Yorkshire Post 17/1/08
Ken Bates unveils his big plans for the future of Leeds United
By Richard Sutcliffe
Ken Bates will celebrate his third anniversary in charge of Leeds United next week. Here, he outlines to Richard Sutcliffe his vision for the future.
GAZING out of the window in Ken Bates' office at Elland Road on a wet and windy afternoon in January, the view is one of contrast. In the distance, the lights of the city centre shine brightly with the imposing new 32-storey Bridgewater Place acting as a beacon for the new-found prosperity that has saw vibrant Leeds christened the 'Knightsbridge of the North'. A world away from this Harvey Nichols existence, however, is Holbeck, a suburb of red brick terraced houses and potholed wasteland that makes it very much a poor relation to the affluent city centre. It is this down-at-heel suburb that the back of the East Stand at Elland Road looks out on to and with an ugly motorway running through it, the view is distinctly underwhelming. Unless, that is, you are the Leeds United chairman.
Talking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post ahead of next Monday's third anniversary of taking over United, Bates is outlining his vision for the future. And he has plans. Big plans. Not only is the United chairman wanting to build a brand new multi-million pound West Stand to raise the Elland Road capacity to 50,000, he also has ambitious plans for the stand we are sitting in. Two hotels are on the agenda along with the type of classy shopping arcade that makes the centre of Leeds stand out. Also included in the blueprint is a nightclub, new restaurants and a club museum. While outlining all this, he suddenly jumps to his feet before beckoning this correspondent to the window.
He said: "It excites me what can be done. I was ridiculed at Chelsea (when announcing the plans for Chelsea Village) but now West Ham, Reading, Oxford, Derby, Leicester, Bolton and Sheffield United have all adapted that model.
"The key for this club's future is utilising the land 365 days per year. We have to attract income that is not dependant on how things are going on the field." Clearly, the Yorkshire Post suggests, Bates is not planning on leaving Elland Road any time soon? "Of course, I'm not. I have a vision for this area and I want to be able to say to the next man 'follow that'."
At one stage last year, of course, there was a time when it seemed there might not be a "next man". Or, for that matter, a football club at all.Administration followed relegation and the club's future was only assured a week before the 2007-08 season was due to kick off.
Even then, salvation came at a price with the Football League hitting Leeds with an unprecedented 15-point penalty. This punishment was subsequently upheld at a meeting of the other 71 member clubs with only five voting in United's favour. Dennis Wise's players may have overcome the handicap to battle their way into the promotion reckoning, but Bates still rankles at what he perceives as a grave injustice.
He said: "We have used it to our advantage by creating a siege mentality, but I have a long memory and I will not forget. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
"The chief executive of Leyton Orient told me quite frankly 'we had a board meeting and I was instructed to vote for the 15-point deduction because you are a competitor'. Where is the justice in that?
"It is not a surprise they voted how they did. When we go away, we effectively write a cheque for £70,000 to the home club. It is easily their biggest gate of the season.
"And the League Two clubs voted against us because they wanted some of that next year. The Championship clubs voted against us because it was another competitor out of the way.
"It was all self interest.
"Going into administration was a painful experience but they have since emerged in good shape. The £35m debt has gone with the settlement for creditors having been paid into the account of the administrator, KPMG. This will, in turn, be dished out to creditors once the identity of the liquidator can be agreed.
Bates said: "The fire-fighting is over, and we are now able to plan properly for the future. For example, we will be announcing a new commercial sponsorship next month that will add between £3.5m to £4.5m profit to our bottom line over the next four years.
"This season, we have spent £1m on players. But against that, we sold players for £3.9m. That helped pay the administrator and fund the losses made by the Conference and Banqueting section over the summer, which was about £900,000.
"We also paid the football creditors off. What we are trying to do now is deal with people who lost money with us. Some don't want to, and I fully understand that."But, by and large, we are dealing with a lot of them and hope to continue to do so for the long term. I feel that is very important.
"We are also setting sensible budgets. (Peter) Ridsdale not only predicted that Leeds would be in the Champions League every year, but also that they would get to the semi-final every two years.
"Our budget for this season is much more sensible, being based on getting knocked out of the cups in the first round. We predicted £80,000.
"But even though we are out of all the cups and have had little or no television coverage, we have still actually raised £288,000. That is how I like to do budgets."
Ken Bates is confident England will win the right to stage the 2018 World Cup and is determined the city of Leeds will not miss out.
The Football Association officially launched their campaign to stage the finals last year and are likely to face stiff competition from China, America, Russia and Australia plus a joint bid from Belgium and Holland.Despite that, Bates believes the World Cup will return to this country for the first time since 1966 and is adamant Elland Road will be one of the 12 host venues.
To make that a reality, the United chairman plans to build a new multi-million pound West Stand to raise the capacity to 50,000 and put the stadium on a par with the likes of Sunderland's Stadium of Light and St James' Park, Newcastle.
Bates, who last month revealed ambitious plans to transform the area behind the East Stand by building two hotels and a shopping arcade in an attempt to generate revenue all-year round, last night told the Yorkshire Post: "We have looked into what can be done.
"For example, to get 3,000 to 4,000 more seats in the South Stand, a second tier would have to be cantilevered over Elland Road. The questions then are 'Is it worth it? And is it cost effective?' The answer to those are both 'no'.
"There is nothing we can do with the East Stand, it has 17,000 seats anyway. So it has to be the West Stand, which offers us a first class opportunity to add 10,000 seats.
"The current West Stand was built more than half a century ago and a firm of architects have spent recent weeks drawing up proposals to replace it.
Bates is, however, at pains to point out that the clock is ticking and that the support of Leeds Council is imperative: "Time is not on our side, but I am determined to build a world class stadium for Leeds."If we do get the 2018 World Cup – which I think we will – then obviously the council will want us to be a host city. My answer to that is if we don't get a move on then we won't be.
"It is 10 years away, which sounds a long time. But it isn't. Suppose we pushed the button today, it would take 12 to 18 months to get the plans drawn up, agreed and planning permission granted.
"Then, we have to go through the tender process and I would not expect site work to start until 2011. Building football stadiums is complicated by having to be planned around the time slot of May to August.
"With the kind of stand I am envisaging, I would think you are looking at two years to build and that takes us to 2013.
"The new facility then has to be run-in, such as making sure every switch and toilet works, before you can even think about staging a World Cup."
United sold Elland Road to Manchester businessman Jacob Adler in November, 2004, with ownership subsequently passing to Teak Commercial Limited the following year.
Little is publicly known about the British Virgin Islands-based company, but with the original deal including a buy-back clause that United can trigger at any time, Bates insists the club will regain ownership of their home in the future.
He said: "Elland Road is quite simple; it is owned by Adler and we pay him a substantial rent. We have an option to buy it for 21 more years. The price goes up at three per cent per annum, but inflation is the same so that is fine.
"At the right time, we will borrow the money and buy it back. But, at the moment, due to Leeds' chequered record, naturally financial institutions are cautious about lending it. They want to see what new Leeds are doing.
"I am pleased to say that six months in, we have our costs under control, we are making money and have cash in the bank. It means we are starting to build up a record that will hopefully make institutions comfortable with lending to us.
"As for the new West Stand, It will be expensive, but that is why we are looking to utilise the ground 365 days per year by developing the hotels and conference facilities."
Ken Bates unveils his big plans for the future of Leeds United
By Richard Sutcliffe
Ken Bates will celebrate his third anniversary in charge of Leeds United next week. Here, he outlines to Richard Sutcliffe his vision for the future.
GAZING out of the window in Ken Bates' office at Elland Road on a wet and windy afternoon in January, the view is one of contrast. In the distance, the lights of the city centre shine brightly with the imposing new 32-storey Bridgewater Place acting as a beacon for the new-found prosperity that has saw vibrant Leeds christened the 'Knightsbridge of the North'. A world away from this Harvey Nichols existence, however, is Holbeck, a suburb of red brick terraced houses and potholed wasteland that makes it very much a poor relation to the affluent city centre. It is this down-at-heel suburb that the back of the East Stand at Elland Road looks out on to and with an ugly motorway running through it, the view is distinctly underwhelming. Unless, that is, you are the Leeds United chairman.
Talking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post ahead of next Monday's third anniversary of taking over United, Bates is outlining his vision for the future. And he has plans. Big plans. Not only is the United chairman wanting to build a brand new multi-million pound West Stand to raise the Elland Road capacity to 50,000, he also has ambitious plans for the stand we are sitting in. Two hotels are on the agenda along with the type of classy shopping arcade that makes the centre of Leeds stand out. Also included in the blueprint is a nightclub, new restaurants and a club museum. While outlining all this, he suddenly jumps to his feet before beckoning this correspondent to the window.
He said: "It excites me what can be done. I was ridiculed at Chelsea (when announcing the plans for Chelsea Village) but now West Ham, Reading, Oxford, Derby, Leicester, Bolton and Sheffield United have all adapted that model.
"The key for this club's future is utilising the land 365 days per year. We have to attract income that is not dependant on how things are going on the field." Clearly, the Yorkshire Post suggests, Bates is not planning on leaving Elland Road any time soon? "Of course, I'm not. I have a vision for this area and I want to be able to say to the next man 'follow that'."
At one stage last year, of course, there was a time when it seemed there might not be a "next man". Or, for that matter, a football club at all.Administration followed relegation and the club's future was only assured a week before the 2007-08 season was due to kick off.
Even then, salvation came at a price with the Football League hitting Leeds with an unprecedented 15-point penalty. This punishment was subsequently upheld at a meeting of the other 71 member clubs with only five voting in United's favour. Dennis Wise's players may have overcome the handicap to battle their way into the promotion reckoning, but Bates still rankles at what he perceives as a grave injustice.
He said: "We have used it to our advantage by creating a siege mentality, but I have a long memory and I will not forget. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
"The chief executive of Leyton Orient told me quite frankly 'we had a board meeting and I was instructed to vote for the 15-point deduction because you are a competitor'. Where is the justice in that?
"It is not a surprise they voted how they did. When we go away, we effectively write a cheque for £70,000 to the home club. It is easily their biggest gate of the season.
"And the League Two clubs voted against us because they wanted some of that next year. The Championship clubs voted against us because it was another competitor out of the way.
"It was all self interest.
"Going into administration was a painful experience but they have since emerged in good shape. The £35m debt has gone with the settlement for creditors having been paid into the account of the administrator, KPMG. This will, in turn, be dished out to creditors once the identity of the liquidator can be agreed.
Bates said: "The fire-fighting is over, and we are now able to plan properly for the future. For example, we will be announcing a new commercial sponsorship next month that will add between £3.5m to £4.5m profit to our bottom line over the next four years.
"This season, we have spent £1m on players. But against that, we sold players for £3.9m. That helped pay the administrator and fund the losses made by the Conference and Banqueting section over the summer, which was about £900,000.
"We also paid the football creditors off. What we are trying to do now is deal with people who lost money with us. Some don't want to, and I fully understand that."But, by and large, we are dealing with a lot of them and hope to continue to do so for the long term. I feel that is very important.
"We are also setting sensible budgets. (Peter) Ridsdale not only predicted that Leeds would be in the Champions League every year, but also that they would get to the semi-final every two years.
"Our budget for this season is much more sensible, being based on getting knocked out of the cups in the first round. We predicted £80,000.
"But even though we are out of all the cups and have had little or no television coverage, we have still actually raised £288,000. That is how I like to do budgets."
Ken Bates is confident England will win the right to stage the 2018 World Cup and is determined the city of Leeds will not miss out.
The Football Association officially launched their campaign to stage the finals last year and are likely to face stiff competition from China, America, Russia and Australia plus a joint bid from Belgium and Holland.Despite that, Bates believes the World Cup will return to this country for the first time since 1966 and is adamant Elland Road will be one of the 12 host venues.
To make that a reality, the United chairman plans to build a new multi-million pound West Stand to raise the capacity to 50,000 and put the stadium on a par with the likes of Sunderland's Stadium of Light and St James' Park, Newcastle.
Bates, who last month revealed ambitious plans to transform the area behind the East Stand by building two hotels and a shopping arcade in an attempt to generate revenue all-year round, last night told the Yorkshire Post: "We have looked into what can be done.
"For example, to get 3,000 to 4,000 more seats in the South Stand, a second tier would have to be cantilevered over Elland Road. The questions then are 'Is it worth it? And is it cost effective?' The answer to those are both 'no'.
"There is nothing we can do with the East Stand, it has 17,000 seats anyway. So it has to be the West Stand, which offers us a first class opportunity to add 10,000 seats.
"The current West Stand was built more than half a century ago and a firm of architects have spent recent weeks drawing up proposals to replace it.
Bates is, however, at pains to point out that the clock is ticking and that the support of Leeds Council is imperative: "Time is not on our side, but I am determined to build a world class stadium for Leeds."If we do get the 2018 World Cup – which I think we will – then obviously the council will want us to be a host city. My answer to that is if we don't get a move on then we won't be.
"It is 10 years away, which sounds a long time. But it isn't. Suppose we pushed the button today, it would take 12 to 18 months to get the plans drawn up, agreed and planning permission granted.
"Then, we have to go through the tender process and I would not expect site work to start until 2011. Building football stadiums is complicated by having to be planned around the time slot of May to August.
"With the kind of stand I am envisaging, I would think you are looking at two years to build and that takes us to 2013.
"The new facility then has to be run-in, such as making sure every switch and toilet works, before you can even think about staging a World Cup."
United sold Elland Road to Manchester businessman Jacob Adler in November, 2004, with ownership subsequently passing to Teak Commercial Limited the following year.
Little is publicly known about the British Virgin Islands-based company, but with the original deal including a buy-back clause that United can trigger at any time, Bates insists the club will regain ownership of their home in the future.
He said: "Elland Road is quite simple; it is owned by Adler and we pay him a substantial rent. We have an option to buy it for 21 more years. The price goes up at three per cent per annum, but inflation is the same so that is fine.
"At the right time, we will borrow the money and buy it back. But, at the moment, due to Leeds' chequered record, naturally financial institutions are cautious about lending it. They want to see what new Leeds are doing.
"I am pleased to say that six months in, we have our costs under control, we are making money and have cash in the bank. It means we are starting to build up a record that will hopefully make institutions comfortable with lending to us.
"As for the new West Stand, It will be expensive, but that is why we are looking to utilise the ground 365 days per year by developing the hotels and conference facilities."