The FA in talks to sell Wembley

[robertgoulet]

I hope Khan takes the russian oligarch for all he’s worth when Chelsea need to rent Wembley

Verbal agreement, with nothing signed until the season is about to start, then back out. Perfect!

 

[absolute bobbins]

The figures mentioned seem very low, considering how much Chelsea and us are spending to develop our stadia and the fact that the FA spent over £700 million to redevelop Wembley.

 

[worcestersauce]

I hope Khan takes the russian oligarch for all he’s worth when Chelsea need to rent Wembley

Or maybe he'll sell to the russian oligarch for a big fat profit and a fifty year agreement to base his NFL franchise there.
I'm still confused about how the English national stadium can be sold to an overseas billionaire.

 

[Destroyer]

You could be looking at potential new Tottenham Hotspur owners if this falls through, they are testing the waters with The FA & showing their intentions, don't forget Wembley doesnt have a training facility whereas Tottenham offer the full package.

 

[LSUY]

A smart move by the Jags. They play their international games at Wembley and get to keep most of the money while the other teams who have home games over here have to either pay the Jags, Spurs or RFU to use their stadiums.

 

[thebenjamin]

We obviously did the NFL stuff with a view to being the home stadium of a London franchise. No doubt in my mind this is an enormous blow to Levy's plan. I doubt 2 games a year would even cover the added costs of a dual use stadium.

 

[absolute bobbins]

You could be looking at potential new Tottenham Hotspur owners if this falls through, they are testing the waters with The FA & showing their intentions, don't forget Wembley doesnt have a training facility whereas Tottenham offer the full package.

He’d have to find a buyer for Fulham first. The Wembley figure is also massively below the valuation of Spurs, the stadium complex alone will be worth low three commas when completed.

 

[Lilbaz]

We obviously did the NFL stuff with a view to being the home stadium of a London franchise. No doubt in my mind this is an enormous blow to Levy's plan. I doubt 2 games a year would even cover the added costs of a dual use stadium.

Wont just be 2 games a year. It will be other events and concerts also.

 

['O Zio]

Jags would have to ratify a move to Wembley with the NFL - and when the NFL already have a deal in place with us, it's highly unlikely a move would be approved.

We have a 2 game per season/10 year deal. I doubt that will get in the way of anything. Either they'll just take the penalties for backing out of our deal as they'll make plenty of money from the Wembley-based team, or they'll continue the 2 game a season thing until the deal is up but won't renew.

But would a UK franchise actually be successful in the long-term??
NFL Europe suggests not...

NFL Europe is completely incomparable. That was a load of random nothing-teams from the US and a couple of equally nothing teams in Europe. None of them were actual NFL franchises or players. It was practically the equivalent of playing a load of non-league games over in America. Of course it was a disaster.

 

[Lilbaz]

Anyone see roman putting in an alternative bid? Did the fans agree to sell the pitch to him?

 

[cider spurs]

A hassle we could well do without. Smash their dreams Daniel son.

 

[Armstrong_11]

The figures mentioned seem very low, considering how much Chelsea and us are spending to develop our stadia and the fact that the FA spent over £700 million to redevelop Wembley.

was £600+M then multiplex needed more funds for the arc thingie and they had to put in more. Biggest joke was 8 freaking years to get it done.

That was an epic mess.

I remember they did try to sue the company. If they got back a few hundred mil that would defray the cost.

 

[Shadydan]

If he’s still Fulham owner then he might just refuse point blank.

He's a businessman he won't care about that, his main objective is to make money.

 

[Lilbaz]

A hassle we could well do without. Smash their dreams Daniel son.

Yep this is the wrong time for us trying to get a naming rights sponsor. Not only as we'd lose the promise of an nfl franchise but also wembley will want a sponsor.

 

[LSUY]

He's a businessman he won't care about that, his main objective is to make money.

I'd imagine Fulham fans would be amused to hear that their owner is making millions off Chelsea.

 

[Shadydan]

I'd imagine Fulham fans would be amused to hear that their owner is making millions off Chelsea.

If it goes back into Fulham yeah

 

[Lilbaz]

I'd imagine Fulham fans would be amused to hear that their owner is making millions off Chelsea.

Thing is fulham are looking to rebuild their main stand and may need a new ground to play in while the work is being done.

 

['O Zio]

Were the NFL Europe teams participating in the NFL proper?

No, it was a load of random non-NFL teams plus like 3 new teams based in London, Frankfurt and...Amsterdam I think? It was a disaster because it was basically a load of amateur/semi-pro players playing for made-up teams that nobody had heard of or cared about. It's a completely incomparable situation to having an actual bonafide NFL team based in London

 

[Destroyer]

It all seems a little bit too cheap for me - this guy is just trying it on.

 

[dagraham]

Whatever slant you put on it, this is bad news for us if it happens.

The end game was obviously trying to get a franchise, as the investment required for the NFL fit out doesn’t seem justified for just 2 games a year ( not to mention carving up the East stand with additional corporate almost certainly with the NFL in mind).