Slightly o/t but still pretty relevant to us given they own the company that runs the stadium. I read the "open letter" from the allams to the people of Hull in the wail today. Copy rlHERErl if you want to read.

What does everyone think of his stand point? (Ignore what he's done previously and who he is). Does the fact he has saved city and propelled them into the PL give him the right to change the club name? I can't imagine they're putting themselves in the firing line unless there is a genuine benefit to the name change. I personally think the letter is interesting and if there are genuine opportunities for commercial income increases due to it then why not? I'd not be averse to AP changing our club name if it ultimately resulted in more financial stability and the chance of more success (As long as it wasn't another fishy one).

I think the city fans are over reacting on this one myself and if allam had been a bit more sensitive and open from the off then maybe they'd have had much less opposition. I also think that a financially sound football club is a benefit to us

I notice that the official Hull City twitter account has over 80,000 followers but the "No to Hull Tigers" account only 6,000.

If you read who signed it its actually ehab but in the end it has come a few months too late. If they had come out and said we are thinking of doing this what do you think they may be received a bit better than the rants to council picturegate and all that. At £30 a game don't get to city as much as i did but any higher prices and i will be definitely not going and sure won't be the only one. See where they are coming from but totally the wrong way about it. Too far gone now with people like ctwd

I've no idea what his agenda is now. He said if he didn't get the KC stadium he'd move City to Melton, but he didn't. To me the Tigers thing seems more about control/winning a pointless argument than the underlying issue, but I struggle to see commercial benefits of the size he claims from a rebrand.

dont trust him as far as i could throw him, bully boy

He's also given away some clues to their current income, saying it's 7% of gate receipts.

So if every match, plus a few cup games, attended by 25000 passholders, averaging say £350 per season,
would give a total of around £9m, which equates to around £125m annual income. Serious money already!!

He's also threatened to increase prices by 50% if he doesn't get his way.

(Sums may be way off the mark.)

What I found interesting in his open letter was the part stating that another club had made an application to the FA for the name 'Hull Tigers', thus forcing their hand to apply earlier to the FA for the name change. Seems odd that this came about at the same time Mr Allam wanted to change the name himself.

firstly we had tickets for tenner then moving to melton then walking away then ticket prices going up, blokes only looking after himself. he couldnt give 2 monkeys about hull

I wondered if some supporter group was behind it to stop him doing it or maybe it just isn't true

It was a deliberate act by one of the Hull City aficionados. A group of them came up with the theory that the name-change coup would be scuppered if the Hull Tigers name was already spoken for. One of the group proceeded to attempt just that, and applied to the FA to register the name of the local amateur club he is involved with as Hull Tigers. Happened as all this was first kicking off, I believe.

I think the open letter is very patronising. "Now hush, you ignorant supporters, and leave the business side of things to the owners. If you don't, we're off again." Apart from the undeniable facts that they've still not provided evidence of sponsors only interested in the Hull Tigers brand (surely still marketable as a nickname and image just as much as the official name would be) and that as such wonderful businessmen they've increased Hull City's debt from £30M to £100M in two years (a far worse record than Bartlett), and run the SMC into the ground with vast losses - the first owners to achieve this incomprehensible feat.

Until they provide tangible proof that [ionly[/i changing the name to Hull Tigers will bring the revenue they crave why should anyone give the "wet finger in the air" story lip-service? The letter is much politer, though, hence Ehab's name against it in an attempt to mitigate himself from his shrieking, insulting father. Too little too late, I reckon. I bet they've got wind that noises coming from the FA aren't favourable.

Don't forget the Allam golden rule - everything he says and does is with one motivation, acquisition of that stadium. Nowt's changed there, it's the only thing that'll get him out of the financial nightmare he's found himself in. They're desperate. I still believe this whole crazy Tigers thing is some bizarre plot to get the fans back clamouring against the council. Problem is, even the most vehement council-haters amongst the fans (our very own scooter-boy being one of them) are now in sympathy with HCC and can finally see through Allam's crude 'Sporting Village' smoke and mirrors. Ironically, it is the Hull Tigers thing that has dashed the scales from their eyes. Many of them want him out, even if it means condemnation to the lower leagues again.

The whole thing has been a PR disaster for them, if they had released that letter when the idea first raised it head they still wouldn't have got every fan on board, but there would have been a lot more fans willing to give it a go.

If I was a City fan i'd be praying that they stay up, as if they go down I can see the whole club collapsing like a pack of cards...he has massively increased the wage bill, and you can't see Tiger Beer, Tiger Airlines or whoever it is he thinks he can attract being interested in Championship football.

I don't believe he seriously expects to find the sponsorship necessary to compensate for the revenue the freehold of the stadium would had given him from companies purely interested in the Tiger brand. What sort of business targets sponsorship solely from one tiny percentage of what's available? It's like me deciding to buy a new car. I am open to all makes, models, colours etc, and just want the best deal. So instead of perusing the whole market, I just choose a Seat catalogue and pick from there.

This whole 'Tigers is essential to attract sponsors' stuff is a massive red herring.

I understand the need to generate more income, after he has ploughed so much money into the club. But I think the fans would have been more easily persuaded, if he had done this name change thing correctly and asked the fans first or done research before storming in and demanding everyone to agree with him. PR disaster!

Will the name change really make that much of a dent in the bills? What are you looking to gain on top of your current sponsorship deals?

More worrying are the figures that they have released, outside of the Prem the club could be back to pre Allam days it will only take a bad run of results

I agree.
To what end? The K.C. can't hold a bigger crowd, an extension to the stadium wouldn't really make sense. So flogging the Tiger brand far and wide may generate some passing interest, but what financial gain could be made?