Wimbledon Stadium: Some Important News

[Beckford Boy 6]

 

It seems that the next stage in the saga will take place in April when Merton Council meet to consider the observations made by the Government Inspector.They will then further discuss the intentions of both Galliard and Mr.Taggart for the future of the site.It's anybody's guess when they will make a final decision,unfortunatly RCP/Galliard hold the trump card in that they already own the site and they appear to be L.B.Merton's preferred option.The final shout though will be that of NAMA,they will naturally go with the highest bidder.

[arthur cross 492]

Have the new silencers introduced a couple of years ago made a significant difference to the decibel readings?

 

Perhaps yes for a general measurement of any speedway noise drifting towards any housing estate at least a few hundred yards away from a track ... however, probably not by a wide enough margin to prevent it still being regarded as "very noisy" if you live somewhere overlooking a track on a combined stadium/housing estate.

Edited February 6, 2014 by arthur cross

[Dave C 42]

Sadly the return of the Dons seems very remote, even if the Greyhound plans ever do come to fruition.

 

An interesting animation of the proposed stadium development, with no hint of a speedway / stock car track, surrounded by flats:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6DB1dzDtcM

 

I also can't help but fear for the future of speedway in Swindon, as again the prospect of a motorsport venue surrounded by residential property seems very unlikely.

[Beckford Boy 6]

 

Sky Sports News website are reporting that Galliard have agreed with West Ham United to buy the Boleyn ground when the Hammers move to the Olympic stadium in a couple of years time. Seems like they have an appetite for sporting venues.

[arthur cross 492]

West Ham United very much talking up their deal with Galliard as a 3-way partnership between themselves, Galliard & Newham Council to make sure there are plenty of footballing tributes built into the housing redevelopment of the current ground (a statue of Bobby Moore plus each of the housing blocks or streets having footballing titles).

 

I don't know which company did the housing redevelopment of Highbury around a decade ago after Arsenal's move to the Emirates Stadium but that was done very neatly with the pitch area turned into a smart communal garden for the flats built where the four stands previously stood (as some of those stands were listed buildings, much of the outside decoration of those stands had to remain intact) ... reveloping Upton Park doesn't look so tricky because I don't think there are any listed buildings in the way of a complete demolition of the current stadium.

 

So that's now one London borough council (Newham) clearly linking up with Galliard, another London borough council (Merton) supposed to still look impartial about Wimbledon Stadium's future but seemingly leaning towards Galliard (certainly according to most greyhound observers) but Oxford City Council remaining downright comtemptuous of Galliard's plans for what happens next at their local dogs/speedway venue.

 

The key difference ... Galliard reckon there's room for 700 new residences at Upton Park and 600 at Plough Lane (both commanding inner-London-suburb property prices) so that's a lot more prospective council tax from those sites compared to just the 220 new residences Galliard want to build in one of Oxford's relatively poorer suburbs.

Edited February 10, 2014 by arthur cross

[MattK 3,447]

As a lifelong wimbledon fan i think the stadium has little chance of surviving as a greyhound or speedway venue. Both sports are in decline and who in their right mind would invest millions of pounds in building a new stadium for about a 1000 people. For this reason I fear that swindon will soon join oxford and reading as a former speedway venue. There is no money in speedway anymore, you only have to look at the strength of the elite league to realise that.

 

The thing that depresses me is when you look at an aerial view of a venue and see just how much space the stadium and associated car parking takes up. I can't see how any of the clubs you mentioned will avoid having their tracks turned into something more profitable in the near future.

[Parsloes 1928 nearly 495]

Yes, the facades of both the East & West Stands of the former Arsenal Stadium remain intact. I go past here every working day and it doesn't lessen the pain of losing the ground I loved so much to see those remnants remaining...

Naming roads after memories from the demolished stadium has happened in West Ham before - with the streets on the site of the former Speedway stadium in Custom House including Hoskins Close, Croombs Road, Young Road, Wilkinson Road and Atkinson Road. Again doesn't really lessen the pain or reduce in any way the loss.

[cityrebel 2,960]

Too right derek, west ham is my all time favourite speedway track and highbury is my football clubs spiritual home. Wimbledon stadium the home of my beloved dons will soon be joining those two defunct iconic london sporting venues.

[ABS 231]

West Ham United very much talking up their deal with Galliard as a 3-way partnership between themselves, Galliard & Newham Council to make sure there are plenty of footballing tributes built into the housing redevelopment of the current ground (a statue of Bobby Moore plus each of the housing blocks or streets having footballing titles).

 

I don't know which company did the housing redevelopment of Highbury around a decade ago after Arsenal's move to the Emirates Stadium but that was done very neatly with the pitch area turned into a smart communal garden for the flats built where the four stands previously stood (as some of those stands were listed buildings, much of the outside decoration of those stands had to remain intact) ... reveloping Upton Park doesn't look so tricky because I don't think there are any listed buildings in the way of a complete demolition of the current stadium.

 

So that's now one London borough council (Newham) clearly linking up with Galliard, another London borough council (Merton) supposed to still look impartial about Wimbledon Stadium's future but seemingly leaning towards Galliard (certainly according to most greyhound observers) but Oxford City Council remaining downright comtemptuous of Galliard's plans for what happens next at their local dogs/speedway venue.

 

The key difference ... Galliard reckon there's room for 700 new residences at Upton Park and 600 at Plough Lane (both commanding inner-London-suburb property prices) so that's a lot more prospective council tax from those sites compared to just the 220 new residences Galliard want to build in one of Oxford's relatively poorer suburbs.

Think you'll find it was Galliard who were behind the redevelopment of Highbury

[theflyingkiwi 136]

Gaillard have also won the contract for Upton Park redevelopment when West Ham move to the Olympic Stadium.

[arthur cross 492]

A date for the diary?

 

Monday, February 17. Protest regarding Wimbledon Stadium plans.

www.racingpost.com/news/greyhounds/wimbledon-show-of-passion-confirmed-as-2pm-february-17-at-city-hall/1599872/

 

 

Totally understandable that the greyhound industry defiantly wants to remain the primary sport at Wimbledon Stadium and Monday's event at City Hall should present that defiance to a wider audience in a very good light.

 

But a "Show of Passion" still does nothing to solve the overwhelming problem for those working within greyhound racing, namely their paymaster at Wimbledon Stadium still owes many millions of pounds (that are well overdue) relating to their existing use of that site.

[michaelcroucher 30]

It seems that Arthur thinks that if money is owed then a sport cant take place. We all know that Wimbledon Greyhounds owes the Irish Banks lots of money but we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. I believe that if support is there then the Irish Bank might say ok carry on with the sport. We don’t know that homes will ever be built there or a football ground. We can only presume that a football stadium with homes are going to be built because that is a quick way to make money and not be in debt. But lets look at the bigger picture. It might take 5 yrs + to make the homes and then to sell them. The Irish bank might say we are not going to wait that long. They have to look at everything just encase these homes never do happen. Im not glad that the greyhound have wrote letters to Boris. They seem to be on the case and doing something but as supporters for speedway what are we doing. I believe that if you give a fight for something and shout loud then you might stand a chance. I have already said this on this topic but I know a few people have said it will never happen. By not doing anything and talking about it on here then nothing will ever happen be active like the greyhounds are and it might have a bit of a chance.

 

I don’t mean to be horrible to Arthur as he has been great on writing articles on this, and what I have wrote is not having ago at Arthur.

[weatherwatcher 664]

It is a shame if this goes ahead as a housing development. So many stadiums around the country have had to suffer this over the years. Poor old Weymouth is one that sticks in my mind.

They lost thier track to housing and have been turned down, on a few more occasions with planning application for a new site.

They haven't given up the fight the last time I looked but it seems that they are fighting a losing battle against the local autharities.

It is a shame to see the loss of any speedway stadiums in this country.

All they can do is try to fight as hard as they can to keep our sport going at tracks throughout the country.

The biggest problem being the land holders who can make far more out of the land by selling it for housing than they ever will from renting it out to a speedway club/greyhound track.

[salty 2,202]

It seems that Arthur thinks that if money is owed then a sport cant take place. We all know that Wimbledon Greyhounds owes the Irish Banks lots of money but we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. I believe that if support is there then the Irish Bank might say ok carry on with the sport. We don’t know that homes will ever be built there or a football ground. We can only presume that a football stadium with homes are going to be built because that is a quick way to make money and not be in debt. But lets look at the bigger picture. It might take 5 yrs + to make the homes and then to sell them. The Irish bank might say we are not going to wait that long. They have to look at everything just encase these homes never do happen. Im not glad that the greyhound have wrote letters to Boris. They seem to be on the case and doing something but as supporters for speedway what are we doing. I believe that if you give a fight for something and shout loud then you might stand a chance. I have already said this on this topic but I know a few people have said it will never happen. By not doing anything and talking about it on here then nothing will ever happen be active like the greyhounds are and it might have a bit of a chance.

 

I don’t mean to be horrible to Arthur as he has been great on writing articles on this, and what I have wrote is not having ago at Arthur.

You might not be horrible to Arthur, but you continually miss the point!

There are two proposed developments for the site. One for a football ground and houses and one for a greyhound track and houses. The fact that houses is in both plans means that the chances of Speedway (or indeed any motor sport) being involved is slim.The housing is in both plans because that is what is funding the proposals.

There was talk from the Taggart people that they would look favourably on Speedway, but that seems to have cooled over recent months. The fact that the local residents are currently backing the Taggart development can't be helpful for our sports chances.

[arthur cross 492]

It seems that Arthur thinks that if money is owed then a sport cant take place.

You've got the totally wrong end of the stick there ... I've been involved in various ways in all sorts of levels of sport (amateur and professional) since 1980 and have been happy to be around many of those activities where money's been owed, providing it's clear how that money's going to be paid up in due course.

 

The Wimbledon Stadium situation is different ... although on a day-to-day basis, the greyhound racing seems to cover its costs (including any interest payments on the Irish loans) but any profit it makes doesn't seem to be making anywhere near enough progress in paying off those Irish loans and, therefore, it's almost certain those Irish loans will never be paid off any time soon (if ever) just by carrying on with the existing use of the site.

 

In such circumstances, my money-related view (already explained several times on this thread) is simply that whatever development happens next at Wimbledon Stadium (football, greyhounds, other sports, housing, shops, industrial units or any combinations of those categories) can only go ahead once those who are still owed the multi-millions from the existing use of the site are either paid in full or reach agreement with those who currently own the site ... in others words, the Irish banks (represented by Nama) are either paid in full or reach agreement with Galliard.

 

In your own life, would you let any aspect of it go on to another stage if there was money owed (even just a few quid) on its exisitng stage and you could do something about it ? ... the Wimbledon Stadium saga is a multi-million-pound version of the same principle !!

 

At the moment, it's clear Nama's view of what happens next is that Galliard build and sell enough houses on the site to satisfy the Irish banks' repayment demands ... hence. Nama are backing Galliard's preferred future development of a football stadium plus 600 houses, much to the frustration of Paschal Taggart's plans to revamp the venue for greyhound racing plus 400-to-450 houses.

 

We don’t know that homes will ever be built there or a football ground. We can only presume that a football stadium with homes are going to be built because that is a quick way to make money and not be in debt.

What we do know is that Merton Council held its 2-day hearing last month, ready for a report that's expected in April, as its way to find anyone's realistic plans for the future use of the Wimbledon Stadium site given the council's determination that anyone's plans must use at least part of the site for a community sporting venue.

 

All the plans that were brought along to that 2-day hearing included some degree of house building along with various types of sports facilities and shops.

 

By not doing anything and talking about it on here then nothing will ever happen be active like the greyhounds are and it might have a bit of a chance.

Until speedway can attach itself to any realistic plan for the future of Wimbledon Stadium that doesn't include plenty of housing, then speedway has a desperately tiny chance (certainly much smaller than your "bit of a chance") of returning to Wimbledon regardless of how "active" it tries to be like the greyhound "Show of Passion".

 

The existing debts to the Irish banks are massively beyond the reach of speedway to solve on its own ... given the overall circumstances, I'd fully understand any potential speedway promoter deciding to devote his/her effort/money towards other venues with a better chance than Wimbledon of hosting the sport.

 

It might look as if speedway's "not doing anything" about Wimbledon but surely it's better to do something elsewhere with a better chance of success.

 

It's different for all the various aspects of the greyhound industry ... their current livelihoods are at stake (rather than the revival of a sport that used to be staged there) and, thanks to Paschal Taggart, they have a realistic plan to continue making a living at that site ... hence, given that situation, I can fully understand them putting together a project like the "Show of Passion" in the hope of saving those livelihoods.

 

But they're also desperately avoiding having to answer the question of how to repay the multi-millions to Nama's satisfaction by building only 400-to-450 homes under the Taggart plan compared to building 600 homes under the Galliard/AFC Wimbledon plan.

 

I don’t mean to be horrible to Arthur as he has been great on writing articles on this, and what I have wrote is not having ago at Arthur.

Thanks for those good wishes ... and the best way you can thank me in return is by respecting the current facts about this saga (especially what sort of plans were presented at the planning hearing last month).

 

= = = = = = = = = =

 

PS ... thanks to "salty" (while I was writing this post) for also trying to explain my frustrations with "michaelcroucher" struggling to grasp the economic side of this saga ... I fully respect this forum's guideline of "attack the post, not the poster" but my goodness, I'm sometimes right on the border of that guideline here !!

Edited February 15, 2014 by arthur cross