Straw Poll - Crawford Rae, Cappielow and MCT

[BishopBrennan]

I'm interested to see what the consensus is on this. 

[piehutt]

Without knowing the terms of the lease, it's difficult to come to any rational conclusions. 

 

I think it's unrealistic to expect MCT to take over the asset and not the debt. 

 

Depending on the rental costs, the time frame and other clauses - especially any clauses relating to a sale of the ground, we will get the opportunity to make our decision on whether MCT should take over. 

[TaunTon]

The terms of the lease are crucial in order to make a serious judgement.

Ideally we'd probably all want GC to transfer ownership of Cappielow but it would need an awful lot more financial commitment than is realistic at this time.

[TRVMP]

MCT Questions and Answers – Morton Club Together

The lease in full won't be publicized until after it is signed. That's fair enough and it's not a criticism I'm making. They can't be making all of the negotiations public, I get that. But it does mean that the "wait and see" approach from fans means it'll be a fait accompli by the time anyone raises any objections.

[SpoonTon]

2 hours ago, piehutt said:

 

I think it's unrealistic to expect MCT to take over the asset and not the debt. 

This suggests that GC would look to make use of this asset at some point, which isn't what they were suggesting as the reason for retaining Cappielow and the car park. I don't think it's fair at all to relate the debt to the ground and land. Crawford has always maintained that the loan would not be recalled after a sale of the club or used as part of the sake of the club - he never said that buying the club wouldn't involve buying the ground. The debt to GC was completely down to Dougie's choices, and not as something which he had an expectation of being repaid (he did at times mention looking to recoup the money he paid for the land, though). 

It's important for Morton as a club to avoid GC calling in this asset, which might be difficult for MCT to avoid (and it might be difficult for any lease to safeguard the club from losing Cappielow at some point).

[AyrshireTon]

I presume that the cost of building something elsewhere and leaving Cappielow to the Rae's (once ownership has changed) exceeds the value of buying it outright?

[HamCam]

27 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said:

I presume that the cost of building something elsewhere and leaving Cappielow to the Rae's (once ownership has changed) exceeds the value of buying it outright?

Yes unless you are the lovechild of Piehutt and Cet Homme Charmant.