Stadium Stalemate: 'I think we have finally come to the end of the road with this'

Last updated : 03 July 2011 By exiledessexboy

An artist's impression of the new stadium

An artist's impression will be all that remains of the original plans!

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's could have blown a six-figure deposit to but the Prospects College site on Fairfax Road after six attempts.

And the chief executive of the college Neil Bates has had enough, believing now that the deal is 'terminated.'

Bates told www.echo-news.co.uk: “There is only so many times you can agree terms with someone. Sainsbury’s stepped in last July when Prospects said it was no longer prepared to deal with Roots Hall as the purchaser. Terms were quickly agreed and contracts were exchanged, secured by a substantial non-refundable deposit.”

The Echo has confirmed that the 'site is critical to the Roots Hall development as it will trigger the club’s move to Fossetts Farm. And there is no other viable access to the planned new supermarket car park and entrance. Sainsbury’s was given a further 12 months to complete but the deadline passed last Friday.'

Oh dear.

Of course, Mr Bates could be playing a canny game knowing how important the site is to keep the cost above what the market would be asking at the moment.

I mean, have you tried to sell a property at the moment?

The trouble with this stategy, if true, is that we are talking about a very profitable company who have serious professionals working for them that have to strike deals such as this with various organisations every day, they know what they have to pay and make the maximum profit for the people who pay their wages, and very sizeable bonuses, and are quite capable of playing the long game.

And to be honest, Mr. Bates doesn't do himself any favours by trying to bring to the forefront of this the obvious fears of the fans.

As if the money men care about that, it's all about profit mate. 

Anyway, Bates continued: “I think we have finally come to the end of the road with this. We have done everything we possibly can.”

Have you Neil, really?

The property has already been vacated by the college, who are of course willing to look at other offers, but how long are Prospect directors prepared to wait, they could need the money desperatly for other projects, and is there anybody going to match what Mr. Bates was hoping for?

It's going to be difficult and Sainsbury's will know this, losing a deposit may be short change to the millions they would gain on a figure that would reflect the present market place.

As for the Shrimpers faithful; it's been said many times by the club, Uncle Ron for sure but we've got to believe him on this one, he's got a few bob tied up in all of this as well, has made it very clear that Sainsbury's cannot build on Roots Hall until an alternative has been found for the team.

Finally, the paper tells us; 'no one was available for comment at Southend United or Sainsbury’s', why should they?

The way property prices are at the moment, the ball is firmly in their court.

Stop laughing: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/sngl/ed21/fossetts_farm_section/index.shtml

The council say yes: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk

The original deal: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk