i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Went on the training ground tour and enjoyed it. The most frustrating thing for me is the untapped potential of the site. If TS could get ownership, the sky's the limit. But, I suppose, "untapped potential" is what Charlton is all about at the moment.
Couldn't make the tour but have to say the location of our training ground is spot on in the heart of S London. Comments about moving to Kent are a mistake I think as this location has worked so well for years. Move away and the worry would be another club like Palace buying it and having a small feeder academy there or similar.
If we can get promotion in the next 18 months and stay up plus maybe have a kid or two come through the academy that we can sell for big bucks (plus Pope sell on?) Then maybe we unlock funding to buy this and invest into it that way. Slow, organic growth. Difficult to do but would be the dream I would think.
I don't think anyone actually wants us to leave if we can get a sensible deal of purchase. It is not practical to develop without holding the freehold and the site does need to be developed for the future.
Therefore the suggestion of moving does have some merit if we are not able to do a sensible deal with Roland.
i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Strange as it might sound to you Doucher but there is a train network in Kent. Not that I am suggesting it is a good idea to move the training facilities to far out.
No idea why I feel this but my gut tells me any significant upgrade in either facilities or category is quite a long way off.
You probably feel that way because the person who would have to make the investment in facilities to benefit from improved player fitness/conditioning and an upgrade in category status (Sandgaard) is not the person who owns the property (Duchatelet).
There are multiple issues with the ownership of the stadium & training ground being completely separate to the ownership of the club, the state of our training facilities and the status of our academy are just one.
Went on the first organised tour of the training ground yesterday morning. Apart from the two astroturf pitches for the academy, and the standalone Pippin Hall facilities for the women, I was very unimpressed.
Until we are able to purchase the training ground from the Rat this will remain the case. A collection of portacabins, dotted around. Even with additions from Sandgaard, both the physio and training room resources were inadequate and in need of a drastic upgrade.
The tiny portacabin which Tracey operates out of is a disgrace. Good luck with showing that to any successor.
Especially when we are in competition now a few miles down the road with this at Palace...
i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Strange as it might sound to you Doucher but there is a train network in Kent. Not that I am suggesting it is a good idea to move the training facilities to far out.
yes but the chances of findinga suitable field close to one is quite small and woyuld be much further and more convoluted for our 'hotbed area' of talent to travel to - nothing strange about that
Went on the first organised tour of the training ground yesterday morning. Apart from the two astroturf pitches for the academy, and the standalone Pippin Hall facilities for the women, I was very unimpressed.
Until we are able to purchase the training ground from the Rat this will remain the case. A collection of portacabins, dotted around. Even with additions from Sandgaard, both the physio and training room resources were inadequate and in need of a drastic upgrade.
The tiny portacabin which Tracey operates out of is a disgrace. Good luck with showing that to any successor.
Especially when we are in competition now a few miles down the road with this at Palace...
Looking back I can see there's a lot of it in @Henry Irving's first post on this thread. Obviously delayed by the Rat being landlord.
Hopefully the plan can be similar for a new site if TS cannot complete the purchase soon.
I do not believe this is accurate. It is predominantly built and sadly impressive. Still some work to do so not complete but it is not some pipe dream
correct - my mate at work is a palace fan and knows the builder - gave him and his son a tour and he met Parish, Mark Bright and others so it seems to be their main base now
Seeing that palace complex and talk of £82m investment is sickening , they’re on a different stratosphere ffs we are minor league
*Note to self: the pain would be 100 fold if it was the scum instead of palace
exactly right which is why i'm pleased they are building their new training ground in the middle of nowhere - will it become their new home ground as well? closer to their core support and an opportunity to merge with gillingham in a pikey superclub
i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Strange as it might sound to you Doucher but there is a train network in Kent. Not that I am suggesting it is a good idea to move the training facilities to far out.
yes but the chances of findinga suitable field close to one is quite small and woyuld be much further and more convoluted for our 'hotbed area' of talent to travel to - nothing strange about that
There are a number of sports playing fields that are inside the M25 that a possible deal could be done with current organisations holding the freeholds.
Seeing that palace complex and talk of £82m investment is sickening , they’re on a different stratosphere ffs we are minor league
*Note to self: the pain would be 100 fold if it was the scum instead of palace
exactly right which is why i'm pleased they are building their new training ground in the middle of nowhere - will it become their new home ground as well? closer to their core support and an opportunity to merge with gillingham in a pikey superclub
Hope it stays at Sparrows. Just feels right that the Valley and training ground are in the same borough. Must be good location for CACT and the council too
i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Strange as it might sound to you Doucher but there is a train network in Kent. Not that I am suggesting it is a good idea to move the training facilities to far out.
yes but the chances of findinga suitable field close to one is quite small and woyuld be much further and more convoluted for our 'hotbed area' of talent to travel to - nothing strange about that
There are a number of sports playing fields that are inside the M25 that a possible deal could be done with current organisations holding the freeholds.
ok, fair enough - be a shame if the RD situation means a move though coz sparrows lane is pefect and has history - provided a base whilst we were in exile - the only upside would be shoving one up RD i guess coz he will never get approval to develop taht site for housing - i hope !!
i ued to live on Tiverton Drive years back - the cut through to the station - if i was at home during the day id see a stream of kids in Charlton gear going to and from the station - not sure how they would get there if stuck in a field in Kent somewhere
Strange as it might sound to you Doucher but there is a train network in Kent. Not that I am suggesting it is a good idea to move the training facilities to far out.
yes but the chances of findinga suitable field close to one is quite small and woyuld be much further and more convoluted for our 'hotbed area' of talent to travel to - nothing strange about that
There are a number of sports playing fields that are inside the M25 that a possible deal could be done with current organisations holding the freeholds.
The bigger question for that scenario would be whether we can get out of the current lease on Sparrows Lane.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
Seeing that palace complex and talk of £82m investment is sickening , they’re on a different stratosphere ffs we are minor league
*Note to self: the pain would be 100 fold if it was the scum instead of palace
exactly right which is why i'm pleased they are building their new training ground in the middle of nowhere - will it become their new home ground as well? closer to their core support and an opportunity to merge with gillingham in a pikey superclub
Population density in that area would make it a barking mad place to relocate from London.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
As mentioned to me recently, I understand they are looking at/for ways to upgrade the facilities using some kind of temporary structures (one assumes to a higher grade, and bigger scale than presently). I don't know the math but if you leased such units long enough the cost would equal building something, but I guess they don't want to do that as they would be throwing money away if they had to give it back at some stage.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
Sparrows Lane is worth about £3m-£5m.
Exactly this. Surely Sandgaard can afford to buy sparrows lane now. If nothing else it would show a statement of intent.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
Sandgaard must know what Roland wants. If he wanted that sort of price then surely Sandgaard would have walked away from buying the club in the first place.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
@Airman Brown will know how likely it is that the Sparrows Lane land can be granted building consents in the future, but it seems to me that these sacrosanct parcels of land especially in areas of high housing demand are slowly getting planning permissions particularly under this Conservative government. How many years before that’s a real possibility? Given the relative insignificance of the £3 - £5 million valuation it’s surely worth Duchatelet sitting tight to see if this situation benefits him. I’m sure he’d sell but as @razil has said he probably wants to get a lot more than it’s true current value ?
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
Sparrows Lane is worth about £3m-£5m.
Exactly this. Surely Sandgaard can afford to buy sparrows lane now. If nothing else it would show a statement of intent.
Too simplistic. What is the rent he pays on SL? Assume it has a different lease with different rent amount to The Valley? Would buying it now weaken our ability to buy The Valley?. Would RD even entertain a conversation on it standalone? There are loads of unknowns to us fans on it so simple statements are very easy but probably unrealistic sadly.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
@Airman Brown will know how likely it is that the Sparrows Lane land can be granted building consents in the future, but it seems to me that these sacrosanct parcels of land especially in areas of high housing demand are slowly getting planning permissions particularly under this Conservative government. How many years before that’s a real possibility? Given the relative insignificance of the £3 - £5 million valuation it’s surely worth Duchatelet sitting tight to see if this situation benefits him. I’m sure he’d sell but as @razil has said he probably wants to get a lot more than it’s true current value ?
The potential for future changes of policy can be built into any deal. Manston Airport, near Ramsgate. was sold to the company seeking to reopen it as an airport on a similar premise. If the purchasers want to build houses in future then the previous owners benefit.
I've asked this question before but I still think it's valid. What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
I see any purchase of either or both The Valley or Sparrows being completely tied to and dependent upon Charlton becoming an established Premier League club. The Money required to gain ownership is totally out of the clubs reach unless Sandgaard digs very deep into his own pocket which I think certainly at this point doesn’t seem likely. The leasing arrangement seems satisfactory to Thomas and I doubt he’s in any rush to spend any more than he needs to.
@Airman Brown will know how likely it is that the Sparrows Lane land can be granted building consents in the future, but it seems to me that these sacrosanct parcels of land especially in areas of high housing demand are slowly getting planning permissions particularly under this Conservative government. How many years before that’s a real possibility? Given the relative insignificance of the £3 - £5 million valuation it’s surely worth Duchatelet sitting tight to see if this situation benefits him. I’m sure he’d sell but as @razil has said he probably wants to get a lot more than it’s true current value ?
true - bard hill got built over - not sure what it is but looks like some kind of eco scenario and noita sports venue and the field behind old farm avenue - not far from avery hill road - has houses built on it now so can never rule it out
Comments
Therefore the suggestion of moving does have some merit if we are not able to do a sensible deal with Roland.
Concentrate on the bread and butter. Our first team squad
What is to stop Sandgaard from buying Sparrows lane from Roland.
We all know he wants an unreasonable price for the valley but surely a deal could be struck for the training ground.
I can understand not wanting to spend millions on it as Roland still owns it so why not do a deal and buy it.
Surely Sandgaard can afford to buy sparrows lane now.
If nothing else it would show a statement of intent.
If he wanted that sort of price then surely Sandgaard would have walked away from buying the club in the first place.
What is the rent he pays on SL? Assume it has a different lease with different rent amount to The Valley? Would buying it now weaken our ability to buy The Valley?. Would RD even entertain a conversation on it standalone? There are loads of unknowns to us fans on it so simple statements are very easy but probably unrealistic sadly.