Chesterfield chairman Barrie Hubbard gave an exclusive interview to Spireites World with an update on the new stadium plans and news of some loose ends that still need sorting, crucially the very ownership of the club.  Read the full interview here for the first time. 

Well Barrie you have appointed Alan Stevenson who is going to be the new head of marketing for Chesterfield FC for the new stadium project, how did that come about?

Well we have known for a long time that Alan has been doing a lot of work for new and old stadiums and we had muted to him some time ago that if we ever moved we would like him to come back to Chesterfield and work for us.  This is something he has always wanted to do and so it has been good marriage in a way.  When the project it started to get nearer and more exciting he got in touch, we had a talk, and it went from there.

He is a consultant at the moment but when it really gets going he is likely be on a contract, when will that happen?

The reason he is a consultant at the moment is because he is finishing the end of an era at Doncaster and also we want our land all signed over to us before he becomes permanent and when that happens he will be on a contract.

Is there any doubt the stadium will not go ahead?

No I don't think so, not now it's got too far now.

A lot going on behind the scenes, what can you tell us have been happening?

Well I think everything that has been going on behind the scenes at the moment has come out.  It's the fact that the outline plans for the site will going into the Council in September/October time, our detailed plans for our new stadium will be going in at the same time and we hope very much that final approval will be given to us by March time next year.

What will Alan Stevenson be doing?

He is basically making sure that when we end 135 years at Saltergate we do it with a bang and everything we can possibly do for a grand finale he will put in place like he has at other grounds.  With the new stadium the details will come out in the future and it will be similar to what he has done at other grounds and will be to make sure we maximise the possibility of having more income than we do now

 Saltergate - an end of an era

It's great to have someone with so much expertise in this area and he is a Chesterfield lad as well.

Yes that's great but the main thing with Alan is that he has done so many, that the things he did early on that didn't work he has thrown away.  He is now coming to us with all the best bits in his portfolio and the rubbish has gone.

What's the stadium starting to look like?

Well it has got four stands.  It will have corporate facilites for dinners and dances.  There are three large rooms for 200, 100 and 80 people all with views of the pitch, which will really be a first because I have not been to a ground which will have as many rooms overlooking the pitch as we have got.

When will the fans start to see some plans and pictures of this?

Well we are still in negotiations with the architect at the moment, still some final bits and pieces to be done.  One of the main things to be done is the entrance as we are not quite happy with the way that has been done but when that has been finalised we should be in a position very soon to show what the outside anyway looks like.

The big thing is the cost, can the club afford it?

Well we can't afford it if you say have we got enough money to pay for it down.  The sale of Saltergate and the grants from the Football Trust will not be enough to pay for the ground so the club will have to borrow money.  Now how it borrows money is something we have to discuss. It could be from a bank, investers, debenture holders, a number of ways, but we are definitely got to borrow some money.

And financial institutions are willing to do that?

Yes they are willing to do it but we need to tidy up a few things first before we can go into detail about who is going to lend us any money.

And is one of those items to be tidied up the structure of the club?

Yes, I think what you are trying to say is will CFSS and the football club be able to carry on as they are.  I think we might have to get a structure whereby one group of people don't own majority shares.  I think we might have to look at that but I am not 100% certain how this is going to happen.  I am fully in favour of CFSS, I think it is a great organisation that has done some good work for the football club, in fact I am a life member of CFSS so I am not against it.  But it is just reality and we have to make sure that CFSS and the football club can somehow sort out the shares and make it easier for us when we visit the financial institutions.

Are they perhaps saying that under the current structure they wouldn't be willing to loan the sort of money that would be needed?

No I think it has got to be sorted out.

Is this a pitch from Barrie Hubbard, are you wanting ownership maybe?

Me, no I don't want ownership it's the last thing I want. No I don't want ownership of the club but it may be more than one person and one of them won't be me, no.

So what you are saying is that whoever is running the club needs to own it so that they can actually sort all the finances out and that is crucial for the success and needed for the new stadium.  Is that what you are saying?

We run the football club don't we, putting in bluntly.  The board of directors of Chesterfield FC run it, day to day, year to year, we do every thing, we make all the decisions. So somewhere along the line that's got to be sorted. 

How do you think it will plan out?

I don't know yet but it will have to be looked at.  Towards the end of October I want to have some sort of a paper to present to CFSS and to the Board of Directors, although the Board of Directors do know obviously what we are trying to do.  And then have a meeting and get it sorted there and then.

Are CFSS aware that this is in the wind?

Yes I have spoken to Phil Tooley (CFSS chairman), he has been to a meeting with us I explained my thoughts and the thoughts of the football club and I am sure he agrees with what I have said.  But he can't just say we are going to do this or do that, as it has got to be done properly and we have got to make sure what ever we do has got to be right.

And presumably endorsed by the CFSS members?

Of course the CFSS members have got to agree.  If CFSS members say no we want to carry on as we are doing I don't know what will happen.

Are we actually saying that being able to finalise the stadium project requires this little matter to be sorted?

Yes, not to finalise the project, its to make it possible for us to raise the capital we need to fully fund the stadium.

So in other words if it not done there won't be any stadium?

Well it will be done there is no doubt about that.  Everybody wants a new stadium and everybody wants to make sure it is done properly. I am certain that when we put our paper to the CFSS committee they will agree to it, I am certain about that.

So we are not looking for confrontation but for discussion and a win win situation that would be of benefit to the club?

No confrontation whatsoever, that's not the point.  If CFSS can say well we have got £3 million pound here you can have to finish the stadium that would be great.  But we haven't got it as board members, and we wouldn't be able to put money in as board members as we don't own the place.

Is that the sort of figure that you are looking for and can the club in the future sustain that sort of mortgage or whatever it would be?

Yes, whatever we borrow the club will be able to sustain it otherwise we won't borrow it.

It's just another little thing to sort out.  You have had hurdles already but they seem to be getting knocked down and hopefully this is just one more that will be sorted so the club can have a new era in a new stadium.

Yes this is the final hurdle and it's difficult because you can't go into these things too early because you haven't got the where-with-all and the information.   Once we have get the information, which we saying we hope will be October, then that's when we will go to CFSS with our thoughts.  They will have their meeting and make some decisions and we go from there.  It's not a confrontation at all in any way.

Excited about the future?

Very much so thanks.