Quote Lambrettaman="Lambrettaman"Personally, I wouldn't allow planning for retail on the site, but then I wouldn't insist that the site wasn't available to start with, I'd discuss what would be allowed and what benefits it would bring to the city I was supposed to represent.'"
But it is finally confirmed as a planned retail development, by Allam this week in the Daily Mail:
Quote Lambrettaman="Assem Allam"I had in mind £30 million to spend on the infrastructure of the club, to increase the stadium by 10,000 and to have [icommercial activities around the stadium – cafeterias, shops, supermarkets[/i - to have all this to create income for the club so that in the future it can be self-financing and not relying on me.
What if I dropped dead tomorrow? You don’t want the club relying on you. And the whole idea was spending £30 million to create this but then the club will get an income.
'Unfortunately, our local council had different views and I did not spend the money. We not only had different views but there was lying and cheating which was not on. So I severed my relationship with the council and said that’s the end of it.'"
As it now appears the "sporting village" never was, and you yourself admit that retail development there would be a bad idea, I ask again, "What has the council done that is so bad?". Furthermore, how have they misrepresented Allam, what lies have they told, and what is their hidden agenda? To everyone not bearing tiger-striped spectacles, the fact that the sporting village has morphed into a income-generating retail complex would indicate that any misrepresentation has been made on the part of Allam, not the council, wouldn't you agree?
I put this to you. Allam bought Hull City purely because he was under the impression that ownership of the stadium would follow relatively easily. Once obtained, he could mortgage it, develop the land around for his own private gain and invest in City. Once in the Premiership, they become an attractive proposition as a top-league club with their own stadium to new buyers so he can then sell the club at a huge profit. He's a businessman, not a football man, as he said in the Yorkshire Post this week. None of the above is possible without ownership of the stadium. I.e., he's screwed if he doesn't get it and Hull City becomes a white elephant from which it will be hard to claw back his investment.
I don't know if he didn't do his homework properly and didn't realise the protective covenants that were in place to protect the land, and, indeed the caveats that restrict the sale of a public asset, but [url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/hull-city/allam-left-all-at-sea-by-interest-shown-in-the-tigers-1-5662214this Yorkshire Post[/url interview would indicate that he believed obtaining the freehold would not only be easy but had also been his intention from Day 1, which somewhat backs up my thoughts:
Quote Lambrettaman="Allam in the YP"When taking over the club, I did not plan too well in my mind because I thought I would get the freehold of the stadium. With that, I planned to spend £30m to create commercial activities around the stadium to generate profit for the club and to also increase capacity by 10,000.
“That work would have taken a year and the club would now be generating income rather than relying on me. Unfortunately, it was not possible and the Council said ‘no’.'"
Quote Lambrettaman="Allam in the YP"We are not football people, we are business people. The man is not for turning.'"
It's going to be a long summer, I think.
