WST board recommend Racecourse Lease surrender

[Quay Red]

Originally Posted by podders

The current agreed covenant that we voted on as part of the sale was that the club could move the ground to within two miles of the Racecourse. This new covenant is adding in the requirement that any new ground would match the capacity of the racecourse and meets a grading of UEFA category 4.

Would you be happy with a new ground that was 10,300 capacity?

I'd be happy to move if it was deemed necessary but would expect a new stadium of minimum 20,000 capacity with future development potential if the owners vision is to be realised.

[Iesty]

Originally Posted by podders

The current agreed covenant that we voted on as part of the sale was that the club could move the ground to within two miles of the Racecourse. This new covenant is adding in the requirement that any new ground would match the capacity of the racecourse and meets a grading of UEFA category 4.

as clause 3.2a. The Racecourse will be our home until 2115, and in section 3.3 of the lease surrender document linked to above and copied below:

unless a new stadium of at least equivalent capacity which meets UEFA Category 4 Stadium status or equivalent was to be constructed as the home football stadium of Wrexham AFC in Wrexham County Borough within two miles of The Racecourse Ground.

[Iesty]

Originally Posted by Quay Red

Would you be happy with a new ground that was 10,300 capacity?

I'd be happy to move if it was deemed necessary but would expect a new stadium of minimum 20,000 capacity with future development potential if the owners vision is to be realised.

the owners would have to prove that they cannot feasibly expand the capacity of the Racecourse ground before a ground move was agreed upon. given the Kop is going to add, 5,500 to the current capacity that will be 16k. we could probably squeeze another 3 or 4 out of the current footprint if we are clever.

[Outertowner]

Originally Posted by Quay Red

Would you be happy with a new ground that was 10,300 capacity?

I'd be happy to move if it was deemed necessary but would expect a new stadium of minimum 20,000 capacity with future development potential if the owners vision is to be realised.

The only way i'd accept a move away from The Racecourse would be if we'd maxxed out the full potential of The Racecourse and still require more. I think we could easily put a 20-25k stadium on the current site. So if we're selling out week in week out then a move away is inevitable. I cant see that unless we're in or knocking on the door of the Premiership.

[Iesty]

Originally Posted by Outertowner

The only way i'd accept a move away from The Racecourse would be if we'd maxxed out the full potential of The Racecourse and still require more. I think we could easily put a 20-25k stadium on the current site. So if we're selling out week in week out then a move away is inevitable. I cant see that unless we're in or knocking on the door of the Premiership.

even then, Watford, Burnley, Portsmouth, QPR, Luton and Bournemouth have all played in the Prem with a circa 20k or less capacity.

[Jaded]

"The Trust Board is pleased to announce that negotiations with the Club have progressed well with regard to the proposed surrender of the existing lease to the Racecourse Ground, to be replaced by a legally binding covenant so that the Ground will only be used as the home football stadium of Wrexham AFC’s men’s first team until 30 June 2115."

This seems a really weird sentence to me. Are they saying no women's games, no international matches? Or would the women's team and the Wales team be fine to play some games because it wouldn't be the 'home stadium' that they played at regularly?

Seems like it would make more sense if the 'only' was moved to read "the Ground will be used as the only home football stadium of Wrexham AFC’s men’s first team until 30 June 2115."

[podders]

Originally Posted by Iesty

as clause 3.2a. The Racecourse will be our home until 2115, and in section 3.3 of the lease surrender document linked to above and copied below:

unless a new stadium of at least equivalent capacity which meets UEFA Category 4 Stadium status or equivalent was to be constructed as the home football stadium of Wrexham AFC in Wrexham County Borough within two miles of The Racecourse Ground.

If you go back to what was agreed during the sale of the club, what 98% of then trust members voted on :

Whilst the Buyer has no intention of changing any of the following heritage matters, the Buyer will need to obtain WST's prior consent with respect to:
4.2 Changing the playing location of the Wrexham AFC men's first team to a location more than 2 miles from the Racecourse Ground
https://wst.org.uk/?wpdmpro=wst-extr...formation-pack

So the only way to get any guarantee of future capacity or UEFA category 4 stadium is by agreeing to accept this lease surrender.

[fezbob]

I've got to be honest and say a lot of the finer points of that have gone totally over my head. How tightly binding is the covenant? I'd understood a random strip or similar might be used by way of security. Be useful if there's any who speaks legalese.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Jaded

Seems like it would make more sense if the 'only' was moved to read "the Ground will be used as the only home football stadium of Wrexham AFC’s men’s first team until 30 June 2115."

I would agree with that, and the logic.


Also, for anyone wondering what two miles looks like:



It would be interesting to know if the pitch freehold, or part of, was ever discussed internally by the WST, or the WST and the club, and why its not become a thing.

The one thing fans were taught from the dark days was Section 106's, Covenants, Big Promises... can't be relied on long term, and especially so if the faces making them change over the years.

That is not a pop at R+R, they have documented to the world perhaps why there is a skepticism DNA strand in the town

The vote will sail through, so then surely new Kop built in a day?