Honestly I've no idea! I think a lot will depend on what entity owns the ground. And whether it is registered as an asset of community value to prevent it being flattened for housing. I may be over simplifying it but if the ground is ringfenced from the clubCo then presumably the ground would remain intact albeit mothballed as seen with Gigg Lane. Keeping the same ground and doing a Bury or Macc (or Halifax / Aldershot from even further back) would be the best worst case scenario if we go bump. If we had to phoenix and find a new home then only ground In the area that would be suitable at a NWC level is probably the Mayfield Sports Centre. Currently home of an amateur rugby club and previous home of now defunct Rochdale Town. Absolutely no chance of developing that place should a climb back up the leagues happen. Hopefully not needed...
Yeah that's the problem Darlington had. Feethams was long gone and the Reynolds Arena was a ridiculous oversized white elephant that bankrupted the original club and wasn't affordable or practical to use. So they haven't really been able to get a suitable Football League ready ground suitable for their club size and they've stalled in the National League North and look to be going backwards again. Newport also lost their ground and struggled in the lower reaches for 15 years or so before finally getting a suitable ground and started to get their act together in the mid 2000s. The only really successful phoenix club I can think of that didn't have their own ground and was able to get back in a decent time frame and not take 20 odd years like Newport is AFC Wimbledon. But they were a unique case because of the circumstances of their demise which attracted a lot of publicity and goodwill and made it easier for them to raise money and get help with grounds etc. I wonder what the clubs in the North West Counties League make of the seemingly endless stream of phoenix clubs entering their division? Financially it's probably a good thing and brings in some much needed revenue. But it definitely distorts the competition down there and prevents good teams from getting promoted. And the phoenix clubs probably hoover up a lot of the best players at that level.
It's a good point. Not sure how helpful one pay day is in the mid-long term to the established clubs down there. Probably what a £10-£15k windfall assuming a one-off bumper away crowd from the likes of Bury, Macc (Us?). Even at that low a level that money surely wouldn't last long. Hopefully we don't find out.
Spotland is listed as an Asset of Community Value. Rochdale Football Club Becomes Mortgage Free In addition, in 2022, Chris Harrison, Non-Executive Director and Chair of Rochdale AFC’s Finance Committee commented: “Thanks to the immense foresight of our club president Graham Morris and the Board of Directors in amending the Articles of Association in 1987, the outright ownership of Spotland Stadium achieved in 2016 allied with these exceptional legal protections guarantees Rochdale AFC complete security in its future. Put simply, our ground cannot be ever sold, transferred or mortgaged without formal agreement from a significant majority of duly notified shareholders of the club and a formal notification provided to the local authority. “The collective responsibility undertaken by our club’s Finance Committee is to ensure the fiscal prudence and financial integrity of the club for the long-term benefit of our club, its fans and its community stakeholders.” I'm not sure how Gauge's efforts to bully shareholders reflects a deal that will undo this protection in the Articles of Association.
This statement offers a little bit of hope… Trust statement 23 February 2024: Prospective investors – Dale Trust
Sounds like, if they are to become sole or majority shareholders, you might also need a Golden Share to further protect the ground and key aspects of the club for the fans and community. Cambridge United to establish ‘fan led’ Shadow Board Letter from Paul Barry on the future of the Abbey Stadium "...In simple terms, if future owners wanted to sell the Abbey and relocate the Club, those holding the Golden Share could veto the decision unless they considered it to be the right thing for the Club. While Mark, Adam and I are nominally the co-owners of the Club, we have always recognised we are simply its custodians and we must ensure that the Abbey can never be used as a property development pawn in the future. We will be saying more about the detail of the golden share in the coming months so there is transparency for everyone on what it would mean, how it would work and the protections it would give. "
Oh shit not again! How many tinpot chairmen must we all endure before proper safeguards are put in place? Maybe some sort of collective financial safety net from a fund which is also tooled up to go after the waster chairmen for the money the fund dished out. Or something like that. Clearly vetting takeovers isn’t working properly, and points deductions etc punish everyone else at a football club apart from the actual villain so they are much, much worse than useless. Sorry to hear this @dale4ever - has the Rochdale fans’ trust been in touch with the Shrimpers Trust? If anyone in the country has very recent experience, and a network of contacts ready to go, it’s them. Get your local paper and local MP involved too. If the MP covering Spotland is a useless wanker, and let’s be honest there’s quite a few MPs in that category, then go for a decent one in a neighbouring constituency who will also have Dale fans as constituents. Any form of protests under consideration? Our tennis ball and toy rat protests (thrown onto the pitch during different games en masse - can be seen on YouTube) worked really well and got national media attention.
Really hope everything works out and Rochdale get saved Yet another fantastic old club that is a huge part of it's community that is in danger. Despite this, their story will most likely be ignored by the media like so many clubs until it's too late. This is the kind of stuff Sky Sports and Talksport should be banging on about, not Man United transfer news that can't even happen until July
The local MP sadly passed away recently. Athough not originally from Rochdale I understand he did attend matches until he became ill and was quite supportive of the efforts to prevent the hostile asset strippers take over a few years ago. There's a by-election next week. The choice of candidates for folk up there is appalling. After Labour booted their candidate George Galloway looks likely to win by making Palestine/Israel the sole focus of his campaign and going after the local Muslim vote and not much else. So, very likely the next MP will be a wanker... At least for a few months until a GE. The idea of a protest is a funny one. Because my gut feel all along is this chairman and board just bit off more than they could chew. They're naïve, amateurish and have run things very badly. Some appalling business decisions have been made. But I'm not sure there's any Ill intent. And after they stepped in to help us avoid probable disaster a few years ago they had a lot of good will in the bank. It's not been like Southend, or Oldham in recent years. The chairman has made it clear he wants out for a while. The latest updates sound promising in that there appears to be a legitimate backer in the wings. So fingers crossed this all turns out well.
Well, the MP situation sounds catastrophic to be honest but it’s good that you believe in the goodwill of the current ownership - setting aside their incompetence, which we’re all capable of in the wrong circumstances for our abilities. However, the problem at our level is what you might call ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ changes of ownership. I do think your supporters trust needs to stand up a bit here and make the case to the current ownership, and to the media, for the future of Rochdale FC and its importance as a community asset - and the real importance that control is handed to calmer, more respectful waters, instead of directly into the squall.
Cautious optimism if it goes through. Early info looks fairly promising and they appear legit with stakes in other clubs in the Netherlands and the US.
Really hope this sale goes through and solves Dales problems. Really hate to see any club going through this kind of worrying time, let alone good old league clubs like Rochdale (another of the class of 21!).
Cautiously happy for your lot - now lets hope that they're not another example of the FA's Sh1t and Improper Persons test gone wrong
Removing the requirement to appoint a auditor? What could possibly go wrong? Rochdale fans having the wool completely pulled over their eyes here.
