'It is quite clear they want to push football out and move rugby in' (From Watford Observer)
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Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous releases angry statement on Saracens Copthall move
5:21pm Monday 5th September 2011 in Sport
Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous has released a damming statement regarding Saracens much publicised multi-million pound plans to relocate to the Copthall Stadium and accuses Barnet council of going against the Local Government Act.
The Bees’ chairman says the Act states that the council must obtain the best value for any site it disposes of in the borough.
The statement also accuses the council of using delaying tactics and claiming there was no land for Barnet to build a new stadium on while they were agreeing to go ahead with the plan for Sarries to relocate.
Sarries originally wanted to move to Copthall in time for the start of this season but have since been delayed and will play home matches at Vicarage Road for at least the first half of the season.
In a statement on the Barnet website, he said: "It is quite clear they want to push football out and move rugby in. Despite Barnet FC having more than 120 years of history as a community club in the area, they seem to want to clear us away.”
The statement continues: “The football club had an application for a new stadium at Copthall almost ready to go before the Planning Committee but the council would not provide the club with the land assurances needed.
The club now realises this was because they had already committed to give the site away to Saracens, who want to take over Barnet FC's home turf.
“Saracens have been offered a virtual freehold for the multi acre stadium site at Copthall for free; Barnet FC have been asked for more than £200,000 just to renew the lease of their 5 - acre cricket club site to the south of Underhill.”
Barnet’s application to move to Copthall was turned down ten years ago by John Prescott ten years ago after Barnet Council and Ken Livingstone, leader of the Greater London Council at the time, had given approval.
Kleanthous added: “Life has become very difficult since Mike Freer left as Leader of Barnet Council to become an MP. To compound matters we also have Saracens regularly approaching our sponsors and commercial partners driving money out of Barnet FC and the local Barnet community.
“In the last few months the club has sent legal letters to Barnet Council, to which they have yet to receive a full response, and have lobbied the London Mayor's Office. The Mayor seems very well informed and has a good grasp of the importance of a community based sports club like ours, we hope we can rely on his officers' intervention to prevent this appalling situation from going any further."
Comments(16)
WFC4ever
says...
6:36pm Mon 5 Sep 11
PJE123
says...
6:38pm Mon 5 Sep 11
Mr Kleanthous, as somebody who works in professional sport, is well aware that having the champions of England relocate to this area would provide a huge boost to the community.
Does he really think that Saracens are to blame for Barnet's current lack-lustre crowds or position at the foot of English football? Why do they need a new stadium anyway?
I live locally to Copthall and don't object to what Saracens have put forward. Their plans and pockets will turn an outdated facility into a brand new community asset, still owned by Barnet Council.
Whether rugby is a 'tory sport' or not, I for one would much rather see a crowd of 10,000 well-behaved supporters gathering at Copthall than let the facility fall to ruins.
jalvin
says...
7:38pm Mon 5 Sep 11
Andrew L
says...
8:13pm Mon 5 Sep 11
So the plans for Copthall will stop Barnet Shaftesbury Harriers from using their running track for 9 months of the year, laying a plastic pitch for a sport which the ordinary school kid knows or cares little about and will end up cramming the local roads with cars on mathdays. How is this going to benefit the community?
Where has Mr Kleanthous ever blamed Saracens for Barnet's low crowds? Please, I'd really like to know.
WFC4ever
says...
8:18pm Mon 5 Sep 11
HOWEVER ofcourse the vast majority of fans are well behaved but the press only report those mis-behabed ones.
nrlincoln
says...
8:42pm Mon 5 Sep 11
Andrew L wrote:Wow. After 40 odd years on this planet I'm still amazed how easily the insecure, chippy class warriors pop out, spouting nonsense that was passée decades ago.
Barnet FC have been treated terribly yet again. Why doesn't the council come out and say what they really mean, that they don't want the football club in the borough and would like all its land for housing. It's pretty obvious after forcing Hendon out of the borough that they are only willing to promote 'Tory' sports.
Go, "brother", fight the good fight and support your "Trot" sports. Whatever they are. Non-competitive, no doubt...
garston tony
says...
9:02am Tue 6 Sep 11
proach to the rugby club than they did/do to the football club. I think the chairman is quite rightly just asking for fairness and equallity.
As to football fans yes some do cause trouble but i've seen the actions and aftermath of enough rugby tours to know that rugby fans and amateur players cause considerable trouble and inconvenience too. Just because on the whole when playing the game itself the players show more respect to the ref and the laws of the game (eye gouging etc apart) rubgy fans and amateur players seem to think it gives them the right to go on drunken riots in towns, pubs and clubs all over the country.
DannyMan
says...
3:22pm Tue 6 Sep 11
Mr Winderuupp
says...
7:28pm Wed 7 Sep 11
Good riddence to the yob supporters and welcome to a more civilised sport and supporters of all ages from young to old
barnetpete
says...
8:06pm Wed 7 Sep 11
chris stevens
says...
9:44pm Wed 7 Sep 11
You're assuming I'm a grown-up?;-)
What factual points would you like to make?
Seems to me Tony is the one engaging in childish finger-pointing in this debate.
Throwing his toys out of the pram and blaming everyone else for the club's problems.
Why can't he take responsibility and get a grip? He's supposed to be Chairman after all.
Reminds me of that other juvenile Chairman, Levy at Tottenham.
barnetpete
says...
7:28am Thu 8 Sep 11
I refer people to look at the 2 Working Together documents the club published in the past looking at ways to build a new stadium and develop other sites.
http://www.braden-th
readgold.com/barnet-
fc/
Within in it there is pictures of short term improvements to Underhill and also plans for South Underhill, Copthall, and Quinta.
Surely the Chairman 'taking responsibility' is trying to find the Club he runs a long term venue for a Stadium that helps the long term future of the Club and ensures a financailly stable future for the fans to watch football.
For 15 years under Mr Kleanthous and previous to Mr Kleanthous coming to the club (earliest newspaper article I found was 1991) the Club have been looking for a suitable long term, revenue generating, modern facility, ideally in the local vacinity of Barnet, or within the borough.
In order to undertake such a massive step professional sports clubs need the help and assistance of the local planning departments at the councils but whilst we have seen Councils up and down the land assist their local clubs for some reason Barnet Council have continued to be obstructive, and now appear to have been happy to deal with a 'premier league' rugby club but not work with the smaller, less glamorous League Football team.
All the plans in the WT document are for improvements to facilities in this borough, to offer jobs to the people of this borough, Leisure facilities, places for people to play and watch sport, yet so far BFC now have a wonderful training facility just outside the borough in Cannons Park which is open to the public and offering them Leisure Facilities, and it is quite feasable the rest of the Football Club will go there to....what a waste to this borough, the Town where I live, because the Council appeared unable to work with the Chairman to find solutions to the proposals he has made.
Again at Tottenham, they have designed a new Stadium complex which will bring massive improvement to a run down area of London, with multimillion investment, jobs both in construction and then within the Club for the local community and new housing/shops etc yet their local council appear to be putting up obstacles rather than working on solutions (I wont comment further as I dont have an extensive knowledge on the THFC issue)
To say the Chairman hasn't taken responsibility, having spent 15 years trying to find a suitable new home for BFC is laughable.
garston tony
says...
9:35am Thu 8 Sep 11
To add to this when at college and uni the rugby teams were renowned for their poor behaviour after games when visiting pubs and they seemed to be proud of the chaos they caused when they went on a rugby 'tour'. I can also add to this an employee of mine who plays rugby at the amateur level who also returns from some of these tours with various stories which reflect less than well on the people involved.
My point being after the condesending comments from rugby fans about football fans is that whilst fans going to games do behave well and whilst players whilst playing also on the whole play to the rules (the odd horendous incident of eye gouging etc apart) off the field at the amateur level rugby players and fans have a poor reputation and standard of behaviour.
The idea that rugby fans and players therefore are a cut above their counterparts in football is riddiculous
Chris stevens I also don’t think the chairman has been finger pointing he is just pointing out the different way the council has dealt with the two clubs over similar matters.
DannyMan
says...
5:30pm Mon 12 Sep 11
.
But this is all completely irrelevant in the context of Copthall and Saracens. Saracens is not an amateur rugby club, its players do not get drunk and get into punch-ups, and whilst some of its supporters (me included) like to take more drink than is good for us on match day, we do not get into punch -ups, and we do not threaten or intimidate anyone - let alone murder them.
.
None of which is intended to be any kind of slight on BFC and its supporters who might all be fine, upstanding people for all I know.
redrenault
says...
1:29pm Tue 4 Oct 11
click2find
Andrew L says...
6:15pm Mon 5 Sep 11