STOKE’S FUTURE IS ON THE LINE
Dragons locked in stadium battle
CHAIRMAN Terry Brown says Basingstoke Town are approaching D-Day as the club battles to secure a permanent home or face liquidation.
The Dragons were kicked out of the Camrose Stadium last August, where they had played since 1946, and have been playing 19 miles away in Winchester.
Previous chairman Rafi Razzak, a local businessman and multi-millionaire, owns the ground along with property development company Basron.
His plan was to build the BetVictor Southern Division One South club a new 5,000-seater stadium in Eastrop but proposals were rejected by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in 2017.
The club became community-owned last year as Razzak stepped down as owner and submitted plans to redevelop the Camrose with a two-way single carriageway road and houses, although planning permission has not yet been granted.
Two weeks ago, the Camrose pitch began being dug up although Razzak claimed the workers were “replanting the grass” and this week parts of the stadium, such as the irrigation system, stands and terraces, toilets and offices were listed on eBay.
The club did receive a welcome boost this week after the Basingstoke Gazette unearthed a ‘lost’ covenant, signed in 1953 by Lord William Berry, Viscount Camrose, stating the site must remain as a football ground until 2053.
Implication
However, after Razzak’s company Centerprise purchased the freehold to the ground in 2016, there is now a dispute about whether the covenant still applies, but the club say they will be working with a legal team “to determine our next steps and the implication this has on the future of our club”.
Meanwhile, Basingstoke need to bring their proposed new home at Winklebury, home of the Hampshire FA, up to ground grading standards, which would cost in the region of £150,000, but they do not have the funds to do so.
“We’re coming to a crisis point now,” Brown, the former Hayes, Aldershot Town, AFC Wimbledon and Margate manager, told The NLP.
“We’ve got to have started work at Winklebury by March 31 and if we haven’t done that and we can’t raise the money to do the necessary ground grading improvements then we’re going to go out of business.
“We’re only surviving by the goodwill of our supporters. We have no revenue streams. We’re unable to fund the team, hence why we’re bottom of the league.
“Unless Rafi Razzak gives us some money upfront then we will not be able to survive playing away next year.
“We’ve been promised a substantial amount of money but that could be only when he develops the site.
“What also confuses this particular case is we worked hand in hand with the council for two years to try and relocate to Winklebury which is owned by the council and leased to the Hampshire FA, who are looking into giving us a lease for 40 years so we can return to the town.
“If we get there then we will have some revenue streams coming in but we have to upgrade the council’s ground.
“We’ve had no help whatsoever from the council. They must be culpable as well. They owned 29 per cent of the Camrose ground and got into bed with Basron.
“With the help of the Hampshire FA we’re still trying to fulfil the dream of keeping the club alive.”