Quote: DSJ1983 "Most interesting for me was the stadium comments. So despite the victimhood some of our fans have manufactured about the SMC and no doubt helped by lies spread by Rovers fans AT said him and David have looked at the lease and think it’s a very good deal. Two self made businessmen worth half a billion quid have looked at it and knowing the terms have decided to buy the club, I think we can safely say it’s a complete myth when white trolls claim the rent is ‘crippling’ Hull.
Also, maybe it’s just my interpretation but the words AT used were interesting. He said they didn’t really want to re-negotiate the lease. I know it’s been mentioned on here but never confirmed that the lease is actually for 50 years but the 25 year point was simply there for re-negotiation if circumstances had majorly changed. To me that seems to make massive sense now. I find it hard to believe the club would have been sold especially to major players like that had there been any chance we could be ‘booted out’ and left homeless in 3 years, again another popular myth mostly peddled by our red and white friends. AP and AT seemed very relaxed about the situation and seems maybe as fans we’ve put too much emphasis on the 2027 stadium situation.'"
Just a point of order here in that yep you are completely right. Adam always made a big deal of it cos he wanted to negotiate a better deal for the club and used the 25 years clause as an excuse. I would respectfully point out that I have mentioned the terms of the lease as I understand them in here at least a dozen times and indeed in the Dentist Diary on many other occasions over the 15 years that ran. The lease is for 50 years with a chance to review by all parties after 25. But any changes had I believe to be mutually agreed by all. So if anyone is completely happy we continue on for another 25 years.
That inclusion was insisted upon by the owners of both clubs (City and FC) in 2001 in case either club had fallen on hard times and needed to renegotiate it to survive. The 50 year lease and insistence that at least two of the Cities Clubs signed up to use the Stadium, plus a massive community commitment was part of the agreement with the Government, before they would sanction release the 35m of the Capital funds gained by the council from the sale of KC.
Incidentally I believe there is also a clause about it having to be renegotiated immediately were we relegated from Super League (Just us not City) because of the massive difference between the financing of the two leagues, built in to protect our tenure, which was always a major worry for me under the Allams, cos I could see them using it not as it was intended but against us had we gone down. The deal particularly the percentage of receipts clauses is not ideal, but was agreed by Adam as chair of Hull City (of course it was as he was the only agency that would take up control of the SMC at the time as the Stadium was deemed too small for some of the major national Stadium Management organisations) and Richo (who was personally planning only a short term stay anyway) before it was signed. There is flexibility in it but that is in the gift of the SMC as the Allam's gleefully used it against us in their reign. Well that's how I remember it anyway and for my sins I was in the room when it was signed by the two owners and Cllr Pat Doyle Leader of the Council and John North Head of HCC Industrial Development.
