15th June 2000
15th June 2000 OLDHAM Athletic and Oldham Council are each expected to have three representatives on the board of the stadium company that will own and run the newly named and upgraded Oldham Stadium at Boundary Park. The principle of Oldham Rugby League Club (1997) Ltd being represented in the shape of its chairman, Christopher Hamilton, has also been accepted. The rugby club, however, will have a minority shareholding because of the greater financial commitment of the other two parties. The constitution of the board will be based on the principle of financial input equalling voting input. Boundary Park is currently owned by Hiretarget, to which Athletic pays rent on a five-year lease. The football club has options to buy back or extend the lease agreement. So long as the club keeps a `clean’ rent book and keeps its payments up to date, Athletic retain — under the terms of the lease — full control of the day-to-day management and maintenance of Boundary Park.
The club still pays rates and water rates on Boundary Park and it will be responsible for meeting the costs of the essential repair work currently being done on the pitch. The rugby league club’s agreement for the loan of the ground is with Athletic — not with Hiretarget — and it was, therefore, Athletic’s decision to start work on the pitch last week. The shadow stadium company will meet again next week and will continue to hold regular meetings, after which press statements are expected to be released to keep the public fully informed. The only firm decision made so far is to scrap Sportspark 2000 and to redevelop Boundary Park, but it is unlikely that the pitch will be turned through 90 degrees to face Broadway, which would require the flattening of the entire stadium and starting again. More likely, is the retention of the stadium in its present form with major redevelopment taking place on the Broadway and Sheepfoot Lane sides.
Space restrictions on the Sheepfoot Lane side may result in the major part of the redevelopment taking place on the Lookers Stand side. The relatively new stands at each end of the ground are unlikely to be altered to any significant degree, although officials insist that decisions have not yet been made. They must also decide which, if any, of the proposed features of the Sportspark 2000 scheme are to be retained.