Crystal Palace Supporters' Trust

posted by Alan Palmer on Monday 28th of February 2011 04:52:03 PM

 

• Discussions with Dougie Freedman and the coaching staff about the “perfect” training ground
• Discussions with local authorities (Bromley, Croydon and Merton) about potential sites 

• Commissioning of a feasibility study by leading architects TP Bennett and football experts Arcadis.

Having heard the presentation and speech, members of the Trust had the opportunity to ask questions, and to have a general discussion about the proposals.

At the end of the meeting, a vote was taken, and it was agreed unanimously by those present, in addition to a further 215 proxy voters, to move forward with the project.

The aim of this initiative is both to have greater fan involvement in their club and to safeguard the future of the facility for decades to come. This innovative project, the first in England, will see fans becoming the club’s landlord.

 

 

 

Background to the training ground project

Introduction

Following the purchase of Crystal Palace Football Club by the CPFC2010 consortium, at an early stage a meeting was held between the Club’s co-chairman Steve Parish and the Trust’s chairman, Alan Palmer and vice-chair Raj Chandarana, to see how the club and Trust could work more closely together.

The core aim of all supporters’ trusts is for the fans to have a greater influence in the running of their football clubs. Whilst the ultimate goal is for supporters’ trusts to own part of their club, as is the case with Arsenal, or the whole club, as is the case with Exeter and AFC Wimbledon, most trusts would just like to work more closely with the owners of their clubs, and not be seen as a threat!

Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust had a pretty poor relationship with the previous owner, Simon Jordan. This was unhealthy and proved of little benefit to Jordan, the club or the fans. Therefore, it was essential that the Trust and new owners worked towards common aims.

Whilst the current owners are content with the ownership structures of the club at present – with four shareholders each owning 25% of the club and ground – they were keen for fans to have a long-lasting impact on the club. The owners have often mentioned that they are reluctant buyers, and at some point in the future intend to sell the club on. However, they are keen to safeguard the future of the club in the long-term, and see the involvement of the Trust as crucial to this.

Whilst the owners are fully focussed on improving facilities for fans, with their proposals to move from Selhurst Park to the National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace, the obvious project for fans to become involved in is obtaining a state of the art training facility for the club - a facility that meets the requirements of both the senior squad and the academy, and contributes to the long-term success of the club

It was agreed that the Trust would explore the possibility of acquiring some suitable land and build a new training facility that would be on a par with any ambitious football club. 

What is required

Following on from meetings with the owners, the Trust proceeded to the next part of the feasibility study, discussing the key requirements with the coaching staff at the club. From these discussions, the following brief emerged:

• An enclosed space

• A minimum of 4, ideally 6 full-sized pitches

• A building containing:

• Gym

• Offices

• Classrooms

• Restaurant / Canteen

• Rest areas

• Treatment rooms

• Laundry

• Press conference facilities

• A location with good transport links (for academy players) and secure parking facilities (for players and coaching staff) 
  

Finding a suitable site

The Trust has held meetings with key personnel in Bromley, Croydon and Merton, to see if suitable land can be identified for the trust to purchase / obtain on a very long (over 100 years) lease. During these discussions, it became clear that Bromley did not have any suitable sites. Croydon and Merton, on the other hand, did have potential sites – some owned by the relevant local authority which could be leased, and others which are commercially owned and would need to be purchased.

• Purley Way Playing Fields

• Ashburton Playing Fields

• The former NatWest Sports Club on Turle Road

Feasibility study

Following a tender process, TP Bennett, an architects practice based in SE1 which has expertise in building sports and community facilities, including a good track record of designing sports academies as part of the Building Schools for the Future project, secured the contract to undertake some initial design and costings work. They brought in football building experts Arcadis, who have recently overseen the development of Stoke Football Club’s new training ground, and are currently working on the redevelopment of White Hart Lane for Spurs. The initial desk exercise came up with some solid proposals for the layout of a training facility, which can be dragged and dropped into suitable sites. They also applied planning principles to take account of building on metropolitan open space and possible planning restrictions. Their work concluded that a suitable facility could be built at a cost in the region of £3 – 4 million.

Financing the project

Initial work was carried out to determine how the project could be funded. The bulk of the investment will come from a mix of these sources:

• Loan Notes where people loan the Trust money in multiples of £500, knowing that the loan is for an unspecified period, and that they may receive interest in the region of 3%, which would be generated by the rent charged to the football club

• Community Shares where people would purchase a community interest share in the training ground facility, and would be entitled to a similar return, with the possibility of some shareholders cashing in their share after a period 

• Major donor investment where wealthier fans of the club would contribute a larger sum, and would, as with the loan notes and community shares, receive a return on their investment. This is a varient of the loan note scheme, but targeted at a smaller group of people and companies, for example club sponsors, executive box holders etc. 

• Regular giving for fans who can’t provide £500 up front, but want to be part of the scheme, where they can give a regular amount each month by direct debit, with the possibility of their donations being converted into a loan note / community share once it reaches £500

• General fundraising including a comedy night / dinner, etc, to raise funds for specific elements of the project, for example to build a state of the art academy facility within the training ground.

• Other forms of financing primarily a short-term measure in the event that a suitable site is identified which is currently on the market. 

As the Trust is regulated by the Financial Services Authority, it complies with key measures which will safeguard fans’ money.

Next Steps

Following on from the approval of the Trust’s members at a Special General Meeting held on 26^th February, a project team will be established, and staff appointed to move the proposals forward. This stage will include firming up proposals for financing, in the form of proper legal and financial advice about the best model for moving the project forward. The Trust will also enter into an agreement with Crystal Palace Football Club, and will commence negotiations to acquire a suitable site and to bring forward appropriate planning applications, if required, and engage with local residents to ensure that planning issues can be overcome. It will also embark on the fundraising / financing exercise to raise funds to finance the project.

 

Watch this space for further developments.