He's not asking the council for the money re-read DC's initial comment.

Well the council would still have to shell out £10 million towards a stadium, which pretty much everyone in the district just sees as our stadium rather than a community stadium, with no guarantee of getting it back. Most people in the district wouldn't be happy, which is what the council are interested in.

Everyone I know is behind you and know you will make the right decision for Wakefield.

Financially, the council has plenty of money in reserves and could fund this without breaking a sweat. I have spoken to one councillor and told him that the council could make a name for themselves by doing just that. Politically it will never happen because of the backlash from Cas and Fev and the total Castleford bias on the Council top hierarchy. With regards to YC paying for this it is not going to happen as they have no money. I know this from the horses mouth.

Without Walker stepping back in we had a route to a deal and a timescale of the end of July. The council promised us it very publicly and the developer had no where else to go. We had an 'amicable' meeting with the developer not 3 weeks ago, and then this. The only reason for Rodney doing this is to fudge the whole issue and deny us the opportunity to control the terms of any agreement - if indeed there is one at all!
We had an agreement - a UU granted under section 106 - which proved to be of dubious value. Any agreement reached now needs to have our own legal advisors scrutinise it before we will accept it.
We have called them all to deliver what they have promised - do we believe they will, and on agreeable terms - not so much, but we are prepared to eat that humble pie.
What we do take issue on is the 'merging' of Trusts. There is one Trust, and it is the one named in the UU. Rodney has been invited back onto that Trust and, we see no reason why he cannot deliver what he has promised through that Trust, nor why any other Trust, that does not legally exist at this time, should be either acknowledged or accepted by WMDC as the vehicle for delivering a Stadium.

Well said that man.

You also need to realise the difference between capital monies and revenue monies. The loan would be capital money of which they can borrow plenty. They borrowed 33 million for the new road.

They would then receive more money back then its costing them in interest which could be ploughed into other services. Therefore everyone actually wins!!

Sounds like the perfect plan to me, all parties get what they want. From what I know I cant see a valid reason for the council not agreeing to that

I'm sure they could borrow £10 million if they really wanted but what if Yorkcourt just stopped before they hit the trigger point? I think it'd be different if we were the only team in the district, unfortunately we're not.

Excellent plan isn't it. Council can borrow money on the cheap so they fund the stadium which gets built ready for the 2019 season which enables the Club to comply wilth SL deadlines and minimum standards. In turn they set up legally binding agreements with Developers to make their contributions based on the substantial planning gains they are making which pays off the loan and any interest so it doesn't cost the Council a penny.

The only valid reason for them not agreeing to it is maybe they have no faith that they will receive the contributions so are not prepared to take the risk.

Hence Box turning on Yorkcourt and suggesting they (YC) pull their finger out.

Then they would be making a profit for ever which they can plough back into local services that are being cut.

Not sure I'm explaining this correctly

Has this been discused with the council yet?.If it were to be accepted what are the chances of being in the new stadium by 2019.

Is this still talking about NM? Would a stadium be better in a residential area or an industrial area? If a residential area?, It would give YorkCourt more space to build units

[*ii

Right okay, think I'm with you now. Would you effectively be wanting the council to act as guarantor on a loan? I guess the council would be put off by the fact we could be relegated at any point which I presume would change things? Or are interest rates low enough for that not to particularly matter? I imagine the only nightmare scenario for the council would be us being relegated and interest rates rising.

The fact they have already borrowed this money means they are unlikely to borrow more with no guarantees of getting it back given Yorkcourts track record, the risk is probably too high given the constant cuts they have faced. And they can't loan it to the trust as they don't earn any revenue. Whilst a nice idea a non-starter really.

It's not a loan guarantee. The Council take out the loan in their name and the Developer pays the Council from the planning gain so it costs the Council nothing. Unless of course the Developer fails to pay the Council.

And it's that last sentence that is the killer.

Which is why, like Castlefords deal, the stadium should have come before anything else!

The council won't take the risk, but they are quite happy to risk the future of the City's only pro sports club!

Factor in the second 'Trust', and I think it becomes clear how difficult this all is!

That's why I keep going back to the original agreement, and making the council sort their mess out
The developer can't be trusted to do anything, but that's the councils problem, they made a bum deal will a bunch of cowboys, (who have got their cake and eaten it), in the first place and are making everyone else suffer for it.

I think everyone sees that now, but it isn't and we are where we are. The big factors are how much Yorkcourt are currently able to commit (as numerous people have said they simply can't afford to pay the full £10 million) and how much value there is to them in developing all of the land at Newmarket. Would they be open to some sort of deal for say a 10,000 capacity stadium, funded by the £2 million from the council and then say £4 million from Yorkcourt plus the council loaning the other £4 million with the club paying the council say £30k-£40k a year which would be in excess of the interest on that loan (at current interest rates anyway). Yorkcourt, who have presumably been biding their time hoping we go away without them having to build anything, are then free to develop the remaining land, which would presumably make them well in excess of £8 million long term meaning they could pay back the council in full and have a nice profit on top. Or is that too optimistic?

I've heard a rumour that the whole Newmarket site is potentially worth £300 million...don't know if that is anywhere near the mark or not, though ???

It certainly should have come first, yet hindsight is a wonderful thing. What we didn't bank on is the developer being as much of a pain in the backside. And because of that the council shouldn't take the loan risk, as a council tax payer i don't want my money to be propping up companies like them who can't or won't pay their way. The money will disappear and the rest of Wakefield will pick up the tab. Community stadium or not sadly most aren't fussed whether its gets built or not but they sure as hell don't want their tax bill going up because of it. Not a way to make friends and influence people. And as has been mentioned, every other organisation i. The district will be wanting the same treatment.

The new trust has definately muddied the water further but i hope a compromise can be found. If we hold out for the original deal and that deal only then we may as well fold the cards now, it's pretty plain that it isn't going to happen. There has to be middle ground though where all can gain some benefit even if its not exactly what either side would want in a perfect world. As long as the club can grow, even if it's at a slightly slower rate than we would initially liked, then it is better than the alternative.

There is a potential deal that would deliver a 10,000 capacity stadium which we all thought was going to come to fruition after Peter Box's announcement in the Council chamber of a new multi party Section 106 Agreement. The Trust met with Yorkcourt and everything seemed to be on track for the end of July deadline.

Then Roderrs appears back on the scene with allegedly a new Trust that still has not been registered with Companies House and the Developer claiming he only wants to work with Roderrs Trust.

Peter Box now calls for a merging of the Trusts. What a load of nonsense.

The solution is simple. The Council tell the Developer that they are dealing with the Trust that they established in 2009 and not Rodney's Trust. Either Rodney accepts the invitation to rejoin the Trust he Chaired foe 7 years and works with us to deliver this stadium or he buggers off and let's us get on with it.

Simple isn't it. Well it is if everyone actually wants this stadium to be built.