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#Post#: 45423--------------------------------------------------
Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: DazzaS
Date: July 9, 2020, 11:58 am
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HTML https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/37455/former-labour-mp-calls-on-rfu-to-sell-twickenham-stadium/
Former Labour MP calls on RFU to sell Twickenham Stadium
Posted on 9th July 2020 by admin in Guinness Six Nations,
International Rugby, Latest News with 0 Comments
RFU headquarters at Twickenham
FORMER England winger and Labour MP Derek Wyatt has called on
the RFU to sell their crown jewels – Twickenham Stadium.
Wyatt, the Bedford try-machine who was capped once in 1976,
believes such a controversial move is necessary because of the
transport difficulties getting to and from English rugby’s HQ
and the cash crisis affecting rugby.
“The way in which you can solve the crisis we’ve got at the
moment is to sell Twickenham, if you can get a fair price, and
lease it back. Then, while you’re waiting, build a new stadium
in a transport-friendly location,” he said bluntly.
“For most of us it is a hassle getting to Twickenham at the best
of times let alone on a Friday night like for the Argentina game
in November.
“The rush hour out of London starts at 2.30 on Friday. You could
get there by train, but you’d have to stand on the roof because
the trains are packed on Friday and the tubes are packed. What
day of the week were they when they signed that deal with
television? It’s bonkers.
“Afterwards, it’s worse. At 10/10.30 in the evening in the
pouring rain, how do 80,000 people get home? Does anyone ask
that question at Twickenham? It seems to me they don’t.”
The Argentina game, the second match of the four-match Autumn
series, is scheduled for November 14, and is the first evening
kick-off at Twickenham since the ground hosted matches at Rugby
World Cup 2015.
Wyatt adds: “Don’t be arrogant in thinking you can always fill
Twickenham.
“We are going to have higher taxation to pay for the pandemic,
and there is going to be less money in our pockets for the next
five-to-ten years.
“I don’t think a family could afford to come, and even if they
could, the facilities aren’t there.
“They told us they were going to fix the facilities for women at
the 2015 World Cup, but what happened to that?
“They spent £15m on the stadium but where are the women’s
toilets, the baby-changing facilities and the playground for
children?
“The RFU have just become a money machine and it is running out
of money. Maybe it’s time to take a bigger decision.”
#Post#: 45425--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Rocker
Date: July 9, 2020, 12:33 pm
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Some of his points are valid. It isn't a great stadium, the
facilities are rubbish, transport is a pain at the best of
times.... However selling it and leasing it back would be daft!
#Post#: 45428--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Twickersman
Date: July 9, 2020, 1:04 pm
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No way the local council would allow it to be moved, too many
cabbage patch roots into the local community. The pubs and
restaurants, let alone the private food stalls all the way along
thrive off the games.
If they sold they would be setting a bad example to the rest of
the game. Clubs have learned the hard way that it is best to own
your stadium.
#Post#: 45429--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: poorfour
Date: July 9, 2020, 1:06 pm
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--- Quote from: Rocker link ---
>
> Some of his points are valid. It isn't a great stadium, the
facilities are rubbish, transport is a pain at the best of
times.... However selling it and leasing it back would be daft!
>
--- End Quote ---
Quite. The RFU are the richest union in part because they own
their own stadium and can rely on filling it. And the logic of
sale and leaseback while building a better stadium somewhere
else doesn't make any sense - unless you've got planning
permission to redevelop it, the value of the stadium is in the
events held there, so you're not going to get a good price if
the buyer knows you're just going to build a different stadium
and go there.
Meanwhile, there are baby changing facilities in most of the
gents, and as far as I can tell the ladies and gents alternate
around the stadium. That still tends to leave an imbalance of
capacity given the different modes of use, but it's probably
proportionate to the mix of guests.
#Post#: 45435--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Mayor West
Date: July 9, 2020, 1:45 pm
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One Friday evening game is the reason the RFU should sell
Twickenham and lease it back. The transport links which include
overground and underground services which link with national
services, bus routes too numerous to mention, the M3 with links
to M25 and all the motorways that links with are too poor for
the crowds . Really? You name a stadium that doesn’t have a
busy transport system on a match day. The man is an idiot.
#Post#: 45442--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Yareet
Date: July 9, 2020, 5:33 pm
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--- Quote from: Mayor West link ---
>
> You name a stadium that doesn’t have a busy transport system
on a match day.
>
--- End Quote ---
Ricoh 🤣🤣🤣
#Post#: 45446--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: sussexquin
Date: July 9, 2020, 7:48 pm
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Where is a site potentially available with 'transport friendly
links' for a new stadium without prohibitive costs? Derek Wyatt
having been the MP for Sittingbourne must be aware of Hastings
United FC who sold their ground only to fall foul of planning
and having to rent Sittingbourne United's ground for several
years before returning to Maidstone. As others have said this
could be an expensive, and irreversible, mistake.
A playground at a rugby stadium? Pop-up facilities maybe, but
what is the priority? Interactive entertainment such as Harley
and Charley can enhance the collective, a playground (or
fairground) i suggest would detract.
#Post#: 45452--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: July 10, 2020, 3:13 am
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Absolutely brainless idea. Any new stadium would take years to
get clearance for & build (at an exorbitant cost no doubt).
Meanwhile selling TW & leasing it back instantly *reduces* the
income that the RFU would earn from Matchdays, Stadium Tours,
Conference Facilities, Other large events (Concerts for
example). Yes, it's a pain in the proverbial to get to at times,
particularly an evening kick-off, but the same is true of *any*
stadium that isn't most stadia.
#Post#: 45454--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: Boonie
Date: July 10, 2020, 3:29 am
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"if you can get a fair price". The only way you can get a fair
price these days is to sell it to a developer, who will build
small boxes on the site and call them homes. That kills the
"lease it back" argument.
Also, who is the sugar daddy that is going to buy it, and then
lease it back occasionally when the RFU need it? They will want
to make it pay - if the cannot develop it, you need to fill it
every weekend, so it becomes a concert venue or similar, which
adds to the congestion.
If you sell it and lease it back, that is going to eat into the
money that you have available to build a new stadium...and WHERE
will that be? Anyone know an unused field with excellent
transport links?
One Friday night game, and it's all doom and gloom. The other
option for Mr Wyatt is to not add to the congestion, and not
attend.
#Post#: 45456--------------------------------------------------
Re: Some people shouldn't speak!
DIR By: honkytonk
Date: July 10, 2020, 3:41 am
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Sugar Daddy = NFL owner
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