McKay slams Knights over stadium rent

[Frederick]

McKay slams Knights over stadium rent
BY JACQUI JONES AND ROBERT DILLON
4/04/2009 4:00:00 AM

MINISTER for the Hunter Jodi McKay weighed into the Knights rent feud yesterday, accusing the rugby league club of short-changing the community by refusing to pay overdue rent for use of EnergyAustralia Stadium.

The Knights and Hunter Venues are at a stand-off after the State Government-appointed authority issued the NRL club this week with a default notice for $792,000 in unpaid licence fees for the use of the stadium.

Ms McKay strongly backed Hunter Venues yesterday, saying it was doing what it was designated to do.

"I'm very supportive of the action they're taking," the Newcastle MP said.

"They have my complete support."

She said the Knights owed a lot of money and had known for a long time that payment was due.

"It would be nice if they paid up," Ms McKay said.

"It's a community facility, it's the community they're not paying.

"It's a facility that's owned by the community. Therefore when they don't pay the money they owe it's actually the community that they're short-changing."

Ms McKay said the Government had invested $50 million in the stadium to build a world-class asset for the community, not as a gift to the Knights.

That meant the Newcastle Jets and other organisations or events should be able to use the facility.

Knights chief executive Steve Burraston fired back last night, saying the Knights were a community asset and not-for-profit organisation.

"We are the community," Mr Burraston said.

"I'm not sure about a state-appointed board and CEO. I'm not sure that's the community."

Mr Burraston said unpaid licence fees were just one of four intertwined issues.

"It's convenient for her and Hunter Venues to say that they are separate issues," he said.

"They only want to discuss the rent issue, because that's the one that is favourable to Hunter Venues. The others are not. They are favourable to the Knights."

Mr Burraston said the Knights were owed compensation and money for maintenance and held the stadium-management rights, which Hunter Venues wanted.

"They just tend to forget those," he said. "Our claims and invoices on Hunter Venues exceed the $792,000 they're asking for."

The minister said she supported the NRL club and its place in Newcastle.

The club has suggested it may be forced to play home games away from Newcastle if the dispute cannot be resolved.

"I'm a huge Knights fan," Ms McKay said. "No one wants to see them move away, no one is saying that."

Ms McKay nonetheless suggested legal action could be taken if the payment deadline was not met at the end of the month.

She ruled out taking action herself to try to resolve the dispute.

"They [Hunter Venues] are very well-qualified to make a decision for the best way for this stadium to be managed into the future," she said.

LINK

 

[mozza91]

Jodi McKay is Karmawave

 

[Karmawave]

I don't blame her at all to be honest.

Nothing stopping the Knights paying the bills from 2008 while pursuing court action for compensation for 2009 if Hunter Venues aren't willing to come up with a figure that is suitable to the Knights.

Except they don't have that kind of money, and that it would bankrupt the club...

Once this gets sorted out, Knights fans should be lining up in their thousands to ensure the Newcastle Knights flawed business model never has an opportunity to mess up the running of this club ever again.

Steve Burraston, where are you anyway? Just going to sit there and respond with a few transparent lines of retort? Or step forward and fix this up?

He just doesn't get it. Sure his claims for compensation might exceed the bill they owe, but it doesn't exceed the obligation to pay overdue bills from a previous financial year :lol:

I hope Steve Burraston sues the ASS OFF HUNTER VENUES for the compensation, but in the meantime, just pay the fricken bill mate.

 

[Stranger]

I thought Karmawave was Raider_69?

 

[Karmawave]

I thought Karmawave was Raider_69?

Karmawave is everyone by the look of it. :lol:

 

[Holla if ya hear me]

really need some leadership on this...and sorted out quickly...Both sides seem to be forgetting a lot of this and that ...sit yer asses down for 3 days and go thru it....everything presented and work it out!

 

[Stranger]

I don't blame her at all to be honest.

Nothing stopping the Knights paying the bills from 2008 while pursuing court action for compensation for 2009 if Hunter Venues aren't willing to come up with a figure that is suitable to the Knights.

Except they don't have that kind of money, and that it would bankrupt the club...

Once this gets sorted out, Knights fans should be lining up in their thousands to ensure the Newcastle Knights flawed business model never has an opportunity to mess up the running of this club ever again.

Steve Burraston, where are you anyway?

Its a very narrow minded view mate.

Your posts really seem to be death-riding the knights, and thats from a bloke who hates to blow smoke.....


It seems more and more likely however that this will be a long court process that will bankrupt the knights anyway. Lose/lose quite possibly.


However LOL @ McKay saying its about the community.

 

[Holla if ya hear me]

Id hate to be that idiot looking guy from the hunter venues if the knights are going to play out of gosford etc..his mugs on the front pages and he might be hunted down..couldnt miss his ugly haircut..pmsl

 

[Stranger]

Karmawave is everyone by the look of it. :lol:

Skeepe?:lol:
Clint Newton?:lol:
Walshy?:lol:

Be honest now....

 

[Karmawave]

It seems to me that this club is a very backward run organisation, supported by a lot of very backward people that just seem to think the Knights should be gifted to the ' community ' because hey, we are from Newcastle and we have an NRL team called the Knights, and who cares if the backward run management has put us $3M into debt, that we should be just left alone and gifted a huge amount of charity and understanding from everyone...

You know, just so we can go chant " New-cas-tle, New-cas-tle " at the local stadium 12 times a year.

As long as we have someone to support and they are called the Knights, all the backward fans want to bury their heads in the sand and blame everyone bloody one else except the backward management as to why this club is on the brink of financial ruin and $3M in debt.

Help them? My family's thousands of dollar a year in season ticket renewals etc, should have been helping them for the last god knows how many years. My family's hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year, year in, year out buying the backward outdated merchandise the Knights change annually, should have been helping the club.

Instead, where has our money gone exactly.

Basically down the fricken drain.

And on top of the hard earned dollars fans spend each year supporting this club, we are thanked with $3M in debt and a club on the border of financial ruin.

And now they want our sympathy too?

It is time for privatisation NOW.

But will the backward fans choose that path?

 

[IanG]

This bird has no f**king idea.

Just further proves my theory that she's become a puppet for the cronie in at Macquare Street.

 

[Stranger]

You really don't see any positives do you?

Can you admit that the knights have improved their business 1000% over the past year or two? Maybe to little to late, but you are putting alot of blame on the current practices which tbh, aren't bad at all. Burrow has done alot of good for the Knights.

Without a leagues club a team is going to struggle NO DOUBT. The knights lost money last year, same with 13 or so of the other clubs. The only difference is that we don't have a leagues club to clear the debt.

I was talking to one of the Panthers marketing managers, and he told me that the Panthers lost 3 million in ONE YEAR, but nobody blinked because the leagues clubs wiped it clear. Yeah fair enough the Knights can't afford to do that, but it just shows that the club isn't as bad as you say right?

Ontop of that, the knights still aren't saying they don't have the money to pay... they just aren't paying;-)

 

[~knights~]

I have to side with karmawave on this

some questions

*Why are they claiming compensation for the 09 season for 08 rent

*Why does Steve Burraston threaten to move the Knights out of town every time something doesn't go his way(remember last year)

he's like a 'spoilt' child trying to get his own way :x

 

[otori]

It seems to me that this club is a very backward run organisation, supported by a lot of very backward people that just seem to think the Knights should be gifted to the ' community ' because hey, we are from Newcastle and we have an NRL team called the Knights, and who cares if the backward run management has put us $3M into debt, that we should be just left alone and gifted a huge amount of charity and understanding from everyone...

You know, just so we can go chant " New-cas-tle, New-cas-tle " at the local stadium 12 times a year.

As long as we have someone to support and they are called the Knights, all the backward fans want to bury their heads in the sand and blame everyone bloody one else except the backward management as to why this club is on the brink of financial ruin and $3M in debt.

Help them? My family's thousands of dollar a year in season ticket renewals etc, should have been helping them for the last god knows how many years. My family's hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year, year in, year out buying the backward outdated merchandise the Knights change annually, should have been helping the club.

Instead, where has our money gone exactly.

Basically down the fricken drain.

And on top of the hard earned dollars fans spend each year supporting this club, we are thanked with $3M in debt and a club on the border of financial ruin.

And now they want our sympathy too?

It is time for privatisation NOW.

But will the backward fans choose that path?

I understand what you're saying but privatisation would not definitively solve this problem. If someone like Tinkler or Con owned the Knights, there's no way to say they would not have taken the same view on this issue as Burraston and his buddies have. I think the only reason this is coming up at all is that Burraston believes that if he pays HV the money then he won't be able to recoop the maintenance money they have spent without a massive legal battle. Both sides are in the wrong here and good management would not necessarily have stopped it if HV are playing hard and fast with the rules of stadium ownership.

Plus dude that was a massive rant that you pretty much repeat in every thread just to come to the same conclusion.

 

[Karmawave]

Ontop of that, the knights still aren't saying they don't have the money to pay... they just aren't paying;-)

You think they have the money to pay it right at this second?


Seriously?


They'll get the money eventually, but at what cost? Players wages? Staff cuts? Budget cuts?

Sure they haven't said exactly ' we don't have the money ' , but they've never said ' they do have the money ' either. So what does your gut feeling tell you? :lol:

 

[Karmawave]

Plus dude that was a massive rant that you pretty much repeat in every thread just to come to the same conclusion.

Yes, I'm Phil Gould too. ;-)

 

[otori]

Yes, I'm Phil Gould too. ;-)

Lol just saying, the first and last two paragraphs would've been fine

As an out of towner that doesn't the entire argument, can I ask someone how much roughly would the Knights pay EAS to play there annualy? I never really thought about it before but it's an interesting situation paying money to play at a stadium. I'm pretty sure that the QLD govt. doesn't charge the Broncos to play at Suncorp...

 

[Karmawave]

Lol just saying, the first and last two paragraphs would've been fine

As an out of towner that doesn't the entire argument, can I ask someone how much roughly would the Knights pay EAS to play there annualy? I never really thought about it before but it's an interesting situation paying money to play at a stadium. I'm pretty sure that the QLD govt. doesn't charge the Broncos to play at Suncorp...

The Knights pay too much for the rent, that's a given. An exact figure I'm sure someone else may have.

But they pay more than anyone, while other teams get PAID to play at certain stadiums.

However, that becomes a moot point when the Knights themselves sign the lease agreements with EAS.

The Knights have chosen to pay that amount and have made agreements in writing for long term contracts to continue to pay that amount of lease.

It's no use crying about being paying too much after the fact.

 

[Stranger]

The Knights pay too much for the rent, that's a given. An exact figure I'm sure someone else may have.

But they pay more than anyone, while other teams get PAID to play at certain stadiums.

Other teams do get paid to play at certain stadiums... but we get paid to play at EAS... Sponsorship $$ is a good start... ;-)Advertising boards all around the ground.... Other teams don't get that. Food and Bev sales? Ticket sales...

 

[reginald.p]

What if the Knights and the Jets banded together and said they won't play anymore games at EA until the rent was halved or something would that work?