Peter Griffin has told Maidenhead United fans he may be forced to sell the club in the coming years if headway isn’t made on a ground move in the borough.
Speaking to the Advertiser ahead of a meeting for supporters at Stripes Sports Bar last night (Wednesday) Griffin said that while the money they received from the £40m sale of Max Kilman from Wolves to West Ham United had been a ‘god send’ it was not a solution to their financial problems.
He said the money they receive from Kilman’s sell-on clause – £4m to be paid in four instalments over the next four seasons – would ‘keep the wolf from the door’ but added that it had only given them a ‘window in which to leverage a ground move’.
Kilman is a former Magpies defender who they sold to Wolves in 2018 for £40,000. Crucially, they negotiated a sell-on clause for the player of 20 per cent, however, this was renegotiated down to 10 per cent to facilitate Kilman’s move to the London Stadium this summer.
Having consulted with expert advisors over the past 12 months, they’ve concluded that remaining at York Road in the long term isn’t viable – and would lead to what Griffin called ‘a gradual dying on the vine’
The club plans to maintain York Road to keep its grade A status, however, redeveloping it in any significant way is simply too costly, while the location of the ground – its parking and access issues – make it unsuitable for development.
Having seen their proposed move to a new stadium in Braywick Park controversially blocked by the council last year, they are now in the process of identifying other suitable locations, however, at present have no ‘concrete interest’ in any site. A ground move would potentially open up several new revenue streams for the club and make it more sustainable and competitive in the long term.
“We don’t think staying at York Road is viable,” said Griffin. “The only way it could be viable is if someone comes in with way more money than me and puts in way more money.
“But then you’re potentially going down the Reading FC route. Getting owners in who may be good, or may be bad, or could take you down and bankrupt you.
“That’s if you can find people who are willing to put in tens of millions as well to do all this.”
He added: “If the council genuinely want people to participate in sport and football, then they have to come up with policies as to how they’ll do that. We’ve got a solution for that because we’re not asking for money, we’re asking for support to provide something that the town, the council and the football club can benefit from.
“If we can’t find a solution to this in the next three or four years, it will be down that route we go I’m afraid. We’ll then be hostage to fortune.”
Griffin wants the club to work with the council and other bodies to facilitate a ground move which he says will not only benefit the club – but everyone who participates in sport in the area. And they need to do it fast, with Griffin admitting he may be forced to sell the club after two decades in charge if a solution can’t be found.
“The town is very short of facilities for the number of people who participate in sport,” he said.
“The council have identified that but have no plan or money to put that in place.
“We do as a football club, and we’re not looking for a penny of public money – we can’t stress that enough. We don’t want anyone’s money; all we need is a supportive council.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Douglas, cabinet member for communities, said: “We are keen for Maidenhead United to achieve their goal of financial sustainability. This brings major benefits to the town, and to residents, as well as fans.
“We would ideally prefer the club to stay at York Road, but we understand the desire to move. This will need to be compatible with our aims to improve rather than erode biodiversity and green spaces in the borough. We will work with the club to help square that circle.”
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Having carried out a business review, with expert advisors in the field, Griffin has concluded that remaining at York Road would lead to the club ‘gradually dying on the vine’. He is currently forced to absorb the rising annual losses, but it’s becoming more difficult to stomach.
“We want people to be aware that the Max Kilman money has been great in terms of keeping the wolf from the door,” he added. “But we’ve done various scenario planning and can’t see any way of staying at York Road and being successful in the long term. It will just be a gradual dying on the vine.
“We’ve spent the past year carrying out a root and branch review of our finances and the options for staying at York Road, and we’ve also looked at investors coming alongside myself – or possibly one day taking over.
“All of this work has led to one thing and that is that relocation is the only viable route for the club to progress and be financially robust and to give the town the facilities it needs.”
Despite coming to loggerheads over the proposed move to Braywick Park, Griffin believes the club and council can still move forward in a collaborative way, and insisted they don’t need a penny of financial support – so long as the sale of York Road is used as a makeweight to facilitate the relocation.
“The Max Kilman money coming in this summer was an absolute god send. But it’s not a question of how we spend that extra money, it’s a question of how this helps us keep going,” added Griffin.
“For the short term, the club can cover its shortfall. It was a few hundred thousand a few years ago but that’s been doubling and this year it was getting eye-wateringly big.
“Braintree, for example, have just put all their players up on the transfer list to cut their budget, Woking have had a fire sale and have just been sold to US investors. They were on their last few months of money. It is literally getting harder and harder.
“The unfortunate reality is that getting the Max Kilman money – which is £4m over four years, a million a year. That doesn’t mean that we’ve got a million extra to spend, it means that we don’t lose half a million pounds or more.
“This year we’ve had a terrible run of injuries, we’ve spent £35,000 on operations, we’ve spent £60,000 on a new plumbing system and boiler house and we’re lined up to spend £200,000 in the coming summer on crush barriers and new terracing.
“This shows that the money is literally haemorrhaging from the club. We want to be honest with fans.
“This money from the Kilman sale is great because it keeps us from being in real financial trouble – like clubs at our level are unfortunately, but it doesn’t change anything other than it gives us a three- or four-year window to try and leverage a ground move.”
“So as of this moment, we’re actively pursuing any available sites in the borough and we’re trying to do that to secure a ground move. Hopefully, we can get that rolling in the next couple of years, with the Kilman money allowing us to do that.
“It will help move the club into a position where it can get better facilities and potentially attract new investment to go alongside that. However, if we can’t do that, then the club is back to square one and at that point, I wouldn’t be able to support the club, long term, because I’ve been doing it 20-odd years. And from what used to be a few hundred thousand a year, it could be by then a seven-figure sum a year (that the owner must put in to run the club) just to keep the club going at a National League level.
“That’s the harsh reality of football at this level.”