Shahid Khan Withdraws Offer to Buy Wembley

[Storts]

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/wembley-for-sale-shahid-khan-wants-to-buy-stadium-as-fulham-us-billionaire-owner-makes-sensational-a3824171.html

 

An American billionaire has launched an audacious bid worth more than £500 million to buy Wembley Stadium from the Football Association, the Evening Standard has learned.

Car parts tycoon Shahid Khan - owner of Fulham FC and the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team - is understood to have struck an outline agreement with FA boss Martin Glenn to transfer the “home of English football” to foreign ownership for the first time. 

The extraordinary proposal, which will send shockwaves through the sport, was being put before the full board of the domestic game’s governing body today.

If the takeover gets the go ahead more American football games are likely to be played at Wembley and it could even pave the way for an NFL franchise to be permanently based in London. 

A sale is also likely to result in fewer England internationals being hosted at the 92,000 capacity north London venue - particularly during the NFL season in the Autumn. However, it would not threaten Wembley’s status as the England team’s home for all major fixtures.  

Mr Khan, who is estimated to be worth around $8.7 billion (£6.25 billion) is thought to have been in secret talks with Mr Glenn and a small circle of advisers for around six months. However, the idea was first mooted when Mr Glenn and Mr Khan met at the 2017 Superbowl in Houston last February.

It is believed that the funds raised will be placed in a ring-fenced fund that could pay for up to 1500 new full sized all-weather artificial pitches the length and breadth of England.

The Standard understands that Mr Glenn, who is chief executive, and other senior FA figures at the organisation see the offer from Mr Khan as a “once in a generation” opportunity to upgrade grass roots facilities. 

England lags far behind other northern European nations such as Germany and Holland in the availability of playing surfaces that can be used throughout the winter. 

There are around 20,000 grass pitches in England and Wales but around one in seven games due to be played on them are lost to bad weather.

The FA also believe that new owners with deep pockets would be able to spend more on maintaining and improving the stadium and could invest in new attractions such as a Hall of Fame museum.

The stadium, which is currently also used as Tottenham’s temporary home, was finished in 2007 at a cost of almost £800 million. It replaced the original venue - famed for its “twin towers” which was first used for the 1923 FA Cup Final and was demolished in 2003.

The FA has owned the new stadium, the largest in Britain, since its completion and still has around £150 million of debt to pay off. 

 

Although the up-front proceeds are less than the original construction costs the FA will be able to keep the estimated £30 million to £40 million of revenue it receives each year from Club Wembley private boxes and hospitality packages. That makes the deal worth far more in the long-term to the FA.

However, any further detailed talks about a sale would have to involve public sector bodies Sport England, Department of Culture Media and Sport and the GLA, which sunk a combined £161 million in the construction of the stadium. The Treasury would also have a say on any final terms.

FA bosses are believed to see the organisation’s 10 year ownership of the country’s “national stadium” as an historic aberration that is not replicated in other major footballing nations.

 

An FA spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that The FA has received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium.”

 

This could be huge news for FA Cup semis, England internationals and other current Wembley fixtures

Also a massive spanner in the works for our NFL designed new stadium

[Stan]

Hope the NFL game in October at Spurs new stadium doesn't get moved. 

Also hope this is encouraging for FA Cup semi finals being held at neutral locations other than Wembley. Back to the old days! 

Also hope this doesn't mean FA Cup finals will be held in Jacksonville in future... 

[Smiley Culture]

I’d quite like England games to stay there, purely from a selfish perspective. 

I hope major finals and play-off Finals remain at Wembley, too. 

[6666]

A bit of an upgrade for Fulham that.

[Azeem]

That Shahid Khan used to work as a dishwasher before selling car bumpers

[Smiley Culture]

The FA isn’t under any pressure to sell. They’re not exactly short of money and they’ve never referenced that Wembley is/was up for sale so they’re completely in control of this, whereas Shahid Khan needs a stadium for any potential London based NFL team and it’s a shoot out between getting into bed with Tottenham Hotspur and becoming a tenant at their new White Hart Lane or buying Wembley so The FA can negotiate here. 

Where would the money go if the sale was made? Let’s be honest, I don’t think we’d notice a difference. There wouldn’t all of a sudden be mass investment into the game at grassroots, 4G pitches wouldn’t be springing out of the ground in every park in England. If The FA were to accept this bid then there’s going to be huge pressure from the media, especially if England flop at the World Cup, to have this money spent. The FA are notoriously greedy though and won’t want to spend. Look at their dealings recently. They’ve got into bed with the Qatari’s and their FA after ‘that’ World Cup bid that is as legitimate as contact on Wilf Zaha in a penalty area. 

 

[Honey Honey]

This reminds me of the time the lads on Auf Wiedersehen Pet sold the Transporter bridge to a Texan.

[Spike]

https://au.eurosport.com/football/shahid-khan-wembley-could-be-mine-in-three-months_sto6729397/story.shtml

 

England doing what it does best. Selling itself to foreigners haha

[The Artful Dodger]

NFL is literally the worst sport going. Tedious shit enjoyed by vacuous morons. This would be the final nail.

[Dave]

Ken Bates has blasted the FA’s decision to consider the sale of Wembley Stadium to Shahid Khan, the Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner.

It was revealed on Thursday that Khan has made an offer to purchase England’s national stadium, and the sale could go through in as little as eight weeks.

The fee is reported to be around £900m, with Khan paying two thirds of that and the rest coming from Club Wembley hospitality packages, which the FA will continue to run.

Bates, the first Wembley chairman from 1997 to 2001 - and former owner of both Chelsea and Leeds United - has blasted the FA for even considering the sale of the ‘Home of Football’, considering they are not a commercial institution.

Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT, Bates said: “I thought it was a joke at first. The FA is not a commercial institution; it is the custodian of the national game, which is association football.

“Wembley is the home football - it is the Mecca of English football. Every fan wants to go, at least once in your lifetime.”

It is believed the funds received from the sale will be put back into grassroots football by the FA, with up to £500m reported to be available for that reinvestment.

Bates refuses to believe these reports, doubting whether the FA could oversee such a deal.

SEE ALSO: Wembley sold: What does it mean for England and an NFL team based in London?

“I think that’s a load of rubbish,” he added. “First of all, I’m not sure who the current board of the FA are, but have they got the ability to invest £500m?

“I doubt it…

“Who’s going to administer it? Who’s going to supervise it? Who’s going to maintain the running costs of it?

“If they really want money to invest in grassroots football to that extent, they should ask the Premier League to do it, because they’ve got billions.”

Bates then went to call on fans to act out against the FA’s decision, first by starting a petition against the sale, and then by organising mass demonstrations against the organisation.

“Well there are a number of things,” Bates responded when asked what fans must do.

“Firstly, they must start a petition to parliament. When it has 100,000 signatures it has to go to parliament, so they should start organising that.

“Then I think there has to be a mass demonstration by the fans.

“Then you have to get to the individual directors - name them, shame them, find out when they are then tackle them".

[Stan]

don't think many people will be happy with him calling it 'Mecca'  

[Guest]

I always find it cringeworthy when these other English nations kiss America's arse. England suddenly liking the NFL after years of claiming its a shit sport, knowing the national anthem more than your own, paying attention more to US politics. I'm probably very wrong, but Canada and England are such culprits there. Here in Peru (and most South America I'll add) we don't give a shit about the USA. Actually, when I was in Canada I met some people who knew the whole American anthem, when they were Irish/Canadian and wouldn't care about singing their own.

American media has killed off the culture in some countries, the old school Canadian people have told me that and I can't exactly disagree. The Canadian accent is nearly gone now.

[Panna King]

Is there anything that isnt for sale in London??

[Honey Honey]

2 hours ago, Blue said:

I always find it cringeworthy when these other English nations kiss America's arse. England suddenly liking the NFL after years of claiming its a shit sport, knowing the national anthem more than your own, paying attention more to US politics. I'm probably very wrong, but Canada and England are such culprits there. Here in Peru (and most South America I'll add) we don't give a shit about the USA. Actually, when I was in Canada I met some people who knew the whole American anthem, when they were Irish/Canadian and wouldn't care about singing their own.

American media has killed off the culture in some countries, the old school Canadian people have told me that and I can't exactly disagree. The Canadian accent is nearly gone now.

Nations don't speak in one collective voice. At least not in the English speaking free world 

[Dave]

FA chairman Greg Clarke says any funds from the potential sale of Wembley Stadium will be allocated by a trust to invest in grassroots football.

Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan's offer of £800m for the national stadium is currently being considered by the FA, whose headquarters will remain in west London rent free if the sale does go through, although Wembley's availability as a football stadium will diminish significantly.

[Dr. Gonzo]

5 hours ago, Blue said:

I always find it cringeworthy when these other English nations kiss America's arse. England suddenly liking the NFL after years of claiming its a shit sport, knowing the national anthem more than your own, paying attention more to US politics. I'm probably very wrong, but Canada and England are such culprits there. Here in Peru (and most South America I'll add) we don't give a shit about the USA. Actually, when I was in Canada I met some people who knew the whole American anthem, when they were Irish/Canadian and wouldn't care about singing their own.

American media has killed off the culture in some countries, the old school Canadian people have told me that and I can't exactly disagree. The Canadian accent is nearly gone now.

Who the fuck knows the US national anthem better than our own? I certainly don't and I fucking live in the US.

Also it's pretty understandable that the UK would pay attention to US politics post-1945, as there were certain events that effectively ended our empire and two other countries became superpowers - the US was the one allied to us.

Canadians are Americans also. They're not European, they're from North America. Of course time away from their home culture in England/France has killed off their retention of that culture their ancestors had. They live in a totally difference place and different world.

Silly post. Yeah, absolutely American media is influential. But it's only killing off cultures that adapt that shit, and if people in those countries resist Americanisation they'll be less Americanised. Nobody is forcing any other culture to order Big Macs and watch Disney films and watch endless re-runs of Friends.

Plus another group of people that went around forcing their... well I'm going to say our... forcing our culture on people is a big reason on why football is what it is today. And people say Imperialism is bad... look what we fucking did for the sporting world.

[Guest]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

Who the fuck knows the US national anthem better than our own? I certainly don't and I fucking live in the US.

Also it's pretty understandable that the UK would pay attention to US politics post-1945, as there were certain events that effectively ended our empire and two other countries became superpowers - the US was the one allied to us.

Canadians are Americans also. They're not European, they're from North America. Of course time away from their home culture in England/France has killed off their retention of that culture their ancestors had. They live in a totally difference place and different world.

Silly post. Especially yeah, absolutely American media is influential. But it's only killing off cultures that adapt that shit, and if people in those countries resist Americanisation they'll be less Americanised. Nobody is forcing any other culture to order Big Macs and watch Disney films and watch endless re-runs of Friends.

Plus another group of people that went around forcing their... well I'm going to say our... forcing our culture on people is a big reason on why football is what it is today. And people say Imperialism is bad... look what we fucking did for the sporting world.

Its more of one of my agendas if anything, i'll call that a guilty pleasure. I'll admit it's not my finest post, just a personal grudge.

I disagree with Canadians being Americans though. They were a totally different culture until they began to obsess over American media and from there, they started to lose their culture and accent. Some Canadians I've met are ashamed of that. Although that said, I think it also being multi cultural has hurt that.

I have lived in both South America and Canada. Here in SA, all of South America bar Suriname and Guyana are brothers. We all have some relation. That said, I don't know many people who would care to sing another countries national anthem over their own. Its absurd. I felt like I was in the USA when I was in Canada, and that's not what Canadians want you to believe. The older generation, they are very proud and outside of Ontario they still are. My generation were just annoying.

[Harry]

13 hours ago, Blue said:

I always find it cringeworthy when these other English nations kiss America's arse. England suddenly liking the NFL after years of claiming its a shit sport, knowing the national anthem more than your own, paying attention more to US politics. I'm probably very wrong, but Canada and England are such culprits there. Here in Peru (and most South America I'll add) we don't give a shit about the USA. Actually, when I was in Canada I met some people who knew the whole American anthem, when they were Irish/Canadian and wouldn't care about singing their own.

American media has killed off the culture in some countries, the old school Canadian people have told me that and I can't exactly disagree. The Canadian accent is nearly gone now.

Australia are pretty bad with this. 

That said its now more taking the shape of watching the giant bull elephant thrash and eventually go down after taking 20 rounds from a hunting rifle. 

There is shared comradery but is no longer much in the way of admiration like there used to be. I'd guess this is the brand damage done by the last two Republican presidents.

The vibe has shifted from envy to sympathy. 

[Azeem]

A superpower is a neighbour of every country 

[Azeem]

16 hours ago, Stan said:

don't think many people will be happy with him calling it 'Mecca'  

Yeah ! It will offend a lot of Muslims 

[Honey Honey]

2 hours ago, Devon Von Devon said:

Yeah ! It will offend a lot of Muslims 

Mecca here is a chain of bingo halls  

[Smiley Culture]

14 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

 

 

Greg Dyke is a fucking cabbage. If there’s one bloke I’d like to see get his head caved in in Russia, it’s him. 

[Dave]

The offer to purchase Wembley Stadium from the FA is worth £1bn, says prospective buyer Shahid Khan.

The 67-year-old owner of Fulham FC and NFL side the Jacksonville Jaguars also said he wants the FA to continue staging various cup finals at the stadium - but suggested the governing body may instead choose to take them around the country.

It was revealed on Friday that Khan was in discussions with the FA to buy Wembley for a deal originally believed to be worth around £800m.

[Dave]

Shahid Khan has insisted Chelsea will be welcome to use Wembley as their temporary home, should he be successful in his bid to buy the stadium.

It was revealed on Thursday that the 67-year-old - who owns Championship side Fulham as well as NFL side the Jacksonville Jaguars - was in discussions with the FA to take the national stadium off their hands.

Wembley is seen as a likely home for Chelsea when they temporarily leave Stamford Bridge during its planned redevelopment and Khan says the Blues would be welcome guests should he take ownership of Wembley.

[Honey Honey]

Why are the FA entertaining this.