PIF, PCP, and RB Sports & Media

[TheBrownBottle]

9 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

There's an awful lot of presumptions, possiblys, and may haves in that statement.

 

And we certainly didn't have the highest season ticket prices in the country at that point. I had a season ticket throughout that time and can't remember amy sharp increases. In fact even when Mike Ashley took over in 2007 ST prices in the Leazes/Gallowgate were onky around the £400 mark. Checkout what Ken Bates was charging Chelsea fans in the mid 90s!

Likewise, and season ticket prices shot up from the early to mid-90s.  In fact average ticket prices went up more than threefold on average between 1991 and 1997.  They plateaued after that.  No matter how good we are at that point, I reckon plenty would be unhappy if their season ticket was three times more expensive by 2028. 

 

Then you had nearly 10,000 paying £500 for the bond scheme.  And Platinum club tickets for £3k (how much are they these days?).  NUFC tops were £40 a pop in the mid-90s - and I’d be willing to bet we sold more then than in recent times.  That’s the equivalent of £85 today.

 

The club was funded by the supporters, not the Halls or the Shepherds.  That was our money going in which bought KK’s side. 

[Wallsendmag]

4 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Likewise, and season ticket prices shot up from the early to mid-90s.  In fact average ticket prices went up more than threefold on average between 1991 and 1997.  They plateaued after that.  No matter how good we are at that point, I reckon plenty would be unhappy if their season ticket was three times more expensive by 2028. 

 

Then you had nearly 10,000 paying £500 for the bond scheme.  And Platinum club tickets for £3k (how much are they these days?).  NUFC tops were £40 a pop in the mid-90s - and I’d be willing to bet we sold more then than in recent times.  That’s the equivalent of £85 today.

 

The club was funded by the supporters, not the Halls or the Shepherds.  That was our money going in which bought KK’s side. 

 

Ticket prices shot up all over the country though in the mid 90s when the Premier League really grew in popularity. We were no different to any of the other big clubs at the time. We certainly weren't exorbitant like some are suggesting. The Platinum Club I didn't agree with but the bond scheme was 100% optional and lets not forget was a Freddy Fletcher idea that he'd previously done whilst a director at Rangers.

 

Mike Ashley put around 20k season tickets up in price by over £120 from one season to the next (17/18 to 18/19) and few batted an eyelid, and that was to watch a pointless club that wasn't even trying.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Wallsendmag

[The Prophet]

 

[Groundhog63]

3 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The Halls took possibly as much as a nine-figure sum out of the club.

 

And by 1995-96 the club had the highest average season ticket prices in the country, though not necessarily the highest individual tickets.

 

Also worth noting that post-Taylor just about every club in the top couple of divisions has stadiums which look very different to what they did in the early-‘90s.  If it wasn’t Hall, it would have been someone else.  Even the Mackems had a 48,000 all-seater by the end of the decade. 
 

edit: changed ten- to nine-figure.  John Hall is not a billionaire.  In a very real sense (Viz reference)

 

 

 

I refer you to my previous comment, viza vi, he's a cunt ?

[Cattletrucked]

49 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said:

I refer you to my previous comment, viza vi, he's a cunt ?

He maybe is a cunt, but he’s the cunt who probably saved us from oblivion at the time and contributed to us all seeing probably the best football we’ve seen in our lives. Aye he fucked up in the end, but if it wasn’t for him initially we could’ve been playing Hartlepool now. 

[TRon]

Hard for me to associate Hall with anything other than good times tbh. He gave us the best time of our lives, yes he made money out of it, and that was probably his main motivating factor, but we spent big then. It was our money, but at least he made sure we invested it in the team and aimed for the top. I think that's about all you could ask for back then.

[christ]

I don’t have an issue with SJH. I’m sure he made off like a bandit, he was a businessman after all, but he transformed the club.

[Groundhog63]

See what I mean. 

"yeah but she gave the best head" 

[Stifler]

So apparently there are 2 more Rugby clubs close to going into administration, or atleast in financial difficulty. Some expert on the radio seemed to imply that one of them is Newcastle Falcons.

I wonder if PIF would be interested in buying them as well and gaining Kingston Park. Either use it as a ready made ground for our academy/women’s teams, or bring in the Rugby team to SJP?

They could also demolish some stands and put in temporary ones for a temporary home if they were to rebuild SJP.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Stifler

[Dr.Spaceman]

I highly doubt we're going to allow regular rugby matches at SJP.

 

It would be good to see PIF invest in the rugby as well as the basketball. The BBL have just removed the salary cap as London Lions have had a lot of recent investment and they want to compete on a Euro level. It would be good to have a competitive team again as we're literally the shittest team in the league and have been ever since Fab left. The sky is the limit for the sport in the UK imo.

[Mikky]

10 minutes ago, Stifler said:

So apparently there are 2 more Rugby clubs close to going into administration, or atleast in financial difficulty. Some expert on the radio seemed to imply that one of them is Newcastle Falcons.

I wonder if PIF would be interested in buying them as well and gaining Kingston Park. Either use it as a ready made ground for our academy/women’s teams, or bring in the Rugby team to SJP?

They could also demolish some stands and put in temporary ones for a temporary home if they were to rebuild SJP.

 

 

 

Absolute no brainer (and Aramco are entering the cricket market too)

[Stifler]

5 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

I highly doubt we're going to allow regular rugby matches at SJP.

 

It would be good to see PIF invest in the rugby as well as the basketball. The BBL have just removed the salary cap as London Lions have had a lot of recent investment and they want to compete on a Euro level. It would be good to have a competitive team again as we're literally the shittest team in the league and have been ever since Fab left. The sky is the limit for the sport in the UK imo.

Don’t ESH own the basketball team. I can’t see them being in a position where they need to sell.

[KDT]

15 minutes ago, Stifler said:

So apparently there are 2 more Rugby clubs close to going into administration, or atleast in financial difficulty. Some expert on the radio seemed to imply that one of them is Newcastle Falcons.

I wonder if PIF would be interested in buying them as well and gaining Kingston Park. Either use it as a ready made ground for our academy/women’s teams, or bring in the Rugby team to SJP?

They could also demolish some stands and put in temporary ones for a temporary home if they were to rebuild SJP.

 

 

 

 

Falcons always get roped in with this but generally speaking (famous last words) they're living within their means and pretty much all the debt is to the owner. So unless he walks away they'll be ok, it would be an absolute drop in the ocean for PIF to get into the Rugby game but in terms of world exposure it's pretty low down the list. The involvement of the Women's team at Kingston Park is again only going to help Falcons as well.

[Keegans Export]

9 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

I highly doubt we're going to allow regular rugby matches at SJP.

 

It would be good to see PIF invest in the rugby as well as the basketball. The BBL have just removed the salary cap as London Lions have had a lot of recent investment and they want to compete on a Euro level. It would be good to have a competitive team again as we're literally the shittest team in the league and have been ever since Fab left. The sky is the limit for the sport in the UK imo.

It would be great to see that Newcastle Sports City ambition that SJH had come to fruition.

 

I've often thought you could put together a very successful rugby/basketball/women's football team with relatively little investment, at least compared to PL football. Obviously they've introduced salary caps in the rugby but the rest are pretty much pre-FFP football aren't they?

 

How much input did SJH actually have on the Falcons/Eagles/Ice Hockey (Cobras?)?

[Wolfcastle]

Did a brilliant job. Got remunerated well for it.

So?

He had to turn the club around for that to happen. If he didn't the owners would have made less money whilst the club died a slow death.

If somebody wants to come in and turn the club around for the better and make money for themselves doing it I'm all for it. Likewise with any business.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Wolfcastle

[Dr.Spaceman]

2 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Don’t ESH own the basketball team. I can’t see them being in a position where they need to sell.

 

I think they're owned by Paul Blake (Esh Managing Director). He is essentially Mr. Newcastle Eagles, I doubt he'd turn down investment on the scale PIF could offer.

 

I think the basketball and rugby investment is an incredibly easy win for PIF.

[number37]

15 minutes ago, Stifler said:

So apparently there are 2 more Rugby clubs close to going into administration, or atleast in financial difficulty. Some expert on the radio seemed to imply that one of them is Newcastle Falcons.

I wonder if PIF would be interested in buying them as well and gaining Kingston Park. Either use it as a ready made ground for our academy/women’s teams, or bring in the Rugby team to SJP?

They could also demolish some stands and put in temporary ones for a temporary home if they were to rebuild SJP.

 

 

 

Yeah, I actually think this is a good idea and in the grand scheme of things a rugby club isn't going to cost a great deal. The rugby club could share United's training facilities and the football club could make use of Kingston Park as you say. 

 

From a marketing and prestige perspective, falconry is a very highly sought after skill in Arabia (so the name fits) and there'd be no bother with the colours as green and white are the traditional colours of the club anyway. 

 

Money talks though so this would be venturing on charitable for PIF as you just don't generate cash or exposure in domestic rugby - hence the many administrations. 

 

Any excuse to dust this off though... 

 

[Dr.Spaceman]

2 minutes ago, Keegans Export said:

It would be great to see that Newcastle Sports City ambition that SJH had come to fruition.

 

I've often thought you could put together a very successful rugby/basketball/women's football team with relatively little investment, at least compared to PL football. Obviously they've introduced salary caps in the rugby but the rest are pretty much pre-FFP football aren't they?

 

How much input did SJH actually have on the Falcons/Eagles/Ice Hockey (Cobras?)?

 

Loads of businesses pulling in the same direction can only be a good thing for the city. I've always maintained that I don't really care what happens to NUFC under the stewardship of PIF if they fail to invest in the city, whether directly or by proxy.

[christ]

Those eagles look more pathetic than the seahorses.

[Dr.Spaceman]

That's because they're falcons...

[christ]

Alright Bill Oddie.

[Dr.Spaceman]

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Dr.Spaceman

[Dr.Spaceman]

Look at me, I have eyes.

 

Pathetic.

[Wolfcastle]

5 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The Halls took possibly as much as a nine-figure sum out of the club.

 

And by 1995-96 the club had the highest average season ticket prices in the country, though not necessarily the highest individual tickets.

 

Also worth noting that post-Taylor just about every club in the top couple of divisions has stadiums which look very different to what they did in the early-‘90s.  If it wasn’t Hall, it would have been someone else.  Even the Mackems had a 48,000 all-seater by the end of the decade. 
 

edit: changed ten- to nine-figure.  John Hall is not a billionaire.  In a very real sense (Viz reference)

 

 

 

for the record: My season ticket in the East Stand (so obviously one of the more expensive) was £338 for 95/96. Manchester United's equivalent £342.

Demand was massive. We were the only two clubs that sold out every game at the time.

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Wolfcastle

[madras]

6 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

That's because they're falcons...

Newcastle Eagles does have a ring to it though. Wonder why no one's thought of that ?