Sell our soul ?

[nat]

I was chatting with a mate a few weeks back and said that I could soon see the day where all cricket in this country would be played by the 8 franchises.

London Spirt : Middlesex and Essex
Oval Invincibles : Surrey and Kent
Southern Brave : Hampshire and Sussex
Northern Superchargers : Yorkshire and Durham
Manchester Originals : Lancashire
Welsh Fire : Glamorgan and Somerset
Trent Rockets : Notts, Leicestershire and Derbys
Birmingham Phoenix : Warks and Worcs

It just leaves Lancashire without a natural partner and Northants and Glos to accommodate although Glos could probably go in to Welsh Fire.

Having read about the Royals looking to buy Yorkshire it seems that this could be the first step of that happening.

Welcome to the forum Mr Strauss.

[Suffolk Richard]

I was chatting with a mate a few weeks back and said that I could soon see the day where all cricket in this country would be played by the 8 franchises.

London Spirt : Middlesex and Essex
Oval Invincibles : Surrey and Kent
Southern Brave : Hampshire and Sussex
Northern Superchargers : Yorkshire and Durham
Manchester Originals : Lancashire
Welsh Fire : Glamorgan and Somerset
Trent Rockets : Notts, Leicestershire and Derbys
Birmingham Phoenix : Warks and Worcs

It just leaves Lancashire without a natural partner and Northants and Glos to accommodate although Glos could probably go in to Welsh Fire.

Having read about the Royals looking to buy Yorkshire it seems that this could be the first step of that happening.

Don't totally agree with that but I can see a first class tournament being created by the E.C.B. to what they perceive to be an upgrade on county cricket.  So the county championship will still exist but might effectively be a second grade tournament.  So players who have aspirations on playing for England will have to earn their stripes by being picked up from a county and doing the business with a franchise team.

[Daren Mootoo]

 Yorkshire being sold is not as easy as all that. Yorkshire cannot be sold. They, like all the other counties are bound by the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. A society (county)  would have to convert into a company, which would then become a saleable item, Through an SGM, where at least 50% of ALL members (not just those who turn up to the meeting) must vote on the proposal to sell. Of those 50%, 75% or more must support the proposal. If that is carried then it must be ratified at a further SGM that must be held within 14 days after that. Yorkshire therefore are not up for sale until their members (over half of all of them) vote for the club to be converted into a company. Not easy at all!

[nat]

Yorkshire being sold is not as easy as all that. Yorkshire cannot be sold. They, like all the other counties are bound by the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. A society (county)  would have to convert into a company, which would then become a saleable item, Through an SGM, where at least 50% of ALL members (not just those who turn up to the meeting) must vote on the proposal to sell. Of those 50%, 75% or more must support the proposal. If that is carried then it must be ratified at a further SGM that must be held within 14 days after that. Yorkshire therefore are not up for sale until their members (over half of all of them) vote for the club to be converted into a company. Not easy at all!

A 'bribe' can work wonders.

[bwildered]

How much would you sell your membership for ?
Your membership is a share, with a possible franchise offering you let’s say 1k, to vote “ yes” .
Who would consider selling their soul to the devil , and at what price ?

[SirChef26]

Don't totally agree with that but I can see a first class tournament being created by the E.C.B. to what they perceive to be an upgrade on county cricket.  So the county championship will still exist but might effectively be a second grade tournament.  So players who have aspirations on playing for England will have to earn their stripes by being picked up from a county and doing the business with a franchise team.

Since the counties own the grounds, the more realistic scenario (and what I fully expect will happen) is that the 8-10 international ground counties will betray the rest and vote with the ECB to break off. Those counties will play first class (County Championship) and List A cricket (with an amalgamated women's team playing the same competitions) and each will be linked to a Hundred/T20 franchise owned by a private company, who pay their host county handsomely to use the ground for the premier short form tournament. In some cases, said private company may have already purchased said host county (as Rajasthan are attempting with Yorkshire).

That way the ECB and the big 8-10 can claim that County Cricket still exists, but it is perfected dovetailed with the franchise riches. The rest of us though, will see our ECB funding pulled and we'll be forced to cease as a fully professional club, instead demoting ourselves to National County status.

This is the reality, this is the future and this is why Essex's long-term existence firmly depends on either sorting out the ground or finding a new one. We've the catchment area and the fanbase to play and sustain ourselves as a full-time club at the highest level. For starters, we've a bigger fanbase than Hampshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire to name just three who would all survive. But we won't be invited to the party whilst our current facilities are of Non-League standard. Sort the ground out, we'll be allowed to join the elite counties and ensure Essex's long-term survival

Those of you who genuinely believe that the international counties (and their respective memberships for that matter) won't stab us in the back at the first time of asking are kidding yourselves.

[SirChef26]

How much would you sell your membership for ?
Your membership is a share, with a possible franchise offering you let’s say 1k, to vote “ yes” .
Who would consider selling their soul to the devil , and at what price ?

I don't want a penny to sell my membership. As I said earlier, I would consider any offer that includes a contractual guarantee of either a radical redevelopment of Chelmsford, or a new ground entirely to be fully funded by the buyer (with no cost/debt placed on the club) and to be completed by the end of the decade. Should said redevelopment not be completed or any annual targets not be met in the meantime, then the majority stake of Essex would defer from the buying company back to the membership at no cost. I would want all of that locked down in a watertight contract which protects us financially if things did go balls up.

It would be impossible to crowdfund for the amount of money we need and the only other way to raise such capitals that I can see, (aside from getting into unmanageable debt or winning the Euromillions) is to sell a stake in the club.

[Suffolk Richard]

This is the reality, this is the future and this is why Essex's long-term existence firmly depends on either sorting out the ground or finding a new one. We've the catchment area and the fanbase to play and sustain ourselves as a full-time club at the highest level. For starters, we've a bigger fanbase than Hampshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire to name just three who would all survive. But we won't be invited to the party whilst our current facilities are of Non-League standard. Sort the ground out, we'll be allowed to join the elite counties and ensure Essex's long-term survival

Those of you who genuinely believe that the international counties (and their respective memberships for that matter) won't stab us in the back at the first time of asking are kidding yourselves.
[/quote]

Playing first class cricket on the eastern side of the country may be our saving grace?  We do need to know what plans are in store for Chelmsford or elsewhere. Also approximately how much it is all going to cost and just as important a time frame from the start of works to completion.

[Oldhasbeen]

Yorkshire being sold is not as easy as all that. Yorkshire cannot be sold. They, like all the other counties are bound by the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. A society (county)  would have to convert into a company, which would then become a saleable item, Through an SGM, where at least 50% of ALL members (not just those who turn up to the meeting) must vote on the proposal to sell. Of those 50%, 75% or more must support the proposal. If that is carried then it must be ratified at a further SGM that must be held within 14 days after that. Yorkshire therefore are not up for sale until their members (over half of all of them) vote for the club to be converted into a company. Not easy at all!

A 'bribe' can work wonders.

E.g. make a large "donation" to the Conservative Party, get a seat in the Lords and get a few inconvenient laws changed.

[Oldhasbeen]

I would consider any offer that includes a contractual guarantee of either a radical redevelopment of Chelmsford, or a new ground entirely to be fully funded by the buyer (with no cost/debt placed on the club) and to be completed by the end of the decade. Should said redevelopment not be completed or any annual targets not be met in the meantime, then the majority stake of Essex would defer from the buying company back to the membership at no cost. I would want all of that locked down in a watertight contract which protects us financially if things did go balls up.

Could you share some examples of construction deals made with contracts that watertight? 
Sounds like a lawyers' paradise to me. Anything goes wrong and it goes to court, Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Runne of Cheapside would be rubbing their hands with joy.
And what would there be to there to stop the company in question doing Lord knows what once it had fulfilled the contract?

[Andy]

Is the old county ground in Leyton still available? Or is the Olympic stadium big enough for cricket? I mean its not exactly being used much atm...

[SirChef26]

Could you share some examples of construction deals made with contracts that watertight? 
Sounds like a lawyers' paradise to me. Anything goes wrong and it goes to court, Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Runne of Cheapside would be rubbing their hands with joy.
And what would there be to there to stop the company in question doing Lord knows what once it had fulfilled the contract?

No one would commit the amount of money required to build a new ground if they didn't want to make it a success, especially if those involved were reputable across the world of cricket.

[nat]

Allen Stanford anyone?

[SirChef26]

Allen Stanford anyone?

Emphasis on 'reputable' here. Let's make something clear, I'm not advocating letting any old crook with a big smile who flashes a briefcase full of money through the door. But I am happy to listen to a person/persons who comes to the table with proven wealth, a bloody good ground plan and business plan, who are more than happy to rock up to Chelmsford and pitch to the members face-to-face, fielding all the difficult questions.

[nat]

Allen Stanford anyone?

Emphasis on 'reputable' here. Let's make something clear, I'm not advocating letting any old crook with a big smile who flashes a briefcase full of money through the door. But I am happy to listen to a person/persons who comes to the table with proven wealth, a bloody good ground plan and business plan, who are more than happy to rock up to Chelmsford and pitch to the members face-to-face, fielding all the difficult questions.

That excludes the Saudis then