Kan ikkje sjå at nokon har posta dette enno. Trur det er henta frå Yorkshire radio som hadde ein 'send inn spørsmål til Bates' session, og derfrå kjem desse svara. Er ikkje noko revolusjonerande, men folk har gjerne interesse av å lese det. Har 'bolda' det mest interessante. Henta frå Waccoe.
What's the latest position regarding the buy back of Thorp Arch?
We have an option until October to buy back, rent goes up 3% per year and the purchase price is a multiple of the rent currently at 480K per year. Currently in negotiations with the council to come to an arrangement, will hopefully be resolved on Sept 17th. We had a good meeting with them yesterday and they are now making recommendations to the committee and then we'll know the answer. Can't see of any reason why the council will refuse because it's on their terms which we've negotiated. The council has guidelines for things which they can borrow money for (certain defined projects) and this comes in to that definition so I'm fairly hopefull that the deal will go through and TA will return to Leeds United
Is automatic promotion within our grasp this season?
Simon has an phenomenal record here since he joined us, winning away games which we wouldn't have in the past. The acquisition of Bromby strengthens the back 4 which let us down last year with bad runs under Gary Mac and Simon. I would be disappointed if we don't go up auto, I don't want those play off hells again.
How long are you going to be chairman for and what motivates you?
I'm gonna carry on long enough to be at this guys funeral" (the guy who sent in the question). Loves the buzz of the game, most people have straightforward lives but running a football club is never routine, everyday is different, so much going on all the time it's exciting.
Where do you see the club in 4 or 5 years time?
Ideally we should be back in the Premiership, we ought to go up this year which would take us back in to the Championship which we should never have left other than going up from it, but it will be very tough in there as 6 clubs next season will get a cheque for £11 million in parachute payments which gives them a big advantage over us. So we would have to work much harder to overcome the comparative shortage of riches. But Burnley, Hull, Stoke and Wigan have all done it so there's no reason why we couldn't, we just have to be better managers on and off the field.
Why are the ticket prices so high for a league 1 side, wouldn't you like to see Elland road full every week?
Yes I would, but not in such a way as we go bankrupt. ER is one of the most expensive grounds in the country to run. We pay £1.5 million rent every year, including TA that's 2 million a year in rent alone. If we divide that by the 500K people who come here every year then that's £4 a ticket + VAT (£4.60), council rates are about 60-70p a ticket, police (who as we speak are trying to charge us more) 20-30p a ticket then there's security, insurance, cleaning, player's wages that's why the ticket prices are what they are. The argument is "if you reduce the ticket prices more people might come" yes they might ...... but they might not and if they didn't with lower prices we'd go bust.
Why are the tickets not priced according to the quality of view?
When I came in we did do that but people would buy cheaper tickets near the corner flag and move to the most expensive seats and that would cause rows. I don't want to generalise but that's what happens
What kind of debts would LUFC have if we got promoted to the Premiership and what level of debt is manageable assuming no rich sugar daddy is in charge and how can we make money from the brand?
I don't think a football club should have any debt on it's trading operations only long term on it's property side as that is sustainable, by the time the ES redevelopment has finished I expect a debt of £80-90 million but we will be getting income out of it. I don't beleive in incurring debt to buy players as that isn't sustainable.
We're doing very well on the branding overseas but that doesn't happen over night, we're the 4th most visited football club website in the country, LUTV and YR are available all round the world. We have a better brand than say Chelsea for example as I saw when I went to China but we need success because there are no more faithful fans in the world than those who follow success.
You have saved Leeds United and made it a profitable business, what plans are there for when you're not around anymore?
I'm not planning to leave, my wife say's when I go she'll take over then god help you because she would be far more of a tyrant than me. In all seriousness it's the management team (of the club) which are more important than the chairman they are a vibrant young team average age in their 30's. People are envious of our TV and radio station our website, our catering has just won 3 awards, our merchandising is far more successful than Everton's our programme sales are better than some Premiership clubs and we are getting it right on the pitch too.
Where is the money coming from for the ES development?
There's no money about at the moment but we have to do the planning, eventually this recession will turn and the banks will start lending and companies will start investing again, discussions are ongoing all the time it's a lengthy process so I wouldn't worry too much, it's a matter of timing.
Are there any plans to redevelop or upgrade the John Charles stand?
No not at the moment, we would have to knock it down and the west stand too for 18 months, we wouldn't have enough capacity, roughly it costs £4-5,000 per seat to rebuild.
How difficult was it to keep Jermaine Beckford, and will he sign a new contract?
Wasn't difficult to keep him, we didn't want to sell him and no one came in with a realistic offer. We would have wanted well above the £1.5-2.5m we were offered. It's down to Jermaine his agent (who is a very good friend of Jermaine's which can cause emotions to enter in to the decision) and the club to decide. If we had sold him the money in the bank wouldn't have got us promotion, if he gets 30+ again and leaves on a free it's still a better deal
What's your relationship with SG and is he the man to take us back in to the Premiership?
My relationship with Simon is the best I've had with any manager for the last 25 years, the reason is he's an honest straight forward Yorkshireman who has done it before with Blackpool, he knows his players and his relationship with them is fantastic. "And no you can't have a rise Simon".
What is the situation regarding current TV rights, and would LUTV ever be able to broadcast all matches live?
TV and radio rights are controlled centrally and that money is split between the clubs, so no we could never show the matches on LUTV this system means the poorest clubs who need the money can still get it.
