Rovers to run stadium - BBC

[Drover]

I wonder how much a year we'll be paying then.

£100k

  Index linked

[Standanista]

I was lead to believe in the original plans the roof was easily removable for expansion to 20,000 but this was scrapped due to cost cutting, which means the sign saying easily extendable is misleading. But I could be wrong...

The firm which did the cost estimates screwed up, basically.  For a 15,000 seater with floating roof, extendible to 20,000 relatively easily, plus surrounding complex, the firm said £32m all in.  There was funding from more than just one source but the council stumped up the lion's share of that money.  This firstly had to get approved by the relevant council budget committee, which it was, and the money was made available.

However, when the engineers did the detailed designed work to actually build the thing, it turned out that £32m wasn't enough, so to work within budget, they had to cut certain features, and this included the floating roof and expandable capacity.  Had the estimators got it right in the first place, there's a good chance that a higher figure could have been proposed to and approved by the council, but once the original proposal was passed, that was that.  There was no chance of changing the figures once the original funding had been signed off, so the builders had to work within the £32m budget provided.  That, in a nutshell, is what I understand happened.

[Drover]

Thing is, we'd never fill a 20,000 seater.

I wonder if the cost of the lease is less/more than what they were charging us in rent?
EDIT: Beaten to it 

I don't know if im right,but my take on it is,we are currently paying about £250,000 a year,negiotable yearly,the lease will be cheaper £100,000 a year index linked,But the profit or loss from running it will now be Rovers responsibility to profit or pay out?Hopefully,it will be better run,and the Rovers will be a little financially better off aswell as all the benefit from being able to make decisions previously made by SMC which often caused problems/conflicts for Rovers staff/management and fans.

[Drover]

Do we save on club shop rent too?

I would have thought that already be part of the rent we paid,so I would say yes,it should be included in the new lease.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Well, let's just imagine that the club won't run the stadium with a plan written on the back of a fag packet and let's believe they will come up with a sensible business plan (I'm sure the basics will be in place already)

I don't think Gavin Baldwin has been appointed just to sit on his arse and watch the place decay before our very eyes.

One thing I will say when JR got hold of Belle Vue, they actually turned a wreck of a ground in to something that was actually quite a reasonable place to watch football. No reason to believe the club shouldn't make a better success of running the thing.

Through the fan survey, they have a head start in knowing what fans want.   

[danrover82]

I fail to see how the club would make a profit from the stadium when the SMC couldnt?

If the tenants are the same and the same financial outlays are to be met, how can we make more money running the Stadium.

Are we not just signing up to more debt?

[Standanista]

Depends on the quality of the management team running it.  Had Diamond Dave been in charge I don't doubt that the thing would have sunk into the carrs with naught but the tops of the floodlights sticking above the surface.  Hopefully, with a new team in place closer to the calibre of JR and the KM2, we can make it work both as a going concern in itself and to boost Rovers as a club.

[danrover82]

I agree regarding Diamond Dave, but it doesnt change the finacial picture that much does it ?

If the SMC were losing £200k a year  ( which i think was being reported) how the hell do our club make that in savings and extra revenue to meet that and raise?

Concerts were certainly not working for extra money .

[coventryrover]

How about we fill the stadium for a good few years before talking about expansion.


I origianlly thought 15K might be a bit low but they got it bang on.


The support needs buidling first to a steady, larger, level

[Standanista]

I agree regarding Diamond Dave, but it doesnt change the finacial picture that much does it ?

If the SMC were losing £200k a year  ( which i think was being reported) how the hell do our club make that in savings and extra revenue to meet that and raise?

Concerts were certainly not working for extra money .

A good point of course.  I guess a twin-track approach is necessary:

1. Better revenue streams for Rovers as a club, from more fans through the turnstiles and through other Rovers-related income.  Most of that comes through better marketing, a word we've heard before, and failures in that regard in the past are a DD-related issue.

2. For every DD at DRFC it would appear there have been several in the old SMC.  Turning around a £200 p.a loss won't be simple, but looking at the financial ins and outs of a concern the size of the KMS, nor should it be an insurmountable task either, with a better management team.

[hoolahoop]

As I see it ,we will have a facility that has been under-utilised in every way and generally the fanbase have not embraced those facilities quite simply because a) they never felt the money was going to the club and b)the catering never took into account the wants and needs of our fans.
We now have someone other than Diamond Dave who has proven abilities to turn businesses around in Gavin  and you can be sure he will explore every possible revenue stream.
This site CAN make a profit by using the many areas of the stadium which have never/rarely been used in the correct manner, marketed in the correct manner hence the negative comments on here. Quite simply many can't see how we can do it because they have a negative opinion of the stadium facilities................wait and see but it won't happen overnight.

[Drover]

I agree regarding Diamond Dave, but it doesnt change the finacial picture that much does it ?

If the SMC were losing £200k a year  ( which i think was being reported) how the hell do our club make that in savings and extra revenue to meet that and raise?

Concerts were certainly not working for extra money .

Look at it this way though.Im not sure on the exact figures,but I believe we currently pay around £250,000-£275,000 a year rent.Under the new lease we will pay £100,000.If we make the same loss as the SMC(£200,000) we will have a total layout of £300,000 for the year!Not much more than we pay now,but we run the place and have more ability to provide a much improved service.And Im confident we could reduce the yearly loss by £25,000 atleast,which would make it £275,000.What we pay now!

[silent majority]

Before you can decide on whether DRFC can bridge the gap in revenue that the SMC failed to do then you have to have more knowledge of the existing contracts, what terms and conditions were imposed and what incentives were included. Its fair to say that none of the initial contracts had any financial incentives included and therefore we all saw some very poor performances from the service providers. That will all change.

Furthermore restrictions were also in place on DRFC making use of the Stadium in addition to their allocated 23 day contract and horrific charges were in place for anything extra to the contract. That will now cease of course and you will see many more opportunities for social gatherings and functions that are Rovers related.

To be fair we, as in the VSC, have had some considerable discussions with various Rovers management about how we can maximise our joint opportunities, both with transforming the stadium to make it more 'Roverfied' (is that a word?) and also utilising many more of the existing facilities to provide better income streams targeted at us as supporters.

We will all have an input in this through the 'In Rovers We Trust' project. When we start to meet face to face your input will be required and listened to.

 

[Filo]

As you say, we don`t know the current contractual arrangements, but I would like to think that when the current contracts end, Rovers could help boost the local economy by getting local people to run the catering etc, even approach local Bookies to have a kiosk on the concourses, seeing as the big bookies don`t seem interested

[Red wizard]

Yeah i hope they get a bookies back. Its a pain having to go and put a bet on before the game. Much better just doing it at the ground. Not sure why they stopped. They will of made money one would think.

[Glyn_Wigley]

One thing I'd like to know is who is responsible for the general maintenance...the Council as the landlord or Rovers as the tenant...that could be a sizable amount of money every year as the ground gets older...

[Drover]

Furthermore restrictions were also in place on DRFC making use of the Stadium in addition to their allocated 23 day contract and horrific charges were in place for anything extra to the contract. That will now cease of course and you will see many more opportunities for social gatherings and functions that are Rovers related.

 

That stinks.How could anyone,including the council or public benefit from such restrictions is beyond me.That seems like just a power mad move by the SMC.

Thanks for the info SM.The future looks Red/White.

[WBDRFC]

I agree regarding Diamond Dave, but it doesnt change the finacial picture that much does it ?

If the SMC were losing £200k a year  ( which i think was being reported) how the hell do our club make that in savings and extra revenue to meet that and raise?

Concerts were certainly not working for extra money .

Look at it this way though.Im not sure on the exact figures,but I believe we currently pay around £250,000-£275,000 a year rent.Under the new lease we will pay £100,000.If we make the same loss as the SMC(£200,000) we will have a total layout of £300,000 for the year!Not much more than we pay now,but we run the place and have more ability to provide a much improved service.And Im confident we could reduce the yearly loss by £25,000 atleast,which would make it £275,000.What we pay now!

The SMC is losing £300k per year with a rent from DRFC of £280k per year. Without the rent, the loss would be £580k per year. DRFC will be saving ~£180k per year in rent, so the stadium loss will still be £400k per year. Together with the rent, this will equate to £500k per year - more than double what we pay now.

[silent majority]

Furthermore restrictions were also in place on DRFC making use of the Stadium in addition to their allocated 23 day contract and horrific charges were in place for anything extra to the contract. That will now cease of course and you will see many more opportunities for social gatherings and functions that are Rovers related.

 

That stinks.How could anyone,including the council or public benefit from such restrictions is beyond me.That seems like just a power mad move by the SMC.

Thanks for the info SM.The future looks Red/White.

My figures are slightly wrong Drover, but not far out. The actual figures are for 25 days per year plus cup matches, and that was at a guaranteed rent for the next 25 years, not difficult then to see why the council needed out! But again not strictly their fault, they did employ a cost consultant/advisory company to draw up the budget prior to agreeing the deal and its their figures that were drastically wrong. I know its easy to criticise the SMC but the reality is they would never have balanced the books based on the original budgets.

And to all those Rovers fans who are on here forecasting doom and gloom then you are very wide of the mark. I've said a few times that we have been asked for our input which we have provided and continue to do so but expect some very realistic changes to the operating structure of the Keepmoat for next season. Expect to see quite a few cosmetic changes too, family area and others. Furthermore, the actual lease deal is a little more complicated than people would imagine, but again that is being done for everybody's benefit, not least some of the smaller tenants.

[donnyroversfc]

The club are amateur at the best of times, so i held out no hope that they could make the stadium into a profitable asset for the club whatsoever.*




*this is MY opinion, dont like it then tough.

[silent majority]

The club are amateur at the best of times, so i held out no hope that they could make the stadium into a profitable asset for the club whatsoever.*




*this is MY opinion, dont like it then tough.

You are replying to who exactly?

[donnyroversfc]

To nobody specific. Just adding to the thread that i dont think the club could make a profit out of the stadium.

[wilts rover]

The club are amateur at the best of times, so i held out no hope that they could make the stadium into a profitable asset for the club whatsoever.*




*this is MY opinion, dont like it then tough.

You are replying to who exactly?

Nobody in particular, he just likes the sound of his own opinion as often as possible, had you not noticed?

*this is MY opinion, dont like it then tough!!

[donnyroversfc]

That is what forums are about, voicing your own opinions... We must ALL like the sound of our own opinions 

[RoversAlias]

Yeah was gonna say, does every post on this forum have to be a direct reply to somebody else? Don't think so, he was offering his thoughts on the thread topic, what is wrong with that?

[wilts rover]

Yeah was gonna say, does every post on this forum have to be a direct reply to somebody else? Don't think so, he was offering his thoughts on the thread topic, what is wrong with that?

A lot of people have just put a lot of hard work into planning and delivering a survey into how the club can work with its supporters. From what I understand via posts on here, there is also a lot more work going on too. Some people want DRFC and the VSC to succeed. I dont believe this particular poster is one of them, as he has proved in many, many posts, not just the above ignorant one, and is only concerned with stirring up trouble for his own particular purposes.

Again, my opinion.

[donnyroversfc]

An opinion which you are entitled too wilts... But i've not posted on this thread to stir up any trouble at all. If i had i would have written a smart arse reply back to either you or Silent Majority.

Ofcourse i want the club to succeed, i just think they way they have gone about certain things these past 2 years or so have given me no confidence at all that they could actually do a good job with something as big as running the KM well.

[GM-MarkB]

As a 'smaller' tenant, i've always had a great relationship with everyone at the Stadium since we started playing our games on Pitch 2 when the complex opened. However one thing that has always been missing for us is after match hospitality.

The current contract holders have always asked us for a fee to open up the Lakeside Suite after our games just to have a beer...or to avoid the fee, we can purchase food for everyone. Trouble is that food is overpriced (not bad quality though as I have sampled it on many occassions) and out of our budget. So we've always gone elsewhere. We have around 100 people associated with ourselves and our opponents every time we play, plus family and friends who have come to watch. The Stadium has always missed out on an after game income simply because we don't want to pay for the privelige of paying to have a beer or 2 afer the game. In the scheme of things, we can't generate an income the same as 7000 Rovers fans but neverthe less, it's still money the Stadium could be making

Also the cost involved in using the facility to train every week have prohibited us from doing so.

I had a pleasant meeting with Gaving Baldwin last evening where we discussed how we can utilise the Stadium to OUR maximum. I'm hoping that once the lease agreement has been, well, agreed, we'll be able to make the KMS more of a home for the Mustangs rather than just a venue to play our games.

We're proud to play at the Stadium and want to use it to the full

[Andy Thompson]

As a 'smaller' tenant, i've always had a great relationship with everyone at the Stadium since we started playing our games on Pitch 2 when the complex opened. However one thing that has always been missing for us is after match hospitality.

The current contract holders have always asked us for a fee to open up the Lakeside Suite after our games just to have a beer...or to avoid the fee, we can purchase food for everyone. Trouble is that food is overpriced (not bad quality though as I have sampled it on many occassions) and out of our budget. So we've always gone elsewhere. We have around 100 people associated with ourselves and our opponents every time we play, plus family and friends who have come to watch. The Stadium has always missed out on an after game income simply because we don't want to pay for the privelige of paying to have a beer or 2 afer the game. In the scheme of things, we can't generate an income the same as 7000 Rovers fans but neverthe less, it's still money the Stadium could be making

Also the cost involved in using the facility to train every week have prohibited us from doing so.

I had a pleasant meeting with Gaving Baldwin last evening where we discussed how we can utilise the Stadium to OUR maximum. I'm hoping that once the lease agreement has been, well, agreed, we'll be able to make the KMS more of a home for the Mustangs rather than just a venue to play our games.

We're proud to play at the Stadium and want to use it to the full

is that in preparation for the NFL league you are joining as opposed to the college league? as my guys have perfected the NFL pitch markings now!! :-)

[GM-MarkB]

Bunch of clown shoe wearing bandits