UNITED STATES By BRIAN MARJORIBANKS
Businessman Ogren buys Tannadice side for £1million Martin leaves predicting a bright future for the club
DEPARTING Dundee United chairman Mike Martin is predicting a bright new dawn at Tannadice after the club was finally bought by littleknown US businessman Mark Ogren in a £1million deal. The Minnesota-based 56-year-old, who sold his family petroleum business in September for an undisclosed sum, is the majority owner of the Sioux Falls Canaries baseball team.
The avid sports fan is also part of an investment group that owns the Sioux Falls Stampede junior hockey team.
As Sportsmail had revealed, Ogren had been in negotiations with the fallen Tayside giant for months.
On a trip to Tannadice in November, he was blown away by the crowd ‘going wild’ as United beat Queen of the South 2-0.
After sealing the deal yesterday, he pledged to help head coach Robbie Neilson restore Dundee United to the top end of Scottish football after three seasons in the second tier.
In a statement, Ogren said: ‘We are very excited at working with the head coach, the players, the staff and most importantly the supporters of Dundee United to achieve promotion back to the Premiership and make the club a force within Scottish football once again.
‘This is a crucial period for the club, and we understand that the short-term focus must remain on ensuring the team continue their good form.
‘It is our intention now to lay foundations that will create future success for the club and, to this end, we look forward to coming to Tannadice to outline our plan and create one vision for success that everyone connected with Dundee United can believe in.
‘There won’t be major changes because we are not far off where we need to be.
‘But we will be bringing in some new players.’
However, the deal is not without scepticism locally, with Ogren having no prior links to Dundee United or Scottish football.
Last night, the new owner explained his interest, saying: ‘I’m three-fourths Irish and Dundee (United) has some Irish roots. And Scotland is unbelievably beautiful’.
But there are fears that under Ogren, United could eventually merge with Dundee, who are also American-owned, or sell Tannadice and groundshare at the new stadium the Dens Park club is proposing to build in the city’s Camperdown area.
Martin claimed there will be no merger — and stressed that Ogren has no official or unofficial business links to Dundee owner Tim Keyes or his American chief executive John Nelms.
Yet the departing chairman admitted any future business between the two city clubs — like a potential ground share — would be up to the new owner.
Martin said: ‘I think this is a really good day for Dundee United. I think it is the start of a bright new future for the club.
‘We did seek assurances that this was not the prelude to a fullscale merger and we were absolutely satisfied.
‘We understood early on that there were no connections between Mark and his son Scott and the owners of Dundee.
‘In terms of future opportunities to look at synergies between the two clubs, that’s very much down to Mark.
‘But it was very important to us to ensure that whoever was taking on the club was doing it for the right reasons.
‘It was important that they shared our vision and aspirations for the club and they were prepared to back that.
‘In all of our conversations with Mark and with his son Scott, it became increasingly clear that their motives were precisely the sort of motives that we wanted somebody to have. They wish to run the club properly and in a very thoughtful, structured and professional way.
‘Our understanding is that Mark sees great opportunities at the club and he intends to be very focused in pursuing them.’
Martin also had words of reassurance for fans as to why the American businessman would buy the 1984 European Cup semi-finalists.
‘Mark is very passionate about sport,’ he said. ‘He is very, very keen on football. He sees opportunities in a broader European context and sees Scotland as a good entry point into that European market.
‘Within Scotland, Dundee United, clearly, is still viewed as being very attractive and with a huge amount of potential.
‘Mark took a great interest in the club, and a great interest in the broader Dundee area.
‘He did a lot of homework on both Dundee the city and on Dundee United the club.
‘He fully appreciates the rich history at this club.
‘He recognises Dundee United’s place in the community, the role it plays in the community, going back to its history, building on that history and its aspirations for the future.
‘He acknowledges the kind of passion and engagement level with the fan base and he saw great potential at the club and the opportunity to get it back to where we all want it to be.
‘We liked Mark’s style, and his aspirations, objectives, plans and thoughts for the club.’
Ogren’s takeover sees him acquire 85.61 percent of the club from Martin and James Fyffe, who upped their stakes in July when former owner Stephen Thompson signalled the end of an era by selling his shareholding.
Fyffe and David Dorward will remain on the board, alongside Ogren’s son, Scott, but Martin will now step down.
He said: ‘It has been an absolute privilege. Hopefully, I leave the club in a better state than when I took over.’