The Luton thread

[BelizeHatter]

Interesting change of direction by 2020.

 

[Kenneth E End]

The article on the LTFC website kept deliberately vague, but Luton purchased the 37 acre site for around £10m. I suspect they have sold it for around £50m with planning permission retaining some sort of minority ownership. That is a monster of a deal that essentially gets the ground started. Luton making more money than the Royal Mint.

Edit: Gary Sweet has been talking this morning - he expected Newlands Park to pay for the stadium in its entirety and because of Covid + Brexit, they have needed to get more money out of the Power Court site.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

The 50m price was just someone on outlaws speculating I think? Sweet was interviewed this morning on 3CR and wouldn’t comment on the price tag when asked (and actually sounded somewhat dismissive if you ask me) so I’m not sure that’s a very accurate figure but you never know. We must have spent a pretty penny on the planning and application process. I’ve no idea how much these things would cost

Headline news from the interview was that the updated planning application for the stadium will be going into next months planning meeting.

Oh and that we are looking good covid wise at the moment and the game Boxing Day will be going ahead

 

[BelizeHatter]

Power Court gonna cost a lot more than the profit on sale price of Newlands.

 

[Kenneth E End]

The 50m price was just someone on outlaws speculating I think? Sweet was interviewed this morning on 3CR and wouldn’t comment on the price tag when asked (and actually sounded somewhat dismissive if you ask me) so I’m not sure that’s a very accurate figure but you never know. We must have spent a pretty penny on the planning and application process. I’ve no idea how much these things would cost

Headline news from the interview was that the updated planning application for the stadium will be going into next months planning meeting.

Oh and that we are looking good covid wise at the moment and the game Boxing Day will be going ahead

A fair few years ago (Brown years), land was going at around £1m an acre. To get it for £10m was a steal in itself. If the flats at PC are worth like 15-20% profit per sale, there’s the remainder right there. To be honest, even at the start, Newlands was going to be a super optimistic project. The two sites together, probably one of the most ambitious projects going on in English football at the moment.

 

[BelizeHatter]

What a sad Boxing Day :-(

Looked at the team sheets and as KDH playing v Man City decided to flip it on. They're getting hammered, as most will, but KDH not looking out if place so far. Looking for the ball and confident and comfortable with it under one of the worlds best press, getting forward and defending as reasonably well as you can v Man City.

 

[BelizeHatter]

KDH outstanding today. His name ringing around the Stadium. Leicester fans impressive compared to most other Prem teams

 

[oakroader]

rice_trading on TikTok

What a story

vm.tiktok.com

 

[BelizeHatter]

I remember a bit of a hoo hah when it happened with people upset at transfer fees being paid for a 10yo.

 

[oakroader]

i recall we also "sold" 3x young brothers to chelsea?

 

[BelizeHatter]

Da Silva brothers (sp?). Further into careers i think as are older than Patino and with mixed results. Best was a LB at Brentford recently ?

 

[BelizeHatter]

See Sweet mentioned that Power Court needed to be partially self funded and not just Newlands sale. Hope someone gonna front it so we can build the Stadium before we build and sell all the flats

 

[BelizeHatter]

But that will also come at a cost, unless the bridge comes from within

 

[Kenneth E End]

See Sweet mentioned that Power Court needed to be partially self funded and not just Newlands sale. Hope someone gonna front it so we can build the Stadium before we build and sell all the flats

1200 flats. The profit from those, especially at the prices they’re selling for at the moment should more than make up the difference. I suspect they may do a partial sell off again to a developer who finance in the short term.

 

[BelizeHatter]

We all implicitly trust 2020 as the world has changed dramatically in recent years with covid and Brexit. This has seen 2020 nimbly react and change strategies it seems. What was initially marketed as a massive, complicated and extremely up front expense heavy Enabling Development, looks now to becoming a selling on of assets and plans for other specialist experts to take the risk and make profit in Development.

Smart if we are looking for liquidity to develop the Stadium and be more risk averse, yet make enough to finish The Football Ground properly. Each time we sell off a part its a trade of risk versus reward. First Newlands, now maybe the non Football part of Power Court to fund the Ground within PC?

Hope we have the required liquidity left within the projects and the business smarts to complete the job with escalating costs..........this is last chance saloon for us as a Club and new a Stadium.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

When you look at it, it really couldn’t have been a worse few years for us to be trying to get this done. Since it got approved we have had the whole Brexit fiasco and wrangling around that, repercussions of which may still yet be felt and then a global pandemic. It’s pretty remarkable that they’ve still been able to keep it viable

 

[BelizeHatter]

Fully agree. We have remarkable group of people at the top. Just hope they can pull it off.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Bloody Hell........ We are really going for this arent we. Power Court. Jones signed up forever. Premier League talk.

Hope our identity and passion stays and we accomodate our roots and history and not just the Prawn Sandwich brigade.

Id like to think we can do it differently if we do go all billy big bollocks.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Some good news this morning as been announced that Mick Harford has completed his radiotherapy treatment and will be back working again, starting from Sundays cup game.

Alan Sheehan also returning to the club as a coach after retiring from playing. Was always on the cards that would happen after he and Mick played such a huge role when Jones had his little dalliance with Stoke.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Our backroom staff is getting enourmous.

We have added two to the coaching staff in recent months and i seem to remember adding several to the analysis and science side. Anyone left or been moved sideways.

Paul Hart involved as heavily? His public profile dropped from Asst Mngr and Micks involvement in day to day coaching increaded from his scouting role? A lot of ex players. I hope that isnt sentimental and also everyone with promise is getting moved up and along. Always had a feeling Adrian Forbes could be special from his delivery, analysis and thinking.

But as a fan you can never have an objective view of the roles behind the scenes as the whole set up is hidden. All we see are the results of that work on a Saturday afternoon.

When a Club does well and improves and starts to move up you never know how its happened behind the scenes. Is it the individual brilliance of a single person like Jones? Or the foresight and building of a Sweet and the Board, or solid teamwork from a great group that have assembled and dovetail, where anyone with the right skillset can slot in and be an equal or better replacement so when someone leaves to better themselves the club keeps moving forward. Combination probably.

 

[BelizeHatter]

.......Make that three ex players very recently added to the coaching staff. Id forgotten about McCormack on top of Pilks and now Sheez.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Hello Golden Shower.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Bwahahahahaha. Trying everything. Turning the lights out. Dirty. But most of all SHIT.

...........Guess thats a new Manager next week

 

[BelizeHatter]

Lights come back on..........everyone has gone home

 

[oakroader]

And still it goes on…
HOMELUTON TOWN NEWSLuton Town’s Newlands Park plans approved despite Tory councillor’s ‘sick of it’ row

Luton Town’s Newlands Park plans approved despite Tory councillor’s ‘sick of it’ row​

January 26, 2022 Sportsdesk 0

Newlands Park illustration of the evening aerial view over London Road roundabout, looking south
Luton Town’s revised Newlands Park plans have tonight been granted outline planning permission by Councillors, despite fiery criticism from Conservative Gilbert Campbell, the only member of the Development Management Committee to vote against both applications.
It’s another major hurdle towards the Hatters aims of building a new football stadium at the heart of the town, in Power Court, with detailed applications still to be considered by the committee later this year.
The Newlands Park applications, which are intrinsically linked, had already been deferred three weeks ago in farcical scenes over a withdrawn objection but, tonight, amid councillors raising confused points about Power Court, Cllr Campbell (Bramingham ward) criticised the difference in the revised junction 10 proposals.
Plans had originally been presented in 2016, but now feature less space for leisure and retail, as a result of the impacts of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of a park and ride facility at Newlands Park was a particular point of contention, even though a legal agreement will safeguard that, while the forthcoming detailed application for Power Court will set out a traffic management plan.
Cllr Campbell, who abstained from a similar vote on Power Court i 2019, said: “I’ve got a lot of concerns about the whole overall (plan), from when it first came to us and we had a big meeting about a football stadium, Power Court, the development at junction 10. All this fantastic thing, House of Fraser, blah, blah, blah, and that’s all fallen apart.
“So, now we’re coming and having chunks of this, chunks of that, chunk of that. They (Luton Town) can’t tell us when the football stadium is going to be built. And then we’re being promised that this park and ride might materialise at some stage later on.
“One of the problems I see, where is the bus going to go? Have we got bus lanes? No, we haven’t. So, they’re going to join the traffic.
“Luton is very congested with traffic and we’re going to be bringing more traffic in, so if you don’t have some sort of park and ride, it’s going to be a nightmare.
“Are we going to end up with offices that are empty, shopping places that are empty? Because the whole structure of working had changed completely. Shopping has changed completely. So we could end up with loads of buildings, if they are built, that are just sitting there empty.
“To be honest with you, the great thing that we were going to have, originally, all seems to be coming down to little bits here, little bits there. Where is the big idea? It’s gone. I’m sorry, I am very disappointed with all of it.”
Chair Cllr David Taylor, responded saying: “OK, you’ve expressed your opinion. I don’t necessarily agree with most of it.”
But Cllr Campbell then interrupted, saying: “Woah, woah woah, Stop. Please, that is my opinion. If you don’t agree with it, you put your opinion across. Don’t tell me you don’t agree with my opinion.”
The Bramingham representative added, while waving his finger: “You do it all the time, chair. You keep having a go at me for my opinion. That is my opinion. Leave my opinion alone.”
Cllr Taylor said: “I gave you the chance to speak, didn’t I?”
Cllr Campbell responded, saying: “No! You do it all the time and I’m sick of it. It’s all being videoed. I’m sick of you doing…. I’m sorry.”
Issues with parking continued however, with Cllr Abbas Hussain saying: “Luton Town Football Club don’t give a damn about any residents’ parking on those football days, I can’t tell you this now.” The Dallow Ward member then voted in favour of the application.
Both applications were voted through separately by seven votes to Cllr Campbell’s one.
The outline planning permission is another major milestone in developing the Newlands Park land at junction 10 of the M1 motorway, which the football club’s property arm, 2020 Developments, last year sold in a deal that chief executive Gary Sweet said will move the Hatters “closer to realising our dream’ of a new stadium at Power Court.

 

[Kenneth E End]

We really do have some moronic councillors.

I say we, I don’t actually live in Luton anymore partly because of the lack of progress the town has seen over the years.

And how can any councillor moan about matchday parking considering the state that the stadium is in, is simply laughable.

 

[oakroader]

Just a heads up…
Our fa cup game against Cambridge is being shown live on the bbc red button facility on Saturday 5th feb…5.30 ko
All tickets sold circa 1500…
COYH

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Tickets sold out so quickly, went on sale at 10 yesterday, logged on 1020 to see none available! Guess I was a bit naive thinking it wouldn’t sell quite that quickly

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

We really do have some moronic councillors.

I say we, I don’t actually live in Luton anymore partly because of the lack of progress the town has seen over the years.

And how can any councillor moan about matchday parking considering the state that the stadium is in, is simply laughable.

The whole process has been really revealing to me, first time Ive really paid much attention to a planning process before. So much power rests on the councillors who at best are well meaning individuals who clearly want to engage in public service but ultimately are pretty much amateurs themselves. Some of them seem downright moronic like you say and you can totally see how the process could be open to abuse and corrupt practice.

It’s right I think that ultimately those that local people have voted for are given this power but given council election turnouts are normally quite low are these people truely representative? Some of the councillors seem to have large egos and like to show they are “wielding power”. You could argue the very people who seek such power are the very worst people to be there to wield it.

Anyway strayed dangerously away from the football forum here, and I’m not sure I can come up with something better that doesn’t strip power from local people but wow has this been an eye opening look at local government for me

 

[Aberstone]

The Football Club should have just build Newlands Park and Power Court and put in retrospective planning permission, it's what everybody else in the town seems to do.