I think that Coventry City will be quite worried. I don't think they have the finances to buy the Arena which could leave them homeless if Wasps go under. In an ideal world, I'd hope the council / local authority would buy the venue and then lease it out to the football club but everything is so tight at the moment.
But this angle needs to be aimed at the governing body / government / Sport England etc. to supply funds so that these clubs can build and own their ground and facilities. There were a number of clubs (at that time) who were ground sharing and jumping around from location to location. Wasps & London Irish just to name 2. While the other clubs have not changed or improved their grounds since they were built, teams like Sale, Bath, Worcester, Gloucester all have grounds that need work doing to them or to increase their capacity. If you compare our facilities to those in Ireland, France or Italy, we are a joke!
It was a dark period in the BFP history when Wasps were awarded prime sports slot in the paper, and the Wanderers reduced to a mere footnote a few pages in.
The coverage is immeasurably better now even though we're in an era where printed press feels like a quirky nod to the distant past.
I'm no rugby fan but I always feel for supporters in this scenario. It's all a sporting disaster and is now showing a new and worrying trend. Somehow never felt this would affect rugby in the same way as football. Possibly more to come sadly. It seems the 'new' controlling corporate bodies are now into everything with their greed, control and utter lack of soul and conscience. Thank goodness for how we all try to achieve things in the more sensible Wycombe model. Frankly, I'm happy to remain in League 1 and keep the club.
Sadly professional Rugby Union is a financial basket case (Rugby League struggles but at least gets decent gates and has sensible salary caps etc.) a bit like the Championship where salaries & running costs far out strip the gate receipts & TV money which is a fairly paltyr sum. Rugby Union is an odd game economically as for internationals you could sell out the grounds 3 to 4 times over but for the Premiership teams they often struggle to get 3 men & a dog to turn up & watch...
Without benevolent owners, or a US sport style money sharing arrangement I fear it is doomed for now as a pro sport in England, they just cannot attract sufficient audience.
As a watch I prefer rugby union as a watch. The stop start nature of league is too much like American football for me. Mt brother in law is a season ticket holder with Warrington Wolves and Everton, but won't attend a Union game. Guess a lot comes down to your roots. The North South divide is very prominent in rugby. 🤷♂️
I don't understand how a Better Dead than Red, race to the top, I earned this money and no mo'-fo' is getting their hands on my hard-earned type free market economy ended up with a no promotion/relegation cartel type system with profit sharing and regulated wages. It's almost as if the real goal is for the owners of these major sporting institutions to self-perpetuate their own interests at the cost of those further down the league and the general masses have been hoodwinked into viewing it as an expression of how they are so great and everyone else is so rubbish. Don't see it catching on over here. No, wait ...
My understanding is that the stadium is owned by the local council and long-leased to Wasps. I believe the long lease contains rights for the freeholder to cancel the lease in event of insolvency proceedings.
I suspect lawyers for all parties will have been dusting off the lease to see what it precisely says but if the lease allows them to suspect the Council will leave the lease with Wasps while the administration takes place and only seek to repossess if Wasps looks like failing completely or is sold to undesirables or in any way threatens the tenure of the football club.
They will now have to pay the Council for the ground. The council gave Wasps a 250 year lease when they moved up and they sub-let it to Coventry City FC. However, the club aim is to take on this lease but the council & club have never got on so it'll be interesting how this one plays out.
However there is reports that an American Businessman might be interested in taking over the club, if he's successful, the council might be open to easier lease talks with him rather than their current owners.
I have the utmost sympathy with those (presumably) losing their livelihoods over this, especially in this current climate, so I don’t want to gloat about the pests’ demise.
However…
I will always remember someone on the old Gasroom highlighting a thread on their ‘Drunken Wasps’ forum, back when we were financially in the shit in the early 2010s, where a number of pests fans were revelling in our struggles and hoping we went bust so they could take over Adams Park.
The pests have spent decades taking advantage of distressed football clubs to support themselves, like a sporting parasite. I have no sympathy for their fanbase or them as a club. As Nikki Bull once yelled at an opposition striker; Karma.
Comments
I think that Coventry City will be quite worried. I don't think they have the finances to buy the Arena which could leave them homeless if Wasps go under. In an ideal world, I'd hope the council / local authority would buy the venue and then lease it out to the football club but everything is so tight at the moment.
But this angle needs to be aimed at the governing body / government / Sport England etc. to supply funds so that these clubs can build and own their ground and facilities. There were a number of clubs (at that time) who were ground sharing and jumping around from location to location. Wasps & London Irish just to name 2. While the other clubs have not changed or improved their grounds since they were built, teams like Sale, Bath, Worcester, Gloucester all have grounds that need work doing to them or to increase their capacity. If you compare our facilities to those in Ireland, France or Italy, we are a joke!
It was a dark period in the BFP history when Wasps were awarded prime sports slot in the paper, and the Wanderers reduced to a mere footnote a few pages in.
The coverage is immeasurably better now even though we're in an era where printed press feels like a quirky nod to the distant past.
Lol
Worcester Warriors now suspended from all competitions
Worcester Warriors suspended by RFU after failing to meet funding deadline - BBC Sport
Incredible that Wasps are still wiggling. And even more incredible that one of English rugby’s big boys is crashing so hard.
Ho hum. Any box set suggestions? Looking to fill a few days.
I'm no rugby fan but I always feel for supporters in this scenario. It's all a sporting disaster and is now showing a new and worrying trend. Somehow never felt this would affect rugby in the same way as football. Possibly more to come sadly. It seems the 'new' controlling corporate bodies are now into everything with their greed, control and utter lack of soul and conscience. Thank goodness for how we all try to achieve things in the more sensible Wycombe model. Frankly, I'm happy to remain in League 1 and keep the club.
Sadly professional Rugby Union is a financial basket case (Rugby League struggles but at least gets decent gates and has sensible salary caps etc.) a bit like the Championship where salaries & running costs far out strip the gate receipts & TV money which is a fairly paltyr sum. Rugby Union is an odd game economically as for internationals you could sell out the grounds 3 to 4 times over but for the Premiership teams they often struggle to get 3 men & a dog to turn up & watch...
Without benevolent owners, or a US sport style money sharing arrangement I fear it is doomed for now as a pro sport in England, they just cannot attract sufficient audience.
As a watch I prefer rugby union as a watch. The stop start nature of league is too much like American football for me. Mt brother in law is a season ticket holder with Warrington Wolves and Everton, but won't attend a Union game. Guess a lot comes down to your roots. The North South divide is very prominent in rugby. 🤷♂️
I prefer netball as a watch. And with just 7 players, it is no surprise that there is no talk of financial meltdown in the Vitality Superleague.
I don't understand how a Better Dead than Red, race to the top, I earned this money and no mo'-fo' is getting their hands on my hard-earned type free market economy ended up with a no promotion/relegation cartel type system with profit sharing and regulated wages. It's almost as if the real goal is for the owners of these major sporting institutions to self-perpetuate their own interests at the cost of those further down the league and the general masses have been hoodwinked into viewing it as an expression of how they are so great and everyone else is so rubbish. Don't see it catching on over here. No, wait ...
I prefer Casio as a watch.
Rugby 7s is surely the best form or rugby, if you do have to have one.
It's the most athletic, as you don't have 18stone goons whose main role is to smash people or support some big grid of goons.
And there's no punting the ball into touch to gain ground. Just positive running rugby always trying to get a try.
That's like saying 5-a-side football is the best form of football because there are loads of goals and no offside
The best form of rugby is no rugby
It's also like saying that the Hong Kong sixes was the best form of cricket (which would of course be true.)
Oh no... https://twitter.com/WaspsRugby/status/1580184415639986176
Any idea how, if at all, this affects Coventry?
Well… they weren’t particularly nice to us when they were here.
My understanding is that the stadium is owned by the local council and long-leased to Wasps. I believe the long lease contains rights for the freeholder to cancel the lease in event of insolvency proceedings.
I suspect lawyers for all parties will have been dusting off the lease to see what it precisely says but if the lease allows them to suspect the Council will leave the lease with Wasps while the administration takes place and only seek to repossess if Wasps looks like failing completely or is sold to undesirables or in any way threatens the tenure of the football club.
Now suspended from the Premiership
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63232043
whats happening to professional rugby? Surely it’s not unsustainable?
35 million owed to their own damp chino brigade bond owners. The Samaratans are on standby on Marlow Bridge.
They will now have to pay the Council for the ground. The council gave Wasps a 250 year lease when they moved up and they sub-let it to Coventry City FC. However, the club aim is to take on this lease but the council & club have never got on so it'll be interesting how this one plays out.
However there is reports that an American Businessman might be interested in taking over the club, if he's successful, the council might be open to easier lease talks with him rather than their current owners.
I saw a couple of Coventry fans on twitter yesterday refer to Wasps as... the MK Dons of rugby, about right I thought
I have the utmost sympathy with those (presumably) losing their livelihoods over this, especially in this current climate, so I don’t want to gloat about the pests’ demise.
However…
I will always remember someone on the old Gasroom highlighting a thread on their ‘Drunken Wasps’ forum, back when we were financially in the shit in the early 2010s, where a number of pests fans were revelling in our struggles and hoping we went bust so they could take over Adams Park.
The pests have spent decades taking advantage of distressed football clubs to support themselves, like a sporting parasite. I have no sympathy for their fanbase or them as a club. As Nikki Bull once yelled at an opposition striker; Karma.
Jonny
with respect mate, you can’t judge the entire fan base of a sports club by what a few arseholes post on a forum.
a lot of people have had their lives made worse by this news - many of them significantly so. I feel for them all
but MK Dons only moved once...
"Leeches" would have been a better name for that club.
Or Tapeworms