No Consensus In The Ground Sale Debate

Hartlepool United fans have been discussing the proposed ground sale even further and there still doesn’t appear to be a consensus among fans.

Over in the Vital Hartlepool forums and in our article comments, discussions between those who think the club should own the ground and those who think it should be remain with the council have continued.

Simply put IOR are trying to rip off the council.
– moscrof

I have yet to hear any way in that the council owning the ground limits the club. The council owning the ground guarantees long term security for HUFC. The conference league is littered with clubs who owned their ground a maverick chairman buys the club, suddenly ground ownership is transferred and chaos ensues, ala Cambridge, Wrexham etc.

Lots of clubs don’t own their ground, it annoys the hell out of me when supporters moan why don’t the council sell IOR the ground. The council owning the ground didn’t stop Harold Hornsey building the Cyril Knowles and new Town End.
– mckinnon to dalton

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Listen lads the facts are there, several small clubs have been left high and dry by business men making pots of cash out of buying land from councils. That’s what our football grounds are to them easy money, they are not that interested in the club.

Hartlepool Council should be applauded past and hopefully present the way they have kept Hartlepool United afloat in difficult times. As the badge says A TOWNS CLUB that’s us HARTLEPOOL UTD and the ground belongs to the people of Hartlepool and should remain in our hands forever. The Vic is ours do not ever sell.
– bazal

Bazal, you cannot be serious. IOR are not here for a quick ££. They have already ploughed in well over 10million and take a loss every single year. Do you seriously think they want to buy the ground and sell it for a fraction of the price they have pumped into Pools already?

I say give IOR the ground they are not your average ‘chairman’. Let them develop the ground,talks of shops being built etc to fund the club and more players and a new away end would be just the start.
– PooliePride

I say lets get it right on the pitch first, stabilise into a comfortable league one side then buy the ground and push on.
– moscrof

Click here to visit the Vital Hartlepool forums

I am and will always be in gratitude to IOR (who are they anyway?). You are right about them not being ‘your average chairman’ they treat the fans with contempt and they will again when they get what they want. DO NOT ever forget the one person who gave us what we have today, no not IOR Harold Hornsey a man who preferred sit with the fans!
– bazal

Bazal is spot on, on this issue the council should be applauded. The ground being owned by the council prevents future owners (not IOR) taking over the club for the wrong reasons as at countless other clubs. Why do IOR need to own the land the ground is on? for what benefit, they have security of tenure, Harold Hornsey was able to improve the ground even if it was owned by the council.

Too many Pools fans seem to have totally forgot about the Garry Gibson era, if the club had owned the ground then, he would certainly have flogged it for short term buck, and where would Pools be now?? IOR have been a good thing, (though they have made some mistakes and I am no longer convinced they have any value of supporters) but it was Harold Hornsey who got the ground sorted.
– mckinnon to dalton

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