The problem Rich is that it has been attempted to be done through the backdoor.

I agree that things as they are are not perfect but there are not and can not be any guarantees made that private ownership, through whoever it may be, will be any better.

Under the council the stadium is never going to be properly developed and the Council are short of cash and will take short cuts if need. And I am of the opinion it will not be used to its potential.
With Tony Abbott he will in my opinion, look to use it for his business which I dont have a problem with. Maybe this will in turn provide more cash to develop the stadium which would be good for everybody. Better facilities will mean more people likely to use it and benefits all who would use if for Sport or whatever.
Maybe something can be written into the contract that it must be a facilty for sports as well as other purposes. But thats up to the Council who currently own the Stadium and land. Tony Abbott wont look to throw anybody out and loves sports not just Rugby League. The way he has set up a charity to help sports clubs get medical equipment is one example. He is also somebody who has a good business. Whether its a multi million one or not its still employs hundreds of local people and is growing. Nobody can predict the future but personally the Shay will always be a half built stadium unless somebody other than the council own it

No, but an astute businessman may make better use of the assets than part time politicians. Take idiots like Colin Stout out of the equation and we might have better revenue generating assets at both clubs' disposal.

If and when the stadium is sold lets just be thankfull if Tony Abbott is the one who buys it.

I can think of a lot worse situations than having one of our own in the driving seat.

I can't think of a single situtation that could be better for Fax and sport in Halifax at this point in time or for the forseeable future that's for sure.

Imagine what it would be like if Mister Mystery Man xxx were the purchaser.

The march was about doing something with the Shay not about selling it, we wanted the Council to do something with it and thankfully it worked

It can only ever be used for sport as it is allocated as an open space in planning terms. There is no way that the Council will sell it and leave the door open to it becoming anything other than a sports stadium.

Your wrong mate , the council were planning to sell the shay to a private investor. A simple search on google will show you enough info on what went on in 2005.

Yer it kind of was about selling the Shay but it was more to do with committing to do something with the stand which eventually they did thankfully.

The FC town fans have lobbed a spanner in the works. Mr Anbott is not gonna have it easy

Can't say I blame them to be fair……

Well said Nat. If anyone heard radio Leeds on Sun, abbot said the sale of shay would be better for both clubs and that there was 2 million going to be spent on improvements. Both clubs need each other, think tony abbot would be better off owning both clubs.

People are assuming its mr abbott . He has not said it is him. Actually from the way he has spoken it sounds like it isn't him. Hope it is someone who cares about sport especially Halifax rlfc. Don't want someone buying ground who only interested in football who may want to throw us out of ground.

To be fair Neil, it probably is him from what he has said. The big presentation evening a few months ago was most probably not announce a trip to New York paid for by a fiver on every ticket. Something happened there.

It's great Mr Abbott being involved with our club, he's done amazing things.

I hope, however, he has a great business plan for The Shay as he doesn't have the multi millions to buy develop and run a stadium used by two teams without one of them paying for it!

I'd rather he focused his time and philanthropy on Fax rather take on the Shay as well. Would be better for us in the long run.

His decision

If true then any future investement will be welcome, the only way this will happen is if the stadium is owned by a stadium company as the Council will not invest any more in the Shay as it does not have any and to be fair they put in a big some of cash to finish the East Stand and make other small improvements, the Council have other commitments and lets be honest a sports stadium is not a priority.
I am sure that any sale will include plenty of conditions such as it must stay as a sporting venue and be for both clubs. That is the right thing as both Town and Fax have the right to play there and are the biggest income generators for any stadium company so why would they kick them out anyway?

I think it's a great thing, he can move his business there and use it as business premises which he can write off against tax for his business but at the same time paying for an asset that he can save halifax money on and make money from the other things the clubs miss out on. Perhaps reactive stadium isn't too far away. It's got a nice ring to it. He won employer of the year last year and takes a great deal of pride in Halifax and giving back. Heartbeat of sport charity is something he has done in light of the tragic events of Martin moamba. The bloke is giving back, why knock it, it would give ax a big advantage over lots of other clubs in SL as business plans an include turnover for the stadium as well.

Now its getting stupid:

Save Ourshay

@SaveOurShay
This twitter page is for people/fans against the private ownership of The Shay Stadium, Halifax. Home to FC Halifax Town (1921) and Halifax RLFC (199icon_cool.gif