Stadium dream in tatters as land sold off (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Bradford Park Avenue stadium dream in tatters as land sold off
7:40am Monday 7th November 2011 in News
Exclusive By Dolores Cowburn, Bradford Chief Reporter
Bradford Park Avenue chief executive Bob Blackburn with plans at the Phoenix Park site in Thornbury which has now been sold off
Bradford Park Avenue’s long-term plans to move to a new 20,000 seat stadium are in tatters after the site was sold by a receiver to satisfy a debt owed by club owner Bob Blackburn’s property company Kelvic Holdings.
The sale of the 36-acre Phoenix Park in Thornbury for an undisclosed sum appears to have scuppered the historic club’s dreams of returning to the Football League as its current Bradford Council-owned Horsfall Stadium home is not up to the required standard.
A finance company forced the sale of the Phoenix Park site to settle a debt owed by Mr Blackburn’s company Kelvic Holdings and Development Ltd Kelvic Holdings, which, according to official financial reports, owes more than £84,000 to its creditors, owned the Phoenix Park site.
The football club is also nearly £304,000 in the red, but Mr Blackburn stressed to the Telegraph & Argus that was money owed to him and his fellow directors, John Edward Dean and Alan Kevin Ainsworth, and insisted that the club was not in any financial trouble.
He added that the Phoenix Park site had to be sold “because of the financial climate and due to the cost of his divorce settlement”.
“It had to be given to receivers to dispose of it,” he said.
“I am going through a divorce at the moment.
“We (Bradford Park) will stay where we are. The receiver was appointed to pay debts off and it was the wise thing to do so creditors got their money, but I can assure you the club is not in the red.
“Any deficit on the balance sheet is what me and the other two directors put in to keep it running. The club is doing really well on and off the field and it is business as usual.”
Creditors have also lodged a ‘winding up petition’ at Birmingham’s District Registry against Kelvic and the next hearing is due on Thursday.
Receiver Mark Beesley, of Beesley and Company Insolvency Practitioners confirmed to the T&A that he was appointed by creditors on October 21 to sell the Phoenix Park site.
“The finance company was saying it needed its money back which was secured on this land,” Mr Beesley said.
“When Kelvic did not meet its obligations to the finance company, it used the security on the Pudsey (Phoenix Park) land to get it back.
“The land was sold and is no longer part of Bradford Park Avenue.”
Mr Blackburn is listed by Companies House as the company director of Kelvic Holdings and Development Ltd.
He became the chief executive of Bradford Park Avenue in 2007 when he purchased the majority shareholding from then club vice-president Frank Thornton.
Speaking at the time of his appointment, he said that he would be in a position to retire within the next five years and wanted to put something back into the community and raise the profile of the club.
Revealing the purchase of Phoenix Park in February 2008, Mr Blackburn said it was proposed to put a large stadium on the site.
He said at the time: “A 20,000-seat stadium would also enable the team to grow into the Football League. We are not letting the grass grow under our feet with this one.”
He also declared that his company Kelvic Holdings was to pay for the construction of the stadium, although he hoped to tap into some Government funding and receive help from the Football Foundation.
Since then the only development to take place on the site was the La Liga Soccer Centre.
But speaking last year Mr Blackburn insisted the stadium plan was still alive.
He said: “We want the stadium to be for the city of Bradford and hold local cup finals there as well as other non-football events.”
Comments(35)
Joedavid
says...
7:49am Mon 7 Nov 11
BD16
says...
8:23am Mon 7 Nov 11
Joedavid wrote:Looking at the picture it looks like he is stood on what was the 1st fairway of the golf course. I think this is now closed but it used to be accessed by going through the cinema/gym complex.
Phoenix Park thought that had long gone and was an Odeon multi-plex cinema and a Health club.
bigang02
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8:28am Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason
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8:33am Mon 7 Nov 11
schroeder
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9:08am Mon 7 Nov 11
parader no1
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10:57am Mon 7 Nov 11
Don't-cry
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11:36am Mon 7 Nov 11
Rupert 'shameful' Murdoch
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12:42pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Lol ! - was gonna say something similar :D
A 20k seater stadium for Park Avenue is just as daft as a 25k stadium for city, hang on wait a minute.
basil fawlty
says...
1:46pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Nice little joke, but once again we have the laughable collapse of another fantasy stadium plan in Bradford. At least City expanded when they were in the premier league. And City did actually build something, unlike both Bulls and Avenue who's owners are good at building false hope!
A 20k seater stadium for Park Avenue is just as daft as a 25k stadium for city, hang on wait a minute.
flashdonut
says...
2:14pm Mon 7 Nov 11
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Top (well was) footy team, top RL team, another footy team chomping at the bit, a decent Union team not a million miles away from the elite. We also used to have first class and international cricket and world speedway.
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Not what. The Odsal Dump and the tidy VP. But, fact is regardless what anybody says, it is in a dour location. As bad as it gets really. Folk have to come off the motorway and then have a congested 5mile or so journey through a City with never ending roadworks, to end up at a Stadium with about 500 car parking spaces too little. And that is now. Nevermind when the bad wagon jumpers climb on board when City are in a higher division.
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Bradford council are the only ones that could have had a positive impact on all the above. They didn't. For shame.
Eccybantam
says...
3:19pm Mon 7 Nov 11
flashdonut wrote:Who has to 'come off the motorway' only the handful of away fans, VP is 5 mins walk from the city centre so is a perfect location, nowt wrong with VP we just need some dedicated players.
This City is a joke when it comes to sporting Stadia.
.
Top (well was) footy team, top RL team, another footy team chomping at the bit, a decent Union team not a million miles away from the elite. We also used to have first class and international cricket and world speedway.
.
Not what. The Odsal Dump and the tidy VP. But, fact is regardless what anybody says, it is in a dour location. As bad as it gets really. Folk have to come off the motorway and then have a congested 5mile or so journey through a City with never ending roadworks, to end up at a Stadium with about 500 car parking spaces too little. And that is now. Nevermind when the bad wagon jumpers climb on board when City are in a higher division.
.
Bradford council are the only ones that could have had a positive impact on all the above. They didn't. For shame.
flashdonut
says...
3:36pm Mon 7 Nov 11
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Nobody, I repeat nobody, would put VP where it is now if they had the choice of any location.
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So what if it is 5mins from the City Centre? How many city fans live in the centre? About 1 maybe. With an error margin of 2.
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Close to the city centre means diddly squat. It is 2011. Folk don't get the 'trolley bus' anymore. They drive. And nobody wants to drive to VP to park. They do, obviously, to support city. But the congestion (footy games finish around the same time shoppers are calling it a day at Forster Square and the centre) is bonkers.
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''5 mins walk from the city centre so is a perfect location''. Every time I read that I get dizzy with the amount of head shaking I do.
Eccybantam
says...
3:49pm Mon 7 Nov 11
flashdonut
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4:00pm Mon 7 Nov 11
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And I aint here to suggest, merely making a statement of fact that after all the success and sport this city has had, all we now have to show for it is VP, a nice stadium in a poor location.
Willard
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4:29pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Eccybantam
says...
4:35pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
4:39pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Eccybantam wrote:It's the same at Valley Parade. Have you used Manningham Lane on a matchday?
I know manningham isn't exactly des res, but the alternative of a purpose built stadium also has massive problems, for example Middlesboro where everyone leaving at the same time down one road, takes about an hour to get away.
Eccybantam
says...
4:46pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
5:01pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Eccybantam wrote:Many of us come from all over the City or even outside the City. Travelling across the city is a joke with Manchester Road in it's current state with traffic lights every 30 yards.
As you probably guessed from the name I'm from Eccleshill so we usually walk down which is the main reason I like the VP location
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Having to come the otherway through Saltaire is also not very good either as there is literally only one road through.
bhuna156
says...
6:02pm Mon 7 Nov 11
flashdonut wrote:VP is in the same location now as it was in the prem/div 1 days.
This City is a joke when it comes to sporting Stadia.
.
Top (well was) footy team, top RL team, another footy team chomping at the bit, a decent Union team not a million miles away from the elite. We also used to have first class and international cricket and world speedway.
.
Not what. The Odsal Dump and the tidy VP. But, fact is regardless what anybody says, it is in a dour location. As bad as it gets really. Folk have to come off the motorway and then have a congested 5mile or so journey through a City with never ending roadworks, to end up at a Stadium with about 500 car parking spaces too little. And that is now. Nevermind when the bad wagon jumpers climb on board when City are in a higher division.
.
Bradford council are the only ones that could have had a positive impact on all the above. They didn't. For shame.
I don't remember match days being significantly worse then than what you'd expect at other clubs.
bhuna156
says...
6:43pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Traffic coming off the motorway are directed to go left onto Rooley Lane for VP, and not go straight ahead towards Manchester Rd.
Eccybantam wrote:Many of us come from all over the City or even outside the City. Travelling across the city is a joke with Manchester Road in it's current state with traffic lights every 30 yards.
As you probably guessed from the name I'm from Eccleshill so we usually walk down which is the main reason I like the VP location
.
Having to come the otherway through Saltaire is also not very good either as there is literally only one road through.
bhuna156
says...
6:44pm Mon 7 Nov 11
bhuna156 wrote:*Right onto Rooley Lane
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Traffic coming off the motorway are directed to go left onto Rooley Lane for VP, and not go straight ahead towards Manchester Rd.
Eccybantam wrote:Many of us come from all over the City or even outside the City. Travelling across the city is a joke with Manchester Road in it's current state with traffic lights every 30 yards.
As you probably guessed from the name I'm from Eccleshill so we usually walk down which is the main reason I like the VP location
.
Having to come the otherway through Saltaire is also not very good either as there is literally only one road through.
terrysblackchicken
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7:29pm Mon 7 Nov 11
DCarbz
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7:50pm Mon 7 Nov 11
Macca51
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1:42pm Tue 8 Nov 11
Prisoner Cell Block A
says...
3:34pm Tue 8 Nov 11
I drive to and from city and am home by 5.05 every week. Use your brain not the same road as evryone else if congestion is a bother. I head into town and up otley road, slightly circuitous but well worth it. I live in Eccy btw too.
As a footy fan and an ex BPA coach I hope this doesn't spell the beginning of the end for them, as we all know with football clubs one innocuous seeming statement one week can lead to much more becoming revealed in subsequent weeks and days.
Good luck stans.
Worried of Guildford
says...
5:08pm Tue 8 Nov 11
Avenue's Football league dream is not dead. There is a suitable stadium less than a mile away from Horsfall if, in due course, suitable agreements can be reached with the current landnlord and tenants.
Victory at Totton would leave Avenue just one game away from the big boys and a bumper payday which would help the club progress up through the leagues.
arhmen aleg
says...
6:36pm Sun 13 Nov 11
You are quite right to say the loss of a plot of land cannot end BPA"s return to the football league ambitions.
The woman clearly failed to properly check with the club the make up of the numbers in the balance sheet and if Mr blackburns pathetic interpretation of a balance sheet is anything to go by I am not suprised all his companes are subject to insolvency proceedings.
Except the company Bradford Park avenue where he owns not a single share.The owner of Bradford Park avenue is the other director who has the majority shareholding.
The T & A need a wake up call for printing such defammotory material.
It has led to uneccessary worrying and evn calls from the football league enquiring if the football club is solvent.
You are a disgrace telegraph and argus and in future get your facts straight before printing the drivel here and the other tinkering with mischiefmaking by the fool who writes about Bradford City.
This is not the News Of The world Mr Parker and is little wonder that the ABC audit reports show how few now buy what was once a qualty provincial paper.
God bless Bob williamson,Stanley Pearson and David Markham whose standards were higher than this drivel.
Expect to hear more Mr Austin if this poor reporting standard continues.
Jim greenhalgh is the only one worth his salt
arhmen aleg
says...
6:36pm Sun 13 Nov 11
You are quite right to say the loss of a plot of land cannot end BPA"s return to the football league ambitions.
The woman clearly failed to properly check with the club the make up of the numbers in the balance sheet and if Mr blackburns pathetic interpretation of a balance sheet is anything to go by I am not suprised all his companes are subject to insolvency proceedings.
Except the company Bradford Park avenue where he owns not a single share.The owner of Bradford Park avenue is the other director who has the majority shareholding.
The T & A need a wake up call for printing such defammotory material.
It has led to uneccessary worrying and evn calls from the football league enquiring if the football club is solvent.
You are a disgrace telegraph and argus and in future get your facts straight before printing the drivel here and the other tinkering with mischiefmaking by the fool who writes about Bradford City.
This is not the News Of The world Mr Parker and is little wonder that the ABC audit reports show how few now buy what was once a qualty provincial paper.
God bless Bob williamson,Stanley Pearson and David Markham whose standards were higher than this drivel.
Expect to hear more Mr Austin if this poor reporting standard continues.
Jim greenhalgh is the only one worth his salt
arhmen aleg
says...
6:36pm Sun 13 Nov 11
You are quite right to say the loss of a plot of land cannot end BPA"s return to the football league ambitions.
The woman clearly failed to properly check with the club the make up of the numbers in the balance sheet and if Mr blackburns pathetic interpretation of a balance sheet is anything to go by I am not suprised all his companes are subject to insolvency proceedings.
Except the company Bradford Park avenue where he owns not a single share.The owner of Bradford Park avenue is the other director who has the majority shareholding.
The T & A need a wake up call for printing such defammotory material.
It has led to uneccessary worrying and evn calls from the football league enquiring if the football club is solvent.
You are a disgrace telegraph and argus and in future get your facts straight before printing the drivel here and the other tinkering with mischiefmaking by the fool who writes about Bradford City.
This is not the News Of The world Mr Parker and is little wonder that the ABC audit reports show how few now buy what was once a qualty provincial paper.
God bless Bob williamson,Stanley Pearson and David Markham whose standards were higher than this drivel.
Expect to hear more Mr Austin if this poor reporting standard continues.
Jim greenhalgh is the only one worth his salt
arhmen aleg
says...
6:36pm Sun 13 Nov 11
You are quite right to say the loss of a plot of land cannot end BPA"s return to the football league ambitions.
The woman clearly failed to properly check with the club the make up of the numbers in the balance sheet and if Mr blackburns pathetic interpretation of a balance sheet is anything to go by I am not suprised all his companes are subject to insolvency proceedings.
Except the company Bradford Park avenue where he owns not a single share.The owner of Bradford Park avenue is the other director who has the majority shareholding.
The T & A need a wake up call for printing such defammotory material.
It has led to uneccessary worrying and evn calls from the football league enquiring if the football club is solvent.
You are a disgrace telegraph and argus and in future get your facts straight before printing the drivel here and the other tinkering with mischiefmaking by the fool who writes about Bradford City.
This is not the News Of The world Mr Parker and is little wonder that the ABC audit reports show how few now buy what was once a qualty provincial paper.
God bless Bob williamson,Stanley Pearson and David Markham whose standards were higher than this drivel.
Expect to hear more Mr Austin if this poor reporting standard continues.
Jim greenhalgh is the only one worth his salt
arhmen aleg
says...
6:36pm Sun 13 Nov 11
You are quite right to say the loss of a plot of land cannot end BPA"s return to the football league ambitions.
The woman clearly failed to properly check with the club the make up of the numbers in the balance sheet and if Mr blackburns pathetic interpretation of a balance sheet is anything to go by I am not suprised all his companes are subject to insolvency proceedings.
Except the company Bradford Park avenue where he owns not a single share.The owner of Bradford Park avenue is the other director who has the majority shareholding.
The T & A need a wake up call for printing such defammotory material.
It has led to uneccessary worrying and evn calls from the football league enquiring if the football club is solvent.
You are a disgrace telegraph and argus and in future get your facts straight before printing the drivel here and the other tinkering with mischiefmaking by the fool who writes about Bradford City.
This is not the News Of The world Mr Parker and is little wonder that the ABC audit reports show how few now buy what was once a qualty provincial paper.
God bless Bob williamson,Stanley Pearson and David Markham whose standards were higher than this drivel.
Expect to hear more Mr Austin if this poor reporting standard continues.
Jim greenhalgh is the only one worth his salt
arhmen aleg
says...
6:48pm Sun 13 Nov 11
arhmen aleg
says...
6:48pm Sun 13 Nov 11
says...