Wael Al-Qadi says he wants to sustain the “long-term sustainability and future” of Bristol Rovers with plans for a new stadium at St Phillip’s Marsh, but insists talks are at an early stage with developers Conygar over the ownership and financing of the proposed ground.
Two weeks after developers Conygar confirmed they had secured a £450,000 option to explore planning at the 14.7-acre site in central Bristol and admitted Rovers were part of those discussions, Rovers president Wael Al-Wadi appeared on BBC Radio Bristol.
For the first time since revealing the project in the summer of 2019, Al-Qadi discussed the concept in some detail, albeit bound by commercial sensitivities and agreements which prevented any further information over whether the stadium would be owned by the club or leased over an extended period of time, and how it would be paid for.
Rovers’ search for a permanent new ground has been a bone of contention for Gasheads over decades having seen so many false dawns at UWE, Mangotsfield and the current site at the Mem, and on arriving at the club in 2016, Wael Al-Qadi stated it was a prerequisite for success.
Conygar and Wael Al-Qadi remain in discussions over the plans with the president insisting any deal that is concluded will be for the benefit of the club and “generations of Gasheads”, although the Jordanian made the point that ownership and a long-term lease, as in 100+ years, can be viewed as the same thing as it still appears as an asset on the balance sheet.
“Any agreement has to enhance the long-term prospects for Bristol Rovers,” Al-Qadi told the BBC. “A move must make the club more financially sustainable than it is today. If we do agree with Conygar, it will be up to the developers to make the case to the council that its plan for the Fruit Market should receive planning permission for its proposed uses. And that’s including the stadium.
“If you look at football clubs, the main issue is getting a deal that is sustainable for the club in the long-term, be it ownership or a very long lease. I would say these two are the same. Having a long lease goes down as an asset in your balance sheet. What we’re trying to do is secure the long-term sustainability of the club.
When asked what a long-term lease is, he replied: “Something that will outlive me. If you look at property deals and what have you, a long lease is easily in the 10s, 100s of years.
“What we are looking for is to secure the long-term future for generations of Gasheads. It’s early doors yet but we’ve had very good discussions and we hope to continue these discussions.”
It’s the second major site under discussion during Wael Al-Qadi’s tenure after the UWE project collapsed in 2018, with the president drawing comparisons between those talks and present discussions as to what will guide him as to what constitutes a good deal.
“What we need for this club is to have a sustainable future and if the deal doesn’t consist of these methods or revenue streams that will contribute to that, it won’t be a good deal for the club,” he added. “And, at the time, the feeling that wasn’t the case and we decided to pursue other options and here we are today.”
In the short term, Rovers are still planning to redevelop the South Stand at the Mem to significantly raise its capacity, as first revealed by CEO Tom Gorringe earlier this year. The plans are to boost the capacity in that part of the ground to 3,500, taking the overall size of the Mem to 12,500 in time for next season with an update due “in the next week”.
“We continue to try and improve the matchday experience for Gasheads,” Al-Qadi said. “We introduced the new big screen. There are plans being finalised for the new South Stand.
"We have one of the biggest stadium occupancies in League One this season and we’re hoping to have further details about the South Stand in this coming week and we’ll leave that up to Mr Tom Gorringe.”
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