Sorry correct - as I said it wasn't the right choice - however being pedantic as Ted had the vast majority of the clubs shares he already technically owned it. It's complicated but he didn't just flog it, there was a lot of good intent involved and he like the rest was misled by the Council and by the RFL who not long after ditched franchising!

Like all these things it's tempting and neat to blame one person but that's rarely the case.

That's how I remember it. If he had used the ground as security, the club would have still owned it. What I don't know is also the following:
1. whether the club would have had the same financial problems if he hadn't done that, because of course the club would have had an asset they could have raised security against
2. whether the club got all of the money from the sale, as I seem to recall also is that the club didn't get all the money for the ground, because wasn't there more to be paid upon a certain contingency being met (moving to a new ground or whatever).
3. whether the ground was sold for its full market value. The owner sold it to himself and his relatives under the guise of a company registered in the Isle of Man, something that didn't seem to come out much later. Did his company pay the full whack?

I would be less blameworthy if he had been open about at the time, or not used it as part of his property portfolio.

I have no doubt it was sold with the best intentions and had it not been sold then its unlikely that we'd still be in Super League if in existence at all. Ted is not the only one who has been let down by the Council and Developer.

The 'myth' will go on because it isn't really a myth, it is kind of what happened. Around 2007/early 2008 Ted DID sell the ground, to a group called the Tillion Partnership (a group of companies he was involved with, i forget their names), for just under £3million, with £1.2million of that paid up front, money that was borrowed from the Bank of Ireland. That money stopped the club going belly up there and then but it did take the clubs name off the deeds. The plan was to pay the balance of the deal over a long period, or transfer the ownership of the ground back to the club if not, whilst paying back the loan to the bank. When the promised Thornes Park development came along it could be paid off in full with some in the coffers to spare thanks to the sale of BV. It went horribly wrong when Ted's finances hit a wall and the repayments couldn't be made and then the council pulled Thornes Park. On the back of the global financial crash that was a killer double whammy with banks under the cosh and being very twitchy about getting their money back. So they repossessed Belle Vue, we ran out of money and ultimately entertered administration.

Now with a bit of luck we could have got away with it but it was always risky and the timing of events was horrendous. As you say in hindsight Ted probably didn't play it right but given the promises we had been made and given we didn't have a pot to you-know-what in at the time he probably thought he had no option. And you are right that we haven't had any brass for decades and still don't. The sad thing is we have been talking about a new ground for over 40 years and we still are no closer to getting there. It will be the thing that means tough decisions have to be made and MC has one to make very shortly. It continues to be the issue that defines a long list of chairmens legacies.

EDIT - Just seen the other replies but i've typed it now!

Didn't Ted also get stung with a bad land deal with Trinity Walk/Sainsbury's? Expected land values were hit by the crash of 2007/8 leaving Ted out of pocket?

Correct.

But it is a myth as just discussed.

Cheer up itll soon be Christmas and you can have some nuts

The City went out of existence in 1974 when this council became a district. The vast majority of councillors don't give a shat about the City or the name Wakefield. The few that do are so gutless and look after their own political futures they will not do anything about it for fear of upsetting Box.

The sooner we forget about Yorkcourt and the council the better. Trinity as a club doesn't have a future in Wakefield . We should all accept that and if we don't like it just walk away, or continue to support the club wherever it ends up being re established.. I am with the latter option.
F off to Yorkcourt, The council and Box.

Wish we had gone down the shared stadium route now.Surely a site could have been found reasonably accessible for Cas and Trinity fans alike. Oh hang on , wouldn't Newmarket have been satisfactory.

The saddest part of this is that the council couldn't give a stuff if we move out, they'd probably be happy for us to move out of the area. They're the worst council going, no support what so ever for any sport, iirc Wakefield is the only city which doesn't have a professional football club too. Oh well, at least we have some over priced concrete monstrosities

was never an option and never will be.

Would be an option for me, and I am a 65 year old 'traditionalist'.We will end up sharing anyhow. Be it with another RL club or a football club

Yes we will be sharing and no doubt on reasonable terms.

However my point is in respect to Cas, it would never be a share it would be terrible one sided agreement to play in a stadium totally owned and controlled by Cas and charged an extortionate amount for the privalage