Agenda item

This report sets out a proposed way forward towards delivering a Community Stadium for York.  It also suggests further steps that the Council could take in order to help bring about a community stadium and to support York City Football Club in the period of transition from their current stadium to the new one.

Members received a report which set out a proposed way forward towards delivering a Community Stadium for York.  It also suggested further steps that the Council could take in order to help bring about a community stadium and to support York City Football Club (YCFC) in the period of transition from their current stadium to the new one.

The reason that the matter was urgent was that the football club faced both deadlines from the Football Foundation and current financial pressures and thus a decision was needed before the next full council meeting at the end of June 2008.

The report presented the following options for consideration:

·  Option 1 – To sell Huntington stadium and use the majority of the proceeds (along with those from Bootham Crescent) to fund a community stadium to be used by both the Knights and YCFC, and relocate the athletic users to a new track with appropriate viewing facilities;

·  Option 2 – To commit about £200k from the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive (LABGI) reward money to fund 3-4 years work of an experienced project manager, who could work for a steering group consisting of the Council, the Clubs and perhaps the landowner of the chosen site;

·  Option 3 – To include the new stadium as a recognised development for the City with dedicated officer time likely to be to a value of £100 - £150k, funded through an external bid to support planning and development work on major city developments;

·  Option 4 – To repay the £2m loan to the Football Foundation and secure this against Bootham Crescent, and to allow YCFC to roll up the interest in the period prior to the move to the new stadium, thus relieving the club of a cost of £138k per year.

The Director of Resources confirmed that further work would be carried out covering the issues raised by the speaker under Public Participation (minute 43 refers).

Members noted that this was just the initial stage of a lengthy process, and that a robust business case would need to be developed and legal implications fully considered. 

Some Members expressed concerns relating to the lack of consultation with the City of York Athletics Club, the proposal to divert some funding from other major planning and development work, and the need to ensure that the proposal to take over the Football Foundation loan was affordable.

RESOLVED:(i) That the sale of Huntington Stadium and the commitment of sufficient resources generated from that sale, alongside those from the sale of Bootham Crescent, to fund a Community Stadium for York be agreed in principle, subject to consultation with residents and users of the Stadium;

(ii)               That it be agreed that the first £1m of the sale value of Huntington stadium be utilised to relocate the athletics facilities at the stadium to another site with suitable viewing facilities;

(iii)             That it be agreed that £200k of the Council’s LABGI reward money be allocated to fund programme management to support the development of, and generation of funds for, a new Community Stadium;¹

(iv)              That officers be instructed to discuss with the external funders the proposal that dedicated Council planning and development officer time to the value of £100k - £150k be committed to work in support of the sales of the existing stadia and the provision of the new Community Stadium and the new athletics facility;²

(v)                That it be agreed that the Council takes over the £2m Football Foundation loan from YCFC and repays it securing it against Bootham Crescent, subject to approval from YCFC and the Football Foundation, the Football Foundation guaranteeing that the £2m will be paid as a grant during the construction of the new community stadium, an independent financial appraisal being undertaken of risks to the taxpayers’ interests and the short and medium term revenue viability of YCFC and the York Knights being satisfactorily demonstrated.^3&4

REASON:(i) In order to rationalise and improve the facilities for professional sport in the City of York Council;

                        (ii)            To improve the athletics facilities currently available;

                        (iii)&(iv)In order to further the Council’s stated objective of ensuring the provision of a new community stadium for York;

                        (v) In order for the Council to make a financial commitment to the project and to support YCFC in the lead up to a new stadium being built.