£1.1m on a hybrid pitch

[BiggsyMalone]

But were told Spurs were paying for it, apparently not.

[LittleMate]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

[BiggsyMalone]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Wrong

[LittleMate]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Wrong

Prove it then.

[Rich Tea Wellin]

Spit it out

[Tuffers#2]

waiting waiting waiting

[LittleMate]

The pitch investment was under £900k. Was mentioned as the majority of the £1.1m in the press release of financial statements (but don't let that stop you publishing a splash headline Biggsy). I guess the Spurs contribution will come in from this season (and next) in the form of increased fees from playing on a better quality pitch.

A couple of other points from the accounts.

The debt to the holding company is almost £16m and went up almost exactly by the amount of the loss.

Accruals and deferred income (the latter being season ticket sales) went up by £900k which helps explain the extra £800k in the bank at year end.

The forecast is for average crowds to be up by only 650 which allowing for an extra £3 a game on last seasons prices means about £800k more income (probably c.£1m including beverages). ((650 x £22 x 23) + )8400 x £2 x 3)).

[Captain Zep]

These nerds with their numbers and facts. Can they check out a 137 with 3 darts though?

[EliotNes]

These nerds with their numbers and facts. Can they check out a 137 with 3 darts though?

Like it

[Rich Tea Wellin]

The pitch investment was under £900k. Was mentioned as the majority of the £1.1m in the press release of financial statements (but don't let that stop you publishing a splash headline Biggsy). I guess the Spurs contribution will come in from this season (and next) in the form of increased fees from playing on a better quality pitch.

A couple of other points from the accounts.

The debt to the holding company is almost £16m and went up almost exactly by the amount of the loss.

Accruals and deferred income (the latter being season ticket sales) went up by £900k which helps explain the extra £800k in the bank at year end.

The forecast is for average crowds to be up by only 650 which allowing for an extra £3 a game on last seasons prices means about £800k more income (probably c.£1m including beverages). ((650 x £22 x 23) + )8400 x £2 x 3)).

£16m. Wow

[cockhat]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Wrong

You’re wrong they’re right!

[Hoover Attack]

I thought Colchester were a financial basket case, racking up a £30m debt to their owner over the near 20 years he’s been in control.

We’ve managed £16m in just 6 years so are on course to smash that.

[Hoover Attack]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Rightly or wrongly (and it now seems very wrongly), I had in my mind that the new pitch cost a few hundred grand at most and the cost was being covered by Spurs and a grant.

I had no idea it was costing over £1m and that we were on the hook for nearly all the cost.

I’d love to see the cost benefit analysis carried out to justify that investment decision. I just don’t see how we’re going to make a return on that.

[Long slender neck]

I think its been said the 'owners' dont expect the debt to be repaid, so why is it in the books as a debt then?

[Proposition Joe]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Rightly or wrongly (and it now seems very wrongly), I had in my mind that the new pitch cost a few hundred grand at most and the cost was being covered by Spurs and a grant.

I had no idea it was costing over £1m and that we were on the hook for nearly all the cost.

I’d love to see the cost benefit analysis carried out to justify that investment decision. I just don’t see how we’re going to make a return on that.

Makes sense at non-League to get an all singing/dancing plastic pitch and rent it out to all comers on non matchdays but this seems like a bit of a folly for the benefit we'll get.

[Hoover Attack]

That’s a lot of fat old blokes paying to play on the pitch over the summer.

[Rich Tea Wellin]

Richie moaned about it a lot last season but seems a lot of money to ensure we can play a few passes on the ground

[Mistadobalina]

Do we know how much Spurs are paying us a season? Only way to really make a judgement on the investment in the pitch.

Hard not to get a bit nervy about where these year on year massive losses leave us should the owners lose interest. The amount we piss money away has only gotten worse with time and it's hard to tell what the long term plan for sustainable finances is.

Clearly current ground is not fit for purpose anymore. But can't imagine we'll have the money to do anything about it.

[StillSpike]

I'm a bit confused now.

As far as I can see, the Board's not been known for dishonesty or misinformation in their tenure. So if they said that Spurs were paying the majority of the Hybrid pitch, are we now stating that we're on the hook for all of it because Biggsy said "apparently not" on the unofficial messageboard - or has there been some announcement that I've missed?

I'm not inclined to believe that a Board that hasn't lied so far has suddenly decided the issue of who's paying for the hybrid pitch to be the moment they start.

[Hoover Attack]

Would need to go back to info released at the time but I’ve explained what my understanding of the situation was. I don’t know how I had it so wrong.

[Real Al]

Whilst I also thought that Spurs were contributing, this is all I could find...


As part of our joint grant application with Tottenham Hotspur Women’s team, for the installation of a new hybrid pitch at Brisbane Road, LOFC is delighted to announce that it has extended its lease on the stadium by a further twenty years, ensuring that our immediate future will be at our historic home. We are very grateful for the support of Barry Hearn and the Matchroom team, who ensured that the process was as straightforward as possible.

The new pitch, which has cost in excess of £1M to install, is an integral part of our plans to support the Head Coach and players by providing a first-class surface on which to play and be successful, as well as providing much-improved opportunities to generate further revenues in addition to Orient matchdays.

[LittleMate]

Whilst I also thought that Spurs were contributing, this is all I could find...


As part of our joint grant application with Tottenham Hotspur Women’s team, for the installation of a new hybrid pitch at Brisbane Road, LOFC is delighted to announce that it has extended its lease on the stadium by a further twenty years, ensuring that our immediate future will be at our historic home. We are very grateful for the support of Barry Hearn and the Matchroom team, who ensured that the process was as straightforward as possible.

The new pitch, which has cost in excess of £1M to install, is an integral part of our plans to support the Head Coach and players by providing a first-class surface on which to play and be successful, as well as providing much-improved opportunities to generate further revenues in addition to Orient matchdays.

Perhaps the grant is not payable until completion (post year end) and any payback revenue is from the multi-year deal with Spurs ladies? No doubt about the initial outlay (which including VAT will be c.£1.1m).

The one thing I do know is that the board we have is a smart one; full of people who are self-made millionaires (I bet even our wagon train seller is very comfortable). They tend to make good business decisions and they certainly know the extent of the losses and liabilities. The pitch did not escalate in cost - otherwise they would have said - and so they were comfortable with the outlay.

One final point. Not a single penny of the outlay on the pitch impacts on these accounts. Our board shelled out the fat end of £4m AND another £900k on the pitch (which will be written off through depreciation over a number of years).

[BiggsyMalone]

We were told Spurs were contributing to it, as well as a grant from some football league fund.

Rightly or wrongly (and it now seems very wrongly), I had in my mind that the new pitch cost a few hundred grand at most and the cost was being covered by Spurs and a grant.

I had no idea it was costing over £1m and that we were on the hook for nearly all the cost.

I’d love to see the cost benefit analysis carried out to justify that investment decision. I just don’t see how we’re going to make a return on that.

I read somewhere that Spurs were paying for it or a large majority of it.

Orient paying £1.1m towards it is definitely not what was implied if I was wrong about what I remember.