Dulwich Hamlet football club could become supporter owned

Fans of Dulwich Hamlet in London could get to own a stake in their football club. Founded in 1893, the local non-league club has struggled over the past few...

Fans of Dulwich Hamlet in London could get to own a stake in their football club. Founded in 1893, the local non-league club has struggled over the past few years, coming close to bankruptcy in 2014 when the company owning its ground went bust.

Property developer Hadley Property Group then bought the stadium, took control of the club and paid off the £400,000 debts. It is now looking at submitting an application to regenerate the ground.

Owners announced plans to enable the club to become fully supporter-owned if proposals for the new stadium are delivered. The project includes the development of a new stadium with 3G pitch, and new gym and training facilities for the Dulwich Hamlet FC academy. As part of the plans, Hadley Property also aims to build 150 new apartments.

The new 4,000 capacity stadium would be built on existing unused and derelict plastic football pitches, directly behind the existing stadium. The developer says it will protect and maintain the current Green Dale Fields.

Hadley is currently working with Southwark Council to finalise the plans, and is also proposing that the facilities be run on a day-to-day basis by a non-profit leisure provider (GLL) – paid an annual sum, with the club deriving an income from the facilities, alongside gate money and the usual income streams for clubs.

The club’s conversion into supporter ownership would also respond to the Section 106 planning obligation, a legally binding agreement that aims to ensure that developers provide certain benefits to the community as a condition for the development.

The site where the new stadium would be built
The site where the new stadium would be built

 

Kevin Rye, a consultant, says a form of asset lock will also be used to provide long-term security of tenure for the club. Mr Rye has been advising the property developer over the past year to help it complete the plans and engage with the supporter trust.

He said: “This is a unique project, the like of which I have never seen in the 13 years that I have worked in football, and it is indeed very rare to see a developer operating in this way, especially the notion of creating a co-operative owned business (the football club) at the end of it.”

Chair of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust, Duncan Hart, said: “The Supporters Trust was formed in 2003 and one of its objectives is to ensure that Dulwich Hamlet has a sustainable long term future. Like Hadley, our preferred route is for the club to become fully supporter-owned.

“There are potentially some big changes on the horizon, and in order to ensure the financial stability of the football club we are currently working on a business plan […] with Hadley and other stakeholders to ensure we have sufficient and accurate information. Hadley have been supportive in this process, and we hope to be able to share some of this in future”.

Would co-operative football ownership cut ticket prices?

Matt Rimmer, head of communications at Hadley Property Group, said: “Fans were understandably panicked by the news that it was a developer buying the stadium freehold which – to be fair – is the normal, and often justified response. I mean, it’s not often that these things end well, is it?

“There was a lot of noise on social media – basically rallying the troops, saying that the fans should chip together, take over ownership of the club and run it themselves. Instead of fighting this, we thought that holding onto an asset that we had no experience of running, nor a long-term interest in holding made no sense. The sensible option was for us all to open this up for a genuine discussion, and the net result is our plan to move the club into supporter ownership as part of our larger plans for the site.

“Although we’ve spent a good deal of money clearing debt, we’ve deliberately not done the stereotypical developer thing of throwing money at an issue, hoping it’ll go away. Instead, we’ve listened to people, and are acting and reacting accordingly. This has included issues right across the spectrum. Hopefully that will resonate in all sorts of places.

“The aim with this development is to leave a genuine and secure legacy for the community, with access to significantly improved facilities for local people, schools and others. It’ll give the borough more accessible green space, and a football club that can get on with being a football club and a huge community asset – without the worry of insecure ownership, income or tenure.”

Hadley's proposed site for Dulwich Hamlet
Hadley’s proposed site for Dulwich Hamlet

There is still planning to overcome

James Mathie, club development manager at Supporters Direct, said: “The circumstances leading to co-operative ownership of sports clubs continue to evolve and mature. With the way sport is set-up in the UK – incentivising a boom or bust culture – there will always continue to be a stream of crisis opportunities where the community rallies round to save their club. However while these are the stories that often command the most media attention, the number of clubs converting to co-operative ownership out of choice is now in the majority.

“Whilst most of these are about recognising the benefits of a club owned by the many not the few, a slightly different example can be found at Dulwich Hamlet where the Supporters Trust and the property developer, who effectively owns the club, have drawn up a memorandum of understanding, with the help of Supporters Direct, which would see supporters take control of the club and the proposed new improved ground. There is still planning to overcome and whatever the outcome the structured dialogue between supporters and the developer should lead to a positive outcome”.

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