Bubba wrote:
I am not saying this is the case here, but owners of sporting clubs often take a short-term view. Spend today and worry about the consequences tomorrow kind of thing. Supporters generally take a longer-term view i.e. wanting to still have a club in 5, 10, 20 years time. The KD deal may - in the short term - be great for both clubs. New pitch, upgraded facilities, etc. But what about in 5 or 10 years time? Theres a new stadium for the Giants in Kirklees and other than holding the Shay as an asset, there is no other interest in the stadium for KD. Will rents remain realistic? As landlord will KD continue to upgrade and maintain the facility? If he looks to sell and the two clubs/council cant afford to buy it, then want? On the open market to the highest bidder?
So many questions and I think everyone is right to ask them.
But don’t you think the clubs and all involved behind the scenes are doing so?
Of course they are, however a lot of these questions no one can answer, can you?
If so answer them now.
But if you can’t don’t expect someone else to do so and use that as a reason for doing nothing apart from putting up maybe, maybe not unknown obstacles.
Like “I’m not saying this is the case here.”
Only to go on and say it.
Why say it then.
Again no one will ever be able to see into the future with any certainty and you have to deal with the present and not be frozen by what may or may not happen x number years down the line.
In any case regarding the Shay things must change and can’t stay as they have been and currently are.
There are around 208,000 people in Calderdale with a small percentage of them, say 3,500 to 4000 max across two sporting teams that have been and are being heavily subsidised to the tune of hundreds of grand a year by the council and the larger tax paying community.
This is at time when for a few years now we have had no sports centre and no swimming baths for the wider sporting community and dire levels of service across the entire range of other areas that the council are supposed to be supplying.
Why should all these others have to pay that amount for something they have no interest in whatsoever whilst being deprived of other things that do interest and affect them?
These longer term views you talk about the supporters having are based on purely selfish, unfair and unrealistic expectations, everything has to be paid for and if the clubs and or supporters can’t do so then they don’t deserve to be there as you and the Shaymen crew have repeatable pointed out when the rugby club have been in dispute with CMBC over the rent and not paid it.
Who of any of us if we owned something that was costing us a fortune and the current tenants could no longer meet the costs of wouldn’t look for other options who could or get rid?
One way or another, sooner or later things are inevitably going to change and I’ll tell you what I think.
Anything that involves the Shaymen having some meaningful control will be acceptable and anything that doesn’t won’t be regardless of who it is.
