Two simple questions.

Given the option of being tenants of the WRU or NCC is there anyone on here who would not choose the City Council?

If no then whilst we might not succeed can anyone point out any drawbacks in asking and lobbying for that preferred option?

I know it has been pointed out to you before, that not many will care, therefore it is only the preferred option in the mind of someone who writes an open letter on behalf of himself, and then asks whether it's a good thing or not. I would have thought it might have been courtesy to ask if writing an open letter was a good idea before, but I don't have the agenda that you do.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: May 18th, 2022, 4:01 pm Two simple questions.

Given the option of being tenants of the WRU or NCC is there anyone on here who would not choose the City Council?

If no then whilst we might not succeed can anyone point out any drawbacks in asking and lobbying for that preferred option?

I seem to remember the Town Council (as it was at the time) owned Somerton Park in the 1980's and sold it to property developers in the 1990's. They may change their name but they are no more trustworthy with anything of potential value in an open market.

wattsville_boy wrote: May 18th, 2022, 4:23 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: May 18th, 2022, 4:01 pm Two simple questions.

Given the option of being tenants of the WRU or NCC is there anyone on here who would not choose the City Council?

If no then whilst we might not succeed can anyone point out any drawbacks in asking and lobbying for that preferred option?

I seem to remember the Town Council (as it was at the time) owned Somerton Park in the 1980's and sold it to property developers in the 1990's. They may change their name but they are no more trustworthy with anything of potential value in an open market.

That is a fair point.
However Rodney Parade is an iconic stadium. As a consequence it would be much more difficult to destroy than was the case with Somerton Park.Dick Uzzell made sure of that in 1963.
Also if you look at Stockport the have resolved that possibility by signing a long lease. Hopefully in joint cause with the Dragons we would look for the same.
No criticism of David Hando who was the victim of a con, but life is a learning curve, in any business you need to be circumspect.
One further point. Whilst I agree with your point to the extent that we should be wary. We should not be cynical. One would expect the representatives of the people Newport would act not in a self-serving way but in the interests of the people of Newport.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: May 18th, 2022, 4:01 pm Two simple questions.

Given the option of being tenants of the WRU or NCC is there anyone on here who would not choose the City Council?

If no then whilst we might not succeed can anyone point out any drawbacks in asking and lobbying for that preferred option?

Unfortunately Brendan, we don’t have the luxury of an option. We are with the WRU. Your idea has a sound basis and recent events have put both teams in this position. No, problem with trying though. Good luck.

We just don’t know what the club are doing behind the scenes, hopefully they will be speaking to the Dragons and the WRU.

There is another option. The ‘as you were’ option. I think that RP is the best venue for the club. How the interested parties go about continuing that arrangement is important in the short term.

To answer your question though, I am a bit wary of Council ownership given local history (Somerton Park). In a perfect world it would make sense but there has to be equal status and responsibility on all sides.

Mike being wary in any business transaction is prudent. So I agree entirely. And as I said to Wattsville_boy there is a history from around 40 years ago that the then local authority stitched us up. Which is why my preferred option would be outright ownership. But being realistic that isn't on the cards.
Are there drawbacks to anything we ever do in life? Of course. And there is a debate to be had. Which is why when points are made I try to address them.
Sadly, two posters on here rather than debate try to drag us into a sterile argument.

It occurs to me that reasoning that the council would be unwilling to spend money on sport because it has other responsibilities is nonsense for a number of reasons a couple of which are
a) History. It spent ten times the cost of buying RP on a white elephant shopping mall
b) common sense. The city traders would lose a lot of revenue if the main sporting venue was removed.
There are others of course like the possibility of making it a multiple use venue and the prestige and profile that sport teams bring to a city but it seems obvious that the risk of a city the size of Newport losing its only ( in reality ) sporting venue would be unthinkable.

Off topic but just came across this - I was recently posting about the valuation of RP. It seems WRU have registered a separate entity to manage the asset, and the most recent accounts give a breakdown of their valuation of the asset (£4.6m in 2021 with £0.5m in debts). https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

landinho wrote: May 18th, 2022, 11:12 pm Off topic but just came across this - I was recently posting about the valuation of RP. It seems WRU have registered a separate entity to manage the asset, and the most recent accounts give a breakdown of their valuation of the asset (£4.6m in 2021 with £0.5m in debts). https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

That would be less than 5% of what was spent by the council on an unnecessary shopping mall then, RP sounds like wise expenditure in comparison.

landinho wrote: May 18th, 2022, 11:12 pm Off topic but just came across this - I was recently posting about the valuation of RP. It seems WRU have registered a separate entity to manage the asset, and the most recent accounts give a breakdown of their valuation of the asset (£4.6m in 2021 with £0.5m in debts). https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

Your post is very much on topic.

Just checked the annual budget of Newport City Council was in 2020/21 £451,000,000. When one goes on to consider that this means even as a percentage of the annual budget the cost would be a little over 1%. But we know that infrastructure projects are paid for over a number of years. So if over 25 years the payment were made as a deficit on the annual budget perhaps 0.2%.

But hang on. Rent from the Dragons and County would cover most if not all of this deficit. And of course as a conference facility, a venue for other events, all of a sudden it seems a nice little earner for the local authority. Not to mention as Highandwide has pointed out thr increase of trade in Newport city centre.

So gentlemen, ladies a question? Do we take the optimistic path suggested by so many on here and in asking at least try? Or do we take the counsel of despair as suggested by GSB and Bangitinthenet.

I love my home town. My view is ignore the losers who tell you it can't be done. Gavin, Kevin, Shaun et al. You have an opportunity to at least try. Please don't die wondering. Just pick up the phone and begin with.....

"Morning David, I know this is a long shot but what would be your thoughts on......................?"

lowandhard wrote: May 18th, 2022, 10:54 pm It occurs to me that reasoning that the council would be unwilling to spend money on sport because it has other responsibilities is nonsense for a number of reasons a couple of which are
a) History. It spent ten times the cost of buying RP on a white elephant shopping mall
b) common sense. The city traders would lose a lot of revenue if the main sporting venue was removed.
There are others of course like the possibility of making it a multiple use venue and the prestige and profile that sport teams bring to a city but it seems obvious that the risk of a city the size of Newport losing its only ( in reality ) sporting venue would be unthinkable.

The Council provided the money to construct Friers Walk as the city centre wasn't attracting shoppers. It was done on the basis that it would be sold to a private investment company - which it has. So new asset including bus station and car park now run privately. The Council first looked for a development partner, and when that proved difficult because of the existing empty shops, arranged the required borrowing. What is termed catalyst funding.
Rodney Parade is an existing asset that is just privately owned.

Stan, this keeps coming up but remind us which forum user loves his home town so much he posted this: "Typical Newport. Quite prepared to give out stick, whines like a piglet at the merest hint of criticism."

I don't know where you get this "counsel of despair" nonsense from. As part of your tired attempt to pass yourself of as some sort of visionary supporter, you come up with a statement of the blindingly obvious - boiling down to it would be a good idea to be in contact with all potentially interested parties about the ground's future ownership - and present it as a heroic insight. It's about as insightful as saying today is Thursday.

And because your own thought processes rarely get much beyond grandstanding, your instinct is to conduct this dialogue in public right from the off. While thinking it has only been a live issue for a few weeks.

lowandhard wrote: May 18th, 2022, 11:20 pm

landinho wrote: May 18th, 2022, 11:12 pm Off topic but just came across this - I was recently posting about the valuation of RP. It seems WRU have registered a separate entity to manage the asset, and the most recent accounts give a breakdown of their valuation of the asset (£4.6m in 2021 with £0.5m in debts). https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

That would be less than 5% of what was spent by the council on an unnecessary shopping mall then, RP sounds like wise expenditure in comparison.

Good info that. I have been wondering about the value of RP for some time. I wonder where they get the valuation of £4.61M in 2021 from. I thought it would be much higher than that. I don’t know the exact figure but when the ground was bought a few years ago I think it was in the £3M plus range mark.

With all the money spent on the drainage and the pitch etc, I thought it would be higher than that. It is a going concern at the moment. I hope it stays that way.

I'm guessing the pitch work only adds value if it remains a stadium?

Only connected indirectly, but I see the cost of completing Exeter's training ground has gone up from £2.2m to £3m with a change of contractor. Could the cabbage patch be a training facility, or is a full-size pitch essential?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61492783

More unnecessary personal stuff on here. Less vendettas on Chicago South side.