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Meeting
with Firoz Kassam –September 2001
The FOUL committee met with Firoz Kassam on 13th September and
put a series of questions to him. We
concentrated on issues relating to the new stadium and the financial position of
the club as well as following up on a number of things that FOUL was involved in
leading up to the move to the new stadium.
We deliberately did not (formally) ask any football specific questions as
we have always said this is outside the main aim of FOUL – The survival of
Oxford United FC.
Here are the questions and answers in no particular order:
What are your thoughts
on an Independent Supporters Association or a Supporters’ Trust? Would you be
prepared to meet regularly with such an organisation?
I
would have no problem with such an organisation so long as it is constructive
and sensible. Yes, I would be
prepared to meet regularly with it and to provide meeting space.
When will the North
Stand be opened to home supporters?
We
had a safety meeting today and netting is on order, we would expect it to take 2
to 3 weeks to be installed and then the stand can be reopened.
What additional car
parking options are being explored?
The
Science Park currently don’t want to allow us access to their parking
facilities. We will approach them
again. Oxford Bus Company is
looking at the possibility of providing shuttle buses from the Unipart car park
but we are in their hands as to whether they have sufficient vehicles.
These options will be explored first.
Is there any
money left in the public transport contribution in the section 106 agreement
with the City Council that could be used to pay for this?
I don’t know the answer to this.
Can the barriers
obstructing views from some seats in the South stand upper tier be removed or
modified?
No,
the barriers are a safety requirement. However we will ask about possible
alternative designs.
Can you clear up the
confusion about whether smoking is allowed in the Maurice Evans and Manor
lounges?
A
letter is going out to all lounge members to clarify that they are non-smoking.
Where is the brick wall
going and when?
A
site is to be agreed. Perhaps under
the Oxford Mail Stand.
But in that case some
fans won’t be able to see their bricks. Is there a generally accessible
location?
Well,
we could use a wall in here (Conference Centre basement bar area).
We’ll look into it.
How many executive boxes
are occupied?
So
far 10 boxes have been sold so the uptake is disappointing.
What is being done to
improve the commercial activity at the club? Will the ideas generated at earlier
meetings be explored?
It’s no secret that commercial activity has been less than hoped.
Garry Hooper is leaving his post as Commercial Manager this week and we
are actively recruiting a replacement. We
will then pick up on these ideas.
Can we have shelves in
the concourses?
These are the sort of things we can think about when the building work is
finished. Birse have been asked to
complete their work by Friday of next week and then we will have more
opportunity to follow up the smaller tasks.
Could we pre-order
drinks at half-time to avoid queuing?
I
think the queuing situation is getting better.
It’s difficult to get trained staff willing to work one day a
fortnight. We don’t have much
time to train them and every time there are newcomers who need training from
scratch. Pre-ordering would
probably just add to the confusion. However
I think it could be done better. I
plan to work behind the conference bar at the next match to show them how to go
about it.
Why is it called the Red
Bar?
It’s
painted red, as simple as that. But we are willing to look at renaming it if
there are good suggestions.
How are conference
centre bookings going?
We
have not been actively pushing the conference centre until the builders are out.
There is still a lot of dust around and it creates a bad impression. However we
are taking advance bookings.
Is here any intention to
develop other stands?
We’re
considering developing the East Stand, for example to incorporate a club shop.
But we really haven’t had time to think about it yet.
Is there any truth in
the rumour that the old country club next to the Priory is to be refurbished for
match days?
Yes
we are planning to do so because the Priory is inadequate particularly once the
weather gets colder. Some
redevelopment may be undertaken at the Priory as well but is not planned just
yet.
Are there any plans for
a supporters’ club facility?
This
hasn’t been considered seriously as yet.
Will a rugby club be
ground sharing in 2002?
There
is no news to report on ground sharing with a rugby club and no proposals as
yet. I am considering buying one though.
Is memorabilia from the
Manor to be displayed at the Kassam Stadium (e.g. pictures, the Milk Cup etc.)?
Yes
we plan to do so but this will be considered when the builders are off site.
What are the terms of
the lease on the stadium?
OUFC
has security of tenure for 25 years. The club is charged a sum of the same order
as the Manor running costs – from memory it is of the order of £200k per
annum.
Where do the various
revenues go?
Revenue
from tickets, advertising, programmes and TV rights go to the club.
Catering revenues go to the stadium company.
What will be the
relationship between the hotel and conference centre?
They will be separate companies. The Hotel will have
its own snack bar facilities but will not have a restaurant.
Restaurant and catering for hotel guests will be in the conference
centre. The hotel is important to
make the conference centre business more viable.
Do
you now own all the shares in the Stadium Company
Yes I have purchased them from the City Council and will have to make the payment for this as soon as the stadium is officially completed and Birse hand over the site fully.
When will the
hotel be started and finished?
The
contract for building the hotel has not yet been placed.
A soil survey was done last week. We don’t expect builders to be on
site during the next few weeks. Summer 2002 is a target date for opening.
When will the leisure
development be started and finished?
The
leisure development will not be started in the short term because of market
conditions. The multiplex market is difficult at the present time and companies
are asking premiums to locate their new cinemas here. The cinema is the basic
requirement because other developers will follow once it is in place.
What are the plans for
the land purchased from Les Wells?
None
at present.
Have
you heard anything form Les Wells, Roy Pack Tim Midgley etc.
No.
Les came and cleared his building materials away from the Minchery Farm
site but that’s it.
Have
you heard anything from the “Gang of Four”
George
Bailey and Hamish Dewer still come to matches.
I invited Jim Rosenthal and David Bower to the opening game as my guests
to show there was no bad feeling on my part but they didn’t reply.
What is the expected
financial position for OUFC this season?
We
are still looking to bring in one or two players but our wage bill of something
like £1.6m is one of the highest in the division. We have a number of high earners. Budgeted on an average gate of 6,200 we expect the loss this
season to be around £750k.
What are your
long term financial expectations for OUFC
I expect the club to lose between £500k and £1
million per season. Hopefully this
can be balanced by revenues from the Conference Centre, Stadium catering etc.
What are your
expectations for the season?
I
think we now have a good manager and Mark Wright and I have a good working
relationship. All of the new
signings have been OK. Sometimes
Mark has decided players are not the ones he wants although the money has been
available. Joe Kinnear’s promise
about Harrods has almost put me off buying further players to strengthen the
team!
Do you intend to
continue your ‘hands on’ role at the club? Some quite minor decisions e.g.
permission to sell fanzines outside the ground seem to get referred to you.
Yes
it's true that a lot of decisions are referred to me. But I am on site a lot and
it shouldn't be a problem. I have taken on a commitment to the club and I will
see it through. I have no idea how
long it will take but I will not hand the running over to others until it is
running as I would like it. This
may take 6-12 months.
Will the club be doing
anything with regard to the Anti-Racism in Football week in October?
I
will come back to you on that, we should do something to support it and I have
already talked to Mick Brown about it.
