Petition to save Wrexham FC's ground, the Racecourse.

[cyn]

Hello, sorry if this has been posted here before.

Could you please spare a few minutes to read the following and if you agree, could you please sign the petition? Many thanks.

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?WREXHAM&1

Wrexham fans are hoping to reach 10,000 signatures before a meeting to be held next Wednesday (16 June) - 5,580 signatures so far. Your help would be most appreciated.

Here's a write-up on the financial crisis facing Wrexham:

BRAZILIANT
Posts: 461
(28/5/04 1:01 pm)
Reply Re: Where have you advertised the petition
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THE STORY............COPY IT FOR ANY WEBSITE

Two years ago the then chairman of Wrexham Football Club, Mr Pryce Griffiths, who was a real Wrexham supporter and had the best interests of the club at heart, was struggling to cope with the increased stress of running the club due to ill health and decided to sell his 78% of shares in the club to a Mr Mark Guterman, a property developer, believing after several meetings that he would continue to look after the club and take it forward.

After Mark Guterman took over, the club won promotion back to Division Two and everything seemed fine, but no money was ever provided for transfer fees by the new chairman/owner and then starting in November last year the players wages started to be paid late and carried on being paid late until his sudden resignation last week. On several occasions the phones had been cut off and also the players had no hot water at the training complex at Colliers Park.

A Mr John Reames had appeared on the scene over the last couple of months, claiming he was here as a favour to Mark Gutterman and was not receiving a penny for his help, and on Monday night at a board meeting called due to Mark Gutermans departure he was made Managing Director. He was previously involved at Lincoln City where he was chairman and their fans cannot believe he has been allowed to obtain a position of power at another football club.

Amazingly, Mr Reames has admitted that Mark Gutterman was never owner of Wrexham Football Club and the owner is in fact a Mr Alex Hamilton, another property developer who is a close friend and business associate of Mark Guterman, and Mr Alex Hamilton has admitted himself "that he has no interest in football". Mr Alex Hamilton also bought the freehold of the ground from Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries over a year ago for £300,000 and this was never reported in the local press along with several other very important issues regarding the club. The club had a 125 year lease agreed for a peppercorn rent, this is now worthless as Mr Hamilton owns both the club and the freehold and can do what he likes with them.

According to Mr Reames, Mr Hamilton wishes to demolish the Kop and Yale stands during the season after next and rotate the pitch ninety degrees during the summer break to "free up" more space for redevelopment, once this is done Mr Hamilton will walk away from the club with a handsome profit leaving the club debt free. This will lead to the loss of the club car park and a reduction in capacity of the ground by 1500.

Obviously this is very worrying for any Wrexham fan as the current ground is a very good stadium and is better left as it is, and can it really be believed that all the work can be done while the team still plays at the stadium? Why do we need to build a smaller stadium on the same site allowing a property developer to walk off with millions in profit and pay off debts that have been created while he has been the owner, it just doesn't make any sense apart from someone asset stripping the land for their own benefit.

The obvious main worry is that once the work begins an excuse will be made that we will have to groundshare because of the work taking too long etc and we will never return as the land will be sold once we are off site, and for anyone who doubts this is a possibility, just ask any Brighton fan who are now fully supporting our cause as can be seen from the petition, along with fans of all other football clubs including not surprisingly Lincoln City.

[The Post Master General]

This sounds all too familiar.

Leases being torn up, property developers and personal greed - wonder where we've heard that before?

I've signed it, let's show our support for Wrexham.

Why are these people allowed to become involved with football clubs?

[weareyork]

Signed.

Good luck Wrexham. I can't believe that this is allowed to happen. Are the FA EVER going to do something about this?

[cyn]

Thanks very much for your support.

[cyn]

From Red Passion On-line

The Wrexham First meeting

taffguyukhc
Registered User
Posts: 16
(17/6/04 9:23 am)
Reply The Wrexham First meeting
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I though the meeting was very productive and informative last night.

For anyone living under a rock for the past few months, speakers gave a brief `timeline' of events since Mark Guterman took over to the present day.

Phil Tooley from a Chesterfield supporter's trust and one of the top guys involved with Supporter's Direct gave a fascinating talk, and gave us all hope for the future of Wrexham FC, so, much thanks goes to him.

Anyway, I don't want to rant on about giving an overview of the meeting, you'll see that in today's papers.

The fact is, that many ideas were brought forward, and despite things getting heated with Wingrove near the end of the 3-hour discussion, I found it better than the fan's forum at the centenary club.

Gary Bennett is a true red, and he showed that last night. £50,000 for a fan's representative on the board? Pyscho gets my vote.

His words, albeit, brief, struck a chord with everyone last night. Then he ends up walking off with the signed Wales shirt he was trying to auction! Genius.

Benno, and everyone involved last night - take a bow.

We're on the way to owning that club, and make no mistake, we WILL own OUR club.

keb mo
Posts: 864
(17/6/04 9:34 am)
Reply re
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250 attendence.
standing room only
very slick presentations topped off by benno who electrified the room.

very passionate Q&A session.
lots of emotion.
lots of ideas
got a bit rowdy when wingrove was speaking but these things needed saying and he will take a very clear messsage back to his master.
loads of people joined the trust.
we must have raised a few quid even tho it wasnt a fund raiser.
benno paid £180 for a wales shirt.

the leader of the council said......
"there is no way the club is moving from the racecourse"

loads of people coming forward at the end to offer help and ideas.
people were still there talking at midnight.

well done to everyone who turned up.
we are on the move!!

sign up for this textaid thing its money for nothing.



smiffysarmy
Posts: 624
(17/6/04 10:00 am)
Reply Fans United
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It was great to see the fans united at last, last night. A great night, it was even more stirring to see the likes of Nicky Hencher and Gary Bennett showing their strong feeling for the club - and voicing their opinions passionately. I was proud of us all last night....

Good to see Bill Wingrove there - he took some stick, but im glad he was there - it showed him the pride and passion us Wrexham fans have for our club....

as Lindsay said in his speech last night - we can ALL help and we must. I’m thinking of ways to help all the time (I should be working now, and im looking over my shoulder every 2 minutes!!)
What does worry me is that if the rumours are true and Hamilton wants £5 million for the club, how are we going to raise that????? - he could really hold us to ransom....Phil Tooley at Chesterfield said that their fans bought the club for £6,000 - but its a differerent animal here im afraid, and its a fierce one!!

“WREXHAM WILL NEVER DIE”


Stephen Matthias
Posts: 2810
(17/6/04 12:07 pm)
Reply Re: Fans United
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I came away from that meeting believing that we can win this one, I don't know how we'll do it but we will do. Fantastic evening, well organised, people did us proud last night.

welshwayne
Posts: 1138
(17/6/04 12:13 pm)
Reply £5m or £6k: it will be somewhere in between
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this depends on us.

it will get lower if we can make hamilton realise he hasn't a hope of moving wrexham or redeveloping a blade of grass at the racecourse. this is down to us being vocal and lobbying the politicians. remeber the less the worth of redevelopment the less the club will cost.

it is also down to all of us making money for the supporters trust.



GlynTheMilk
Posts: 1165
(17/6/04 12:46 pm)
Reply
Re: £5m or £6k: it will be somewhere in between
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Yeah, I think last night was extremely successful, and hats off to those who organised it all (except a Graham Norton-esque welshwayne who stood on my toe, the b*****d!). I know it might have been a bit like preaching to the converted, but there were quite a few sceptics there last night who you actually got on side with it.

Stirring stuff gentlemen!

welshwayne
Posts: 1142
(17/6/04 2:57 pm)
Reply so graham bloody norton (?) i wish i had his money!
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i got anneka rice, both ant and dec (?), kilroy and an old bloke saying that i covered more ground that evening than lee jones did all last season!!!

seriously though, hats off to all the lads that organised the event. However, i know none of them want thanks they just to help and want our help also.

Unquote

Once again, thanks to the York supporters who signed the petition.