BARRIE: IT'S GREAT NEWS
Spireites World TV interviewed Chesterfield Chairman Barrie Hubbard after the news that the new Stadium Development will be going for planning permission in February. Read the highlights of the interview right here
I am very excited. It's been three years since the Council said they wanted the football club to move to Whittington Moor. There has been a lot of heartache really over the last three years but eventually we now have the information that we are going to planning and we are obviously delighted.
We had hoped this would have happened sooner, the major delay was that Wilson Bowden, the site developer, had agreed a deal with another retailer in 2006 and sadly from our point of view that retailer pulled out in October 2006. It's then taken Wilson Bowden a further year to identify and then agree a deal with another retailer this time which we note is Tesco.
What will it mean to
I don't know, but there should be opportunities for Chesterfield Football Club and Tesco to perhaps form some form of partnership as we are neighbours on the same site. Funnily enough I keep being asked how Tesco will help the football club but I haven't spoken to Tesco as such regarding what both parties can do for each other. I hope we can help each other and some agreements can be reached along the way, we will have to see.
The deal though finally confirms that we get the land for free from site developers Wilson Bowden, which is great news. We have been told by Wilson Bowden that they will be submitting planning permission, for what they call a landmark scheme, in February. Chesterfield Borough Council say that planning permission will take sixteen weeks and there may be a period for objections. So hopefully with good luck and a following wind we will move into the new stadium for the start of the 2009-2010 season. But we are still largely in the lap of the dogs as there could be building delays owing to bad weather, or a late start if there are any planning objections. But we will be trying to get the new stadium as soon as possible.
The next stage though is the public consultation and there will be an exhibition somewhere on Whittington Moor in February. We will also be there with pictures and the fly through of the stadium and a chance to answer any questions.
So
Yes that's what we want from the new stadium. Our main income streams currently are gate receipts and Blues on the Move lottery, which has been fantastic for the Club over the years. With a seven day a week operation, income will increase our turnover, which in turn, should mean that we can invest more in the team. We want to get out of League Two and into League One and then on into the Championship, which is our ultimate aim.
The extra income will come from banqueting and conferences and a range of functions as it will be a venue in its own right, not just a football stadium. We are planning to have three restaurants in the new stadium, a one hundred seater, a two hundred seater and an eighty seater, which can join up making a two hundred and eighty seater if needed. We will have a large area for dinner and dances and room for up to 400 at conferences, etc. We will also have a 15,000 capacity concert venue. So there are lots of things we will be able to do which we can't do at the moment.
Financially how does it stack up?
The new Stadium currently will cost around £13 million pounds. In October 2006 we were told it would cost £10 million so with the delay it looks like the building costs may have gone up by around £3 million.
We own Saltergate so there is a value there; we intend to do some extensive marketing which should bring in some more income. Other money will more than likely come from the Council, The Football Trust and the Brewery that will have the licence, so there is a value there. We will be a few million short so we will need an investor. So far nobody has signed anything to say they will put in any money but if they do they will own the football club for that size of investment.
I am relaxed about this and I don't think we will have to wait until planning permission is granted to move this forward with a new investor. As soon as I able to announce anything I will be shouting it from the roof tops.
What are your feelings about leaving Saltergate?
It will certainly be sad to leave the place but we will be able to offer better facilities and a better matchday experience for our supporters, like they can experience at other clubs. I was first club chairman twenty five years ago this year, there have been some great times but since Darren Brown it's not been very good. We have struggled against relegation and were relegated last season and that's not good enough. We want to have some success.
Overall it's great news that our new stadium is at last on the cards but there is still along way to go. We have to go through various procedures and only when the council have finished the planning process and everything is okay will it be at last down to us.
