Allams say council could take over KC Stadium in wake of Hull FC memorabilia row
HULL City owner Ehab Allam says he would consider handing control of the KC Stadium back to the city council if people are unhappy with how it is being run.
It comes as he and his father, Assem, who own the Stadium Management Company (SMC), have come in for heavy criticism for their management of the £43.5m venue.
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CRITICISM: The KC Stadium.
A major storm has erupted following their decision to introduce charges for both Hull City and Hull FC to display memorabilia at the community stadium, at a cost of up to £10,800 a year.
The move, which saw the Tigers agree to pay the new fees but the Black and Whites refuse, has caused outrage among FC fans.
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They are particularly upset as pictures of club legend Johnny Whiteley were removed from a suite in the stadium named after him, leaving the KC Stadium only sporting pictures and the branding of its football club.
But determined to dispel talks of a bias against Hull FC, Mr Allam insists he has been "100 per cent fair" to both clubs and says it is a situation Hull FC could have avoided had they wanted to protect their own club's history.
And he says the entire matter has left him willing to consider handing over the running of the stadium to the council.
"All I can say is that we are trying to do our best by being fair and reasonable and running the stadium on a commercial basis," Mr Allam told the Mail.
"If people don't appreciate or like what we are doing, all I can say to them is please use your voices, use your voting, speak to the council, and if you can get them to approach us, and if they are willing to say give us back the running of the stadium, I would seriously consider that, free of charge.
"If you think I am being biased, unfair, and not running it properly, I will accept the voice of the people. If that's what people want, and that's what the council want, I will seriously consider handing it back over.
"If people don't like that we are running it on a commercial basis, and being fair to both clubs, then tell us."
Addressing the ongoing issue over pictures and memorabilia, Mr Allam says both City and FC were first warned of the planned changes in July of last year.
He says FC could have moved to prevent the issue by either raising their concerns at the time, or paying just £300 a year to ensure Whiteley's pictures, at least, remained.
Allam also claims accusations of a bias against Hull FC by he and his father are completely unfounded, and revealed the SMC actually covers major running costs for the club, which it does not for Hull City, as part of a lease running until 2028.
The Mail can reveal the terms of that lease sees the SMC;
Cover policing and stewarding costs for Hull FC games at a cost in excess of £100,000 a year, a service not provided to Hull City.
Purchase, as part of the lease agreement, £140,000 worth of Hull FC Premier Club season passes every season, giving the club guaranteed income.
Subsidises the catering and beer sales at each match, making a loss of £70,000 last season.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Allam insisted the stadium must be run on sound business principles, having lost £409,000 in the last financial year.
He also revealed the SMC is to spend £1.5m on pitch replacements next year and is currently attempting to recover £500,000 of expenditure on the stadium from the city council for repairs needed to the stadium since taking control in 2010.
They are doing this because they say all work should have been covered by warrantee, but say the authority has failed to provide the paper work.
"The financial losses of SMC in the past have been covered by the football club," Mr Allam revealed.
"Whatever shortfall there was, the SMC just increased the charge to the football club to cover the losses, so on paper it would show as a small profit.
"People have asked why the sudden change in terms of charging, but the reason is that now we have got the new accounting processes in place, we have the visibility to see the SMC is making significant losses.
"These are only going to increase because of the warranting issues, the pitch maintenance needed, the rates increases and utilities increases etc, so we really need to get a handle on the costs within the SMC and not to increase our overheads. So that has really been the driver for change.
"We are not in this to make money. The stadium is loss making, so at least accept that we are trying to reduce our losses.
"The fact that the council wanted it to be for the community, I am surprised that they set up the SMC and actually gave up the running of it in the first place. Surely, as a community stadium, they should have retained it from the outset. To criticise me now for trying to reduce the losses, I think, is unfair."
Hull FC owner Adam Pearson has so far declined to comment.
138 Comments
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by stantheman
Saturday, February 23 2013, 4:07PM
“Point being Hull FC are getting subsidised and preferential treatment from the council. Yet not one eggchaser will admit that.
Why should the SMC have to buy £140,000 worth of Premier Club passes for FC?
And pay for all the police and stewarding costs?
And subsidise the bar and refreshment outlets?
Also why has it been kept a secret for all this time?
Why didn't portfolio holder for culture, lol, Terry Geraghty know anything about this?
And if he did why did he keep it a secret?
My money is on the Allams because they have keener business brains then FC and the council put together.
The lid is off.”
by buornfree
Monday, February 18 2013, 9:10AM
“I think the stadium should be for the council to decide if he wants to take HULL CITY to MELTON so be it but you watch the attendance go down and the price of a ticket go up then lets see what happens it belong to the people of KINGSTON UOPN HULL not him so let him give it back to H.C.C. and start paying to use it lets see some return for the money”
by killer127
Sunday, February 17 2013, 1:45PM
“The SMC are apparently £409k in debt, has any of the complainers here actually been to the KC stadium recently, and used the new electronic barcode entry system, who do you think paid for that, the IT infrastructure and turnstile upgrades cost £300k, the pitch was relayed in the summer (for the benefit of both teams) that cost well over £100k, so actually if that work had not been carried out, the stadium (if both clubs pay their way) could run in profit, but if the SMC is subsidising one club to the detriment of its own budget, then it never will be cost effective or in profit.”
by HCAFCscarb
Saturday, February 16 2013, 10:22PM
“IF......and I never said they will BUT if the Allams do want to relocate rest assured they will..
East Riding Council are a different Kettle of fish to the backward thinking council and Grants to attract investment are there to be had...
That's a fact...
Don't think for one minute the Allams don't have the means to build a new stadium and hotel etc outside of hull...With up to £90 million per season for a premier league club moving would be possible
If you want to doubt it.....fine....I'm not bothered..
Personally I hope the Allams dump the SMC back on the hull council then Hull FC will really be in the smelly stuff when They have to pay more for everything...FC will rue the day they slated the Allams over a few thousands pounds ..
I KNOW ONE THING
IF THE ALLAMS MOVE HULL CITY OUT OF THE KC.....HULL FC WILL BE RESPONSABLE FOR ALL RUNNING COSTS AND ALL REPAIRS....FC WILL BE BUST IN A YEAR ...THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THERE LESS THEN HALF SHARE OF THE BILLS
they will never afford to run the stadium on there own...
Another good win for the Mighty Tigers today.....
Aluko back soon..
Boyd coming in soon, maybe..
Things are looking fab for the tigers
If we go up then as we proved last time we could have sold twice as many tickets for home games.
If we stay up then it will come down to own the KC and increase the size
Or move out..
Doubters doubt all you like...
Time will tell...
Doubt the Allams at your Peril..
looking FOWARD to Blackburn at home mid week
The future is bright...the future is black and amber”
by 3biesgalore
Saturday, February 16 2013, 8:42PM
“johnop3,lets not forget the council and citys contribution to both hull city and hullfc in the building of the KC stadia without that there would no allams forking out £60 million to buy hull city would there,it was adam pearson who brought hull city from the brink of extinction, a club with no assets, and built it into a profitable footballing enterprise, along also with the SMC,and that same club, which was just a very short time from administration lol,into a club very near to the glory years that were to follow,it was not the bartletts,but pearson the man that these city and rovers fans are now so ready to ridicule,Bartlett bought a club very close to success and then brought it crashing down,it was pearson who had guided the club to that brink and phil brown who had the distinction of guiding hull city to promotion and to the glory of the premier league, lets not forget that without adam pearson thre would be no hULL CITY if he had not rescued the club,they the allams like other rich buisiness men bought a football club certainly took many years for them to decide to come on board were was they before pearson took over lol,and they are certainly no abramov or sheik mansour who have endless assets at their disposal to squander as they wish,they the allams unlike the before mentioned have a limit to what they can spend outside of their business interests,so talk of them moving the club there or moving it here are i think very unlikely”
by 3biesgalore
Saturday, February 16 2013, 7:29PM
“HCAFCscarb,they were offered land by the east riding council,for their new stadium,why havnt they gone,why are they still stuck at the Kc moaning about their losses for the past two years lol,losing concerns usually move on dont they ?”
by richspice
Saturday, February 16 2013, 4:49PM
“Easto what a load of rubbish the stadium is not Hull city's football clubs it was built from the sale of KC Shares as a community stadium for sport of the city of Kingston Upon Hull and was never intended for a individual club. From the start it was to be a community stadium and was designed to be that Hull city were rescued from bankruptcy by the council allowing them to move to the stadium and took ownership of the Boulevard Stadium as part of the deal of FC moving there, where was Hull City's contribution to that, the council have a reasonable deal out of the old Boulevard as now getting the new school there without having to buy land. So stop talking rubbish and sounding like a little kid having a tantrum because you don't get you way”
by Easto
Saturday, February 16 2013, 3:35PM
“it is our stadium, it wouldnt have ever got built if city didnt need a stadium.”
by Alantf
Saturday, February 16 2013, 2:28PM
“Newsflash: Funny smell disappears at 1:44am ;)”
by willo
Saturday, February 16 2013, 1:06PM
“easto since when as it been hull citys pitch you pay rent the same as us councils stadium councils land so shut your gob”