Buying back Dens----an option

[islaydarkblue]

If the foundation, through the fans are investing thousands they can surely ask for a meet with nelms?
If he refuses they can just bank the money just now?
Fans only want to know the plans going forward as to dens or a new stadium.
Prob be better playing at mcdermaid as numbers wud be more than at Tannadice.

That is a very sensible idea.
If Nelms refuses to speak to the members of the Foundation advising them of the club’s plans going forward regarding Dens Park or the new stadium then the members can play their trump card. They can suspend their monthly payments until Nelms speaks to them .

[islaydarkblue]

Any idea what the cost would be, and if the owner (presumably John Bennet) would facilitate such a purchase?

There was a rumoured cost of £750,000 which consisted of the £500,000 John Bennett paid to acquire the title deeds of Dens Park from Lloyds Banking Group plus the £250,000 he had lent Dundee Football Club prior to us entering Admin 2 in October 2010.
It has previously been stated that John Bennett would like to sell Dens Park to the Dundee supporters.

[islaydarkblue]

Club won't even entertain the idea of the fans buying Dens back, they don't want it and the current owners never will whether the pipe dream of Campy ever materialises or not. If you don't get the club onside from day one they will vehemently oppose anything you propose.

You'd have to sit down with the club first and get their agreement in principle to the buy back.

Next you'd have to do the same meeting with Mr. Bennett, possibly need to involve the club in that one too. No good planning a buy out if you don't know for certain the place will be available and that the owner would be happy to sell to you.

I actually think that even if you could strike a deal with Mr. Bennett the club would move from Dens rather than rent from the fans. This would ultimately mean either forcing their hand on Campy or them asking to share Tannadice. Or of course they might insist on rent free occupation because the cash raised would, in their minds, have otherwise gone direct to them for day to day running of the club. Absolutely guarantee they'd want a deal on maintenance costs too.

If the fans owned Dens a group would need to be formed to manage the place, that group would probably want to install a Stadium Manager (I certainly would) and the club may not like that, they would want someone they could control.

In short - forget it, it's been tried and the barriers will go up from the very first mention of it..

I do not understand why John Nelms was not interested in a previous Dundee supporters buy back of Dens Park scheme especially as at that time the club were part of the joint venture with United and Dundee City Council to construct a Regional Sports Centre at Caird Park at a cost of £21 million.
The entrenched rights of the A shares which FPS agreed to in August 2013 prevents them upping sticks and moving Dundee Football Club from Dens Park. The entrenched rights also prevents ground sharing for a maximum period of one year outwith Dens Park.
These entrenched rights were put in the A shares for a reason.

[islaydarkblue]

It's the limbo land I can't stand, not a spade in the ground at campy, no improvements at Dens......were we not supposed to be in in the Spring?

The owners imho have to be more upfront.....if they ain't expecting the ground to go ahead and they want nothing to do with buying Dens......they should say so to give the supporters a chance at what would be a monumental fund raising campaign.

I do not understand why FPS are happy to pay an annual rental of Dens Park to Sandeman Properties which was £65k in 2018, £71k in 2019 and £78k in 2020.
According to the Dundee Football Club annual accounts for the year ending 31st May 2020 the total annual rental payable until the end of the lease will be £1,147,804 https://d1ssu070pg2v9i.cloudfront.ne...unt-201920.pdf
See Item 13 - Operating leases.
Item 16 - Related Party transactions makes even more worrying reading.

[Returnofrros]

I don't know the answers to the points you make. I would have thought that a football club that owns its own ground would be a better bet than a tenant of the club's major competition for supporters.

I thought the football element was I portent to the potential success for planning permission. Thought the club was key to the project. As you point out there may be no link at all in which case my hope that a profit on Campy might be rolled into redevelopment at Dens to minimise capital gains tax. I know nothing so won't be unduly upset if this is wrong.

I think the why is based on the way that Americans view the pro ision of sporting facilities. They have not seen the progress that they assumed that money would buy them and I am hopeful that they are moving in the right direction with McPake. I get it that there is a sizeable chunk of the support who have no faith in McPake and a good few who are underwhelmed by the behaviour of John Nelms. My problem is that I don't have a plan B.

No one is chasing them out......I want them to communicate.

[BCram]

Would anyone trade the A shares? If so, what would you want for them?

[BCram]

No one is chasing them out......I want them to communicate.

Agree.

[Deeranged]

Would anyone trade the A shares? If so, what would you want for them?

No, no, no, no, no - they'll change our colours and have us playing at Tannadice before you can say 'A Share'.

Those shares are all we have protecting the club's tradition.

[islaydarkblue]

Would anyone trade the A shares? If so, what would you want for them?

You must remember the vote that DFCSS members had in January 2019 when FPS offered the derisory amount of £8,000 for all the A shares because the entire DFCSS shareholding in Dundee Football Club Limited was valued at £1 in their annual accounts.
The true value of the entire shareholding of the ordinary and A shares at 1.35p each are now listed in the DFCSS annual accounts for the year ending 31st May 2020.
In my opinion the A shares are priceless and must never be sold.

[islaydarkblue]

No one is chasing them out......I want them to communicate.

I do not understand why John Nelms will not communicate with the Dundee supporters especially as they
are contributing towards his lavish salary.
The longer Nelms ignores the Dundee supporters the worse things will get.