Ashburton Grove News

[GoalsFrom50Out]

From the BBC:

Arsenal are poised to finally announce that building will start on their new £400m stadium at Ashburton Grove, according to reports.

The project has been on ice while the Arsenal hierarchy resolved funding difficulties, leading to speculation that the entire scheme to move from Highbury may be shelved.

But it is claimed that leading investors the Royal Bank of Scotland have now agreed details of a £260m loan as part of a six-bank consortium.

Arsenal have also crossed another hurdle with the imminent announcement of the inquiry into their request for compulsory purchase orders on manufacturing businesses remaining on the site.

The Gunners now hope work can start early in the new year on the 60,000-capacity stadium - which Arsenal see as vital to ensure they can compete with Manchester United.

Arsenal hope, if all goes to plan, that they will be able to open the stadium for the start of the 2006/07 season.

The new stadium was also seen as a key element in ensuring manager Arsene Wenger and top stars such as Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry remain at the club.

 

[moomba]

Originally written by the BBC
But it is claimed that leading investors the Royal Bank of Scotland have now agreed details of a £260m loan as part of a six-bank consortium.

Ouch, £260 million is a lot of moolah. Sure there will be long term game, but at what cost shirt term.

Sorry Dipper, couldn't resist.

Moomba

 

[Dipper]

Re: Re: Ashburton Grove News

Originally posted by moomba
Ouch, £260 million is a lot of moolah. Sure there will be long term game, but at what cost shirt term.

Sorry Dipper, couldn't resist.

Moomba

It'll either stop us spending big for the next 20 years(more Cygan's & Gilberto's) or bankrupt us, I fail to see any other alternative.

 

[Dan26]

Re: Re: Re: Ashburton Grove News

Originally posted by DIPPER
It'll either stop us spending big for the next 20 years(more Cygan's & Gilberto's) or bankrupt us, I fail to see any other alternative.

Is there a monetary figure on the guranteed amount of cash a club will receive for getting to a certain stage of the CL? Say, the semi-finals?

 

[Dipper]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ashburton Grove News

Originally posted by Dan26
Is there a monetary figure on the guranteed amount of cash a club will receive for getting to a certain stage of the CL? Say, the semi-finals?

Yeah there is, can't remember what it is offhand but it's few million for getting to the QF(then obviously a few more for the SF & F), obviously that's then compounded by the gate receipts & the TV money & ground advertising for the 2 matches.


On the new Stadium thing I read that the matchday revenues for each season at Arsenal are projected to go up from £28m to £60m but that payments on the loan will be £15m per year & added to that will be £15m of interest payments.

So really we'll be getting in another £32m a year & paying out another £30m a year, by my reckoning the loan repayments will last about 20 years.
These figures though are just the loan repayemnts for the £260m that we're borrowing, we've still had to find the other £140m ourselves from other sources such as overdraft facility ect.

So basically we're going to a great risk, literally mortgaging our future, on a project that will only really provide great dividends in a generation's time.
That's if everything goes right, but if interest rates shoot up or there's a downturn in either the global economy of the British economy or the interest in football that has spiralled in Britain in the last 7 years dips out then we could kiss bye to our club.

Or even if we just fail to replicate the great formm we've had since Wenger came which has seen us in the CL every year then we'd be in big trouble as well.

It's definitely a risky business, but a risk that wqe should survive, what I don't understand is the bullish way that Wenger keeps saying that the new stadium will give us the financial muscle to compete with the European elite, it might do in 20 years but I fail to see how our net income will increase while we still have to service a £260m loan.

 

[tribey]

All this reminds me, what's happening with Everton's Kings Dock project or was it scrapped?

 

[Dipper]

Originally posted by dyertribe
All this reminds me, what's happening with Everton's Kings Dock project or was it scrapped?

I think it's on hold, the local council have been trying to persaude Liverpool to share their new stadium with Everton but Liverpool aren't at all keen.
Teh fact that they're doing this would suggest that Everton aren't confident of getting it done on their own.