The New Stadium

JonnyBiscuits

I attended the Stand United Community Something Or Other webinar last night. Didn't learn anything enormously new, though interestingly they did suggest that supporters will be involved in the process to help determine the fundamental style of the stadium etc. beginning with initial design concept stuff this month.

In reality I'm not sure there will be that much flexibility there, and our 'options' will be a relatively limited selection, and it probably won't amount much more to a bit of promo dressed up as consultation. But will still be nice to see some stuff.

Though just to get this out there, it remains my prediction that the county will wave through the lease approval, but we'll come a cropper in the CDC Planning Committee on the Green Belt issue. Land only seems to get removed from the Green Belt or development allowed on it, if it helps the district council meet its strategic housing/economic development targets.

Having said that, I've never attended a CDC Planning Committee and they might be more maverick than I'm used to.

JonnyBiscuits

Oh, and back to the name thing briefly, I can live with most things but these are examples of the very worst stadium names ever and I'm absolutely convinced this is the kind of thing we'll end up with:

The Brentford Community Stadium
The Colchester Community Stadium
The York Community Stadium
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

LeftSider

It was interesting to hear that Kassam terminated the initial licence before the Blackpool play-off game in 21, before relenting and agreeing a new one just for that fixture. We’re now on the third licence, which terminates in 2026.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

LeftSider I'd be interested to know what the grounds were for terminating the licence. I have a copy of the original one lurking around on a hard drive somewhere which I'll have to dig out but, from memory, I don't think Firoka had the ability to unilaterally terminate the licence.

The only unilateral option in there was, on ending of the initial licence term, for the club to extend the licence on the same terms for another 25 year period.

brinyhoof

A useful argument to counter the ‘why do they have to leave/why can’t they buy the Kassam’ brigade. Who would want to do business with Firoka?

JonnyBiscuits

Ah I was distracted when they were saying that so I didn't fully grasp it. That's an eye-opener... Imagine if we'd just been given the heave-ho without notice at the end of a season!

They asked my question about the kind of hotel firm they were looking at for the stadium but didn't ask the second part of the question about if we'd be inviting Mr K to lease it as a well known local hotelier.

JonnyBiscuits

I wasn't even all that interested in the hotel thing, I just wanted to make the Kassam gag.

brinyhoof

Glad you had a chance to get the gag over to some of us, JB. I mean, setting up a forum and going through the whole rigmarole of invites, threads, posts, etc seems excessive but gotta do what you gotta do!

JonnyBiscuits

I regret nothing.

LeftSider

The following isn’t fact, but it is what I have been told:

It was terminated after a dispute concerning payment of services delivered by Firoka to the club. During the pandemic, OUFC argued that it should not be liable for the normal charges due because the services were not delivered. Firoka used the Force Majeure clause to support their stance, arguing that they were not at fault. The two parties could not agree, so termination was made for a material breach of contract.

True? Who knows. Believable? I think so.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

LeftSider I've just checked the Land Registry entry for the stadium, and it only refers to the licence dated 26th March 2006.

If something as fundamental as the licence being revoked did actually happen, I'd be surprised that it wasn't reported. I'd be particularly disappointed in OxVox if they were aware and didn't report on this.

As you say, it's believable that Kassam could have done this, but I'd definitely like to see it confirmed by a 'reputable source'.

SiHath

We had an agreement in place to play the play off semi final v Blackpool at Wycombe if an agreement couldn't be made.

JonnyBiscuits

Jeepers. What was the agreement in the end? Give in and pay them what they were asking?

brinyhoof

FK’s usual “if you don’t like it you can piss off” clause.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

Ah, apparently this has come from the club itself:

_Oxford United have held three licences since the Stadium was constructed. These are:

An Original licence dated 21st March 2006 that was originally due to expire in 2026 but was terminated by Firoka (Oxford United Stadium) Limited on 9th May 2021;

A short licence that permitted use until June 2021 to allow a play-off match to be played in May 2021; and

The current licence which started on 1st July 2021 and expires on 30th June 2026.

Under the terms of the original licence and as a result of Covid 19, Firoka (Oxford United Stadium) Limited terminated the original licence which it was legally entitled to do. The current licence terms were subsequently agreed to allow continued use until 30 June 2026._

I have to say, I'm absolutely staggered that this wasn't reported on at the time.

oxblogger

Might it be an administrative quirk? 9th May was the last day of the season, we didn't know we were in the play-offs until the end of that game. Might Firoka have terminated the licence in anticipation of the season ending with the intention of re-negotiating terms given uncertainties around the following season and whether fans would be allowed back.

LeftSider

There was a thread on YellowsForum at the time, entitled Whistleblower. It detailed some of what happened, but as it was from a new forum member, it was, incorrectly, roundly dismissed as nonsense.

JonnyBiscuits

They sure don't like a newbie on there, do they?

LeftSider

They don’t.

I was a regular user of it until the end of last season but decided to stop. It’s a pretty mean-spirited and often spiteful place, which is a shame as there are some very informed people on there. I still visit for a read when something interesting is happening, but I no longer contribute.