered about football at all

[Forbury Lion]

I loved seeing the struggle of the club, the manager and the players

He really should support Reading FC then, he'll love it.

[Crusader Royal]

Last AGM I think STAR had about £80+K in the bank which is enough to get a campaign for a phoenix club going.

Probably get called Hollywood by the other clubs in the Reading & Disrict league with that budget.

i think we need Kate Winslet and Nicholas Hoult at the helm for that

Most phoenix clubs can usually discover a fair few high-value asset investors who will contribute - they needn't be Hollywood stars but 50 such people each putting 50k in is £2.5M, and the same value as has the same value as 50,000 "ordinary" fans all putting 50 quid in. Structure it right legally and maybe such donations can be written off against tax (not a guarantee, though)

ISTR the Portsmouth rescue was based on a significant number of such high-value asset investors - they're absolutely the key to things like this, rather than everyday fans who will do their bit but don't have the resources to raise large sums.

I sincerely hope STAR have been doing work on identifying and contacting such people.

How much can they put you down for Dirk ?

[Lower West]

Is
Swindon didn’t own their ground anyway, the club own more of it then they did previously having leased it from the council for years.
Preventing a club from moving is all well and good but can put big limits on the club (see Chelsea’s ongoing problems with increasing capacity). Moving and building a better stadium shouldn’t be an issue, It’s selling the land for profit and leaving a club homeless that is the problem.
Imagine if we had been prevented from leaving Elm Park…..

The land that the County Ground sits on , which includes the Cricket Ground , Swindon Football Foundation and the Athletics track forms part of covenanted community land. Which was bequeathed to the Council many years ago. The ground is leased on a 250 year term. The club has to spend the notional rent directly on the upkeep of the facility. Due to the covenants the opportunity for commercial redevelopment is limited.

https://www.swindon.gov.uk/news/article ... d_purchase

No, Swindon Town FC and their Trust now each own 50% of the ground having bought it in 2023
Whether that is a good move or not is hard to know if they had security of tenure anyway and the rent was purely notional.

The contractual small print.

Everything acquired from SBC will be leased to the Club through a 250-year lease agreement with an annual rent payable to the JV. The Club will be responsible to keep the ground in good order/repair at their own cost once existing defects and dilapidations have been addressed by the JV.

[Crusader Royal]

The land that the County Ground sits on , which includes the Cricket Ground , Swindon Football Foundation and the Athletics track forms part of covenanted community land. Which was bequeathed to the Council many years ago. The ground is leased on a 250 year term. The club has to spend the notional rent directly on the upkeep of the facility. Due to the covenants the opportunity for commercial redevelopment is limited.

https://www.swindon.gov.uk/news/article ... d_purchase

No, Swindon Town FC and their Trust now each own 50% of the ground having bought it in 2023
Whether that is a good move or not is hard to know if they had security of tenure anyway and the rent was purely notional.

The contractual small print.

Everything acquired from SBC will be leased to the Club through a 250-year lease agreement with an annual rent payable to the JV. The Club will be responsible to keep the ground in good order/repair at their own cost once existing defects and dilapidations have been addressed by the JV.

JV is 50% STFC 50% their Trust. They are their own landlords

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Last AGM I think STAR had about £80+K in the bank which is enough to get a campaign for a phoenix club going.

Probably get called Hollywood by the other clubs in the Reading & Disrict league with that budget.

i think we need Kate Winslet and Nicholas Hoult at the helm for that

Not to mention Ricky Gervaise

Who?

[traff]

Must be the electric version.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Must be the electric version.

I thought it was the French version

[Mid Sussex Royal]

The match sponsors for the Birmingham game have pulled out....SBWD are trying to step in and have the funds.

Would the club allow it?

[katweslowski]

The match sponsors for the Birmingham game have pulled out....SBWD are trying to step in and have the funds.

Would the club allow it?

Just saw this. I couldn't believe how cheap it is - only £2500 roughly for full match day advertising.

My instincts say they'll have to refuse it. They really couldn't have advertising against the owner on official boards and being welcomed to the club like this.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

The match sponsors for the Birmingham game have pulled out....SBWD are trying to step in and have the funds.

Would the club allow it?

Who was the sponsor?

[East Grinstead Royal]

The match sponsors for the Birmingham game have pulled out....SBWD are trying to step in and have the funds.

Would the club allow it?

Just saw this. I couldn't believe how cheap it is - only £2500 roughly for full match day advertising.

My instincts say they'll have to refuse it. They really couldn't have advertising against the owner on official boards and being welcomed to the club like this.

I’m sure you’re right. But it would make a hell of a story! Get us back into the news for a few hours.

[Silver Fox]

I'm not sure I could work out who the matchday sponsor is for any game these days in the post matchday programme era

[Mid Sussex Royal]

The match sponsors for the Birmingham game have pulled out....SBWD are trying to step in and have the funds.

Would the club allow it?

Just saw this. I couldn't believe how cheap it is - only £2500 roughly for full match day advertising.

My instincts say they'll have to refuse it. They really couldn't have advertising against the owner on official boards and being welcomed to the club like this.

I’m sure you’re right. But it would make a hell of a story! Get us back into the news for a few hours.

SBWD have offered £3k to sponsor the game plus £500 to the community trust.

Its proposed the advertising will be around the club being for sale rather than anything to do with Dai