I don't think I have ever heard anyone else argue AGAINST developing and improving something.

Enough said really, how can you have a sensible debate with reasoning like that.

And you're quite right, there is always something that can be improved. But not to the extent planned and it can be done under council ownership.

I would have thought that was for the Councilors to decide , I cannot see them being dictated to as to what they are going to have to do down there .

And I'm sure when the time comes they will deliver, as they have done with the North Stand.

At the end of the day though Geoff you and I have no real say in the matter, it's not our money and even if we did have why would our prefferences be any better or more acceptable to anyone other than ourselves.
It's just what we think based on our own bias and prejudices.

Back to simple logic again and down to choices depending on if the council decide to sell or not.

Option 1. The council keep ownership and it will not improve much more than it is now as they do not have the money, nor will it generate any other income from other uses or areas.

Option 2. Reactiv takes ownership and develope it well beyond what it is now and open up a number of opportunities to generate income from other uses or areas.

These stadiums can and need to be so much more than just the home of the local sporting teams so don't just think of development and improvement in those terms, those days are in the past if you want to stay alive in 2013 and beyond.

Option 3. Some unknown party with unknown intentions takes ownership.

Make your choice with a balanced unbiased view.

I walked past today and the Skircoat Road side always looks a mess and then there are all the trees inside the ground, I don't know of many grounds that have this. There is potential to make the ground generate a decent income but it needs investment from a party that really does want to do rather than just do the basics which the council are doing.

If you really are not Bubba, same IP address then you are a bubberette.

At the meeting TA said he would be able to make money from the Shay from day 1. Can't remember his exact wording but that was the jist of what he said. If that is true then does that not mean that he knows something that nobody else does about making money from the ground?

We both know you've made that up, John. Not sure what you've achieved from it?

What`s a bubberette ? is it that little group that flounced out as the meeting ended?

At the moment there is nobody else, just TA and CMBC and from the two it would seem reasonable to suggest that he knows more about making money.

Not surprising really as he is a Businessman who happens to have the best interests of both clubs to heart and CMBC are of course a council who have to have the best interests of the rest of the population of Calderdale in mind.

One, CMBC sees the Shay as a serious overhead, the other, TA sees it as an oppourtunity that would benefit all currently concerned (the clubs) whilst opening up extra jobs for dozens of other people and developing it.

I don't think he would have publicly said it if he wasn't confident of doing so and with the other proposals clearly set out there must have been a lot of thought on the direction he would be going in.

Again down to choice who would we choose to take it forward.

Unfortunatly a Council does not think it has to make money at all , what they do is spend ours on what they perceive to be priorities and funding peoples hobby whilst nurseries and schools are having cutbacks does not constitute as a priority.
Quote from a Councilor tonight
"If the Council decide to sell the Shay it will be all tied up with legal clauses so both Clubs are guarenteed to continue to use the Shay .Whoever it is sold to it will include clauses to stop it being sold on for supermarket or similar .The Council have done a good job for the Shay but we can`t afford to finish it"
Well that will do for me ,I will now just sit back and wait for the Councils due diligence and what they decide.

It is funny that you say that, because over the years the council have had the best interests of both clubs at heart. The people of Halifax might not have massive interest in their clubs, but I'm sure they'd miss them both if thy were gone.

Another thing I firmly believe is that the council member's heads have turned as a result of the World Cup. They have now seen the scope for opportunity and interest at the Shay, which leads to moneymaking potential.

You have to also remember that they Shay is not the only overhead that they have. The Piece Hall, NBLC, the Swimming Baths etc. All are a burden on the council.

I wouldn't be too sure of some of those parts of your statement. Brighouse sports centre has 7,000 & Sowerby Bridge 5,000 average users per weeks. NBLC & the Halifax pool users would simply transfer their membership use to one of those other sites. Those figures BTW were quoted to me at the weekend by one of the Sowerby Bridge gym instructors, pretty impressive numbers i'd say, maybe cos the council spent some money on the new facilities eh ?

Not sure what that has to do with what I said, and I also think that a lot less people would visit out of town facilities than you expect.

'"

Just dawning on the Town lot that the ACV actually will lower the asking price for the Shay.





A few of them a bit worried that the deal is already done...................Its probably not, I doubt everything is in place, I also doubt all the ACV has done is delay the inevitable by 6months.............

Good grief it`s taken long enough for that to dawn on them hasn`t it ? I don`t think it`s a done deal either and I think it will probably take longer than 6 months as I thought the 6 months would start once the Shay was proclaimed up for sale (which the council have not stated yet). But surely there is another group in the bidding ,what about the Football Trust their application for the ACV was so it gives them 6 months to come up with the money at the going rate . This is what I cannot understand because they keep telling everybody that the Council are selling it too cheap ,they all must be loaded but fair play for puting their money where their mouth is .

The Shay is not an out of town facility?

There is also a scope for profit on the Shay. If TA believes h can get the Shay making a profit from day 1 then so can the council as the opportunity must be there.

Yes, particularly the Piece Hall as it has historical value to the town, just the like Shay.

I agree that the Piece Hall and the Civic Theatre has historical value to the Town but disagree the Shay has and although I loved Thrum Hall there is no way I would have argued it was valueable to Halifax for historic reasons.

How thick are the Luddites like Geoff. The Shay is not a historical and is not even 100 years old as a sports stadium! The shay is a millstone for the council and the Bubba Clown Club have just helped reduce its value. Well done! There is scope for profit at The Shay but not under a Council that is in a mess finacially and MUST make cuts. Please explain why a Council should make cuts to Schools, Social Services etc but keep throwing away hundreds of thousands of pounds on a Stadium that is used by less than 3% of the local population regularly?



Why where are both clubs going? Even if TA took over, you think both clubs will just disappear? Another panic scenario dreamt up by the Luddites who follow FC Pubteam. Its clear the Council and TA need to make certain agreements that are legally binding on any sale. But all this doom and gloom from the luddites is why Halifax is a backwater town.

We all know that but the council don't have the time, the resources or the inclination to concentrate effort on the Shay when they have an entire town to run.

As TA stated, the Shay will be owned by a totally new company (completely separate from Reactiv Media) whose sole purpose is to manage the Shay efficiently and to make it pay it's way.

I think the best thing we can do, is just say we respect the views of Super Geoff/Bubber and the Bubberites.
We might not agree, but lets just say we respect their views.
Then ignore them.
Let them moan, post stupid posts and let them live in the past.
Lets face it, Mr Abbott will buy the Shay, he will deliver his promises and Town will benefit.
The other thing that is certain is, that when the above have been achieved the Town Luddites will still say it was wrong. After all Mr Abbott offered to sponsor a Town game and his offer was refused. (Fact)
In today's online Courier there is a story about the sell out game for Sunday, the Bubberites are already questioning the truth of that statement.
Paranoid?
Lets just enjoy Sunday.
Onwards and upwards.
The future of the New Shay is bright,
It will always be blue and white.
Incidentally good luck to Town at MK Dons on Saturday and for the few Town supporters who travel there you will see what a good stadium looks like, that could be the Shay.

Good evening fax fans

After reading some of the football fans posts believing council ownership on a sports stadium that is losing money is the way forward I thought i would make a post and point there attention for one moment to what is happening in Sheffield at the minute.

The Don Valley Stadium (the largest athletics stadium outside of London) under council ownership has been losing money year on year. The council first said it was losing £700k a year then said it was losing £200k a year I don't think we'll ever know the true cost tbh but the point is the council have simply had enough of propping it up and with the deep cuts all council's are having to make the stadium has now been closed and is to be demolished on the 21st of November they simply cannot afford to keep paying for it's upkeep.

This is what happens in the long run to council owned sports stadiums that are not being used enough by the local rate payer and running at a loss. Sadly there is more important things for council's to pay for and not enough money to pay for them

As for the ex tenants of Don Valley. The athletics has been relocated to a track you wouldn't want to walk your dog around let alone hold any athletics events, The Sheffield Eagles look set to play at Owlerton stadium (essentially a dog track that is hardly ideal for RL) after a big fear that the club would have to leave the city.

A bit of food for thought there or maybe not?

PS really looking forward to the game sunday i'll be there



All the best

A salutary tale indeed and a perfect example of why you have to adapt to change , why anyone should think that our Council will carry on subsidising the Shay whilst other services are being cut is beyond me.No Councilor in their right mind will relish having to knock on doors come election time and try to justify subsidising football and rugby whilst they are making swinging cuts to nurseries etc.
Time to wake up and smell the coffee Bubberites and one wonders just how this will all pan out.