In top form in a YP article today, praising the fans and saying how we've not lost a single sponsor. Also reaffirming his motivation - the club are working on all sorts at the moment - despite difficulties with the Allams. Could be a new training ground as well. Hope we can get a result Monday as the players are really looking forward to it.

Yeh great piece from Adam and well done to everyone who has stuck with him fans sponsors advertisers and box holders and thus galvanised his will to go toe to toe with the Allams for at present it is a spirit that seems to run through the club from the owner to the very players themselves. I guess that is the printable side of what we have been hearing about that situation from elsewhere. New stadium and training ground still on the agenda it seems.

Do we rent the training ground too?

The Allams own the training ground but we have a long(?) lease, so I assume that was a one off payment.

Got a feeling a training ground is in the offing

Our lease of KCom is expiring relatively soon, so this is probably focusing the thinking. Something needs to change, be it the relationship with the SMC, new owners of the SMC, or a new Stadium. Hull CC need to finally step up to the plate as well.
Glad AP seems re-enthused. We’d be lost without him.

We are blessed to have him after the Hetheringtons.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.york ... 8006%3famp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.york ... 8006%3famp

Very lucky to have him, and sometimes its actually better in the long run to have well established local sponsors than big corporates who will cancel at a moments notice.

Would love us to have our own training ground and stadium. Maybe buying a big site with 1 stand for academy and training games would be a first step, with more to be built later?

From a financial point of view you've got to wonder how much we pay out in the

Rent for the training ground
the SMC tenancy agreement I'm not sure of all the agreements but I guess there's a few financial hits
One being a percentage of ticket sales over 8500 , is it ? goes to the SMC
Somebody mentioned having to pay for Sneyd to practice kicks etc
Paying 53K out to play the Catalans game
Food and beverage sales how much do we keep if any at all

All which could be kept if we had our own stadium and training ground, and reinvested into the club

Which would cost, what, £30m?

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.hull ... 417347.amp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.hull ... 417347.amp

We would then have a hefty mortgage and ongoing maintenance.

Like the fact Adam’s bringing this out in the open, however I doubt the Allam’s will be bothered.
A more feasible option would be for Adam to lead a consortium to buy City and the SMC. Covid timing is unfortunate. This time last year would have been a better time to buy them, however with City’s promotion, the price will have just gone up.

Problem is I doubt the Allams have any real intention to sell the club and probably was all just a bluff. Had they had true intentions they would have sold it by now. Until the cash cow that is City, FC & the SMC runs dry I can’t see them leaving any time soon unless someone offers them way over the odds.

The issue is they control the SMC and as such use that to their full advantage which is very much open to abuse as has been shown with the acts of spite in the past

1. When they removed the Hull City Council logo outside the stadium
2. Stopped the use of community groups using the Arena
3. Removed most if not all Hull FC history/pictures etc from the walls of the stadium
4. Installed a security gate blocking a public access right of way (as terrorists wouldn’t go through West Park or down the access path from Anlaby Rd flyover to get to the stadium)

Just to name a few examples.

There is a very big conflict of interest which has a severe negative affect on both Hull FC and the council that own it along with the local community that the Stadium is supposed to serve.

The SMC (no matter who owns what) are a custodian of the Stadium and should be doing what is best for the Stadium, it’s tenants and the community which we all know it is doing none of that.

Its obvious the SMT should be independently run, but the council are gutless to take on the Allams.

What do you think the council [icould [/ido?

Take control of the SMC maybe, have someone sit on the committee, get more involved when they make decisions that show an obvious basis.

They own the stadium, they must be able to do something.

There must be some kind of legal recourse where the Council could give notice on the agreement with the SMC? Depends on the stomach for the fight?

Also depends on the clauses in the lease. Wasn’t it written by someone in the Council, who then went to work for the SMC though?
If so , wouldn’t hold out much hope.

Something needs to happen one way or the other though, as it’s presently untenable.

I feel the problem with the original deals was everyone got on too well, Pearson was and is an honest guy who genuinely wanted to improve Sport in Hull...but it seems nobody thought about what would happen when he moved on and sold the SMC.

There was also 'nice on paper' clauses like the Council getting a share of any profits made...this was never going to happen in reality. Commercial businesses find ways of creative accounting. Pearson and then Duffen ran the SMC just to break even, the Allams have used it as a debt dumping ground. This has sadly meant a lack of events at the Stadium, why spend hundreds of thousands to put a big name concert on, take a risk of seats not selling (and several didn't sell out, or had tickets sold cheaply late in the day) only to give a share of the profit to the council? Its meant the stadium stays empty most of the year.

You might argue, in this day and age, that the above is actually a very strong reason for questioning the credibility of the lease.

(Let's forget that AP was heavily involved in the early days, although the SMC did make a profit.)

There’s no food or beverages being served on Monday and will not until full attendance is allowed.
Others wanting the council to do something we saw they are powerless when bridgegate debacle took place. The stadium is run by whoever runs SMC, council remain owners of the land. That was what all the ho ha was about when the Allams wanted the ground as well.

Just to make it clear with all the reduction in grants and central funding the council suffered from they were and still are struggling to carry out their commitments on statutory services never mind sports arenas so they agreed with the SMC that providing they do all the repairs and maintenance of the Stadium the Council although still owners of it would relinquish all control of what happens there. Thats why the were powerless with Bridgegate to do anything. Also the Clubs lease is not running out, for it is for 50 years but after 25 it is up for review and the SMC although not able to chuck us out can change the terms and conditions of the lease and that's what Adam is worried about because if they are squeezing us now under the current agreement who knows what they will do come 2027 and the cost of legal battles over that would be phenomenal.

Wonder if there are break clauses in the lease, as well as review dates? Does a review have to be agreed by both parties as well?

The lease may also state the tenant can serve notice?

There must be some release mechanism, or I’d presume they wouldn’t waste their time looking into the possibility of moving grounds?

Lots of questions

Maybe explains why we’ve now got legal representation at board level.

That’s the problem with the deal that when it was written all parties where amicable but the council never thought of the consequences should the SMC get in the hands of someone with let’s say very different motives. The SMC in any capacity should have always had a board that consisted of a member of the SMC, Hull City, Hull FC, HCC and also some community representative.
Something should have been put in the clauses in terms ‘unfair terms’ if the agreement is being used in such a way that is against the principles of the agreement. It would seem that the council never gave the foresight to do this. The state of the KCOM last time I was there was pretty poor and it begs the question as to if they are even sticking to the agreement in terms of up keep & maintenance.

Whether the council like it or not unfortunately they may have to get their hands dirty and deal with an issue that they created instead of ignoring it in the hope it goes away.

Hull CC have kicked it into the long grass too many times, in the hope of avoiding confrontation. At the end of the day it was built using public money, with the idea of it being a community stadium.

It will come to a point where they can’t ignore it any further.