The news, as expected, that greyhound racing at Wimbledon has received a stay of execution of anything between six months and two years is a unique opportunity for greyhound racing in Britain and Ireland to turn around its fortunes.
But is that just a pipe dream?
Most ‘greyhound hopes’ rest with Irish property speculator Paschal Taggart whose plans for the site have been changed on numerous occasions involving differing numbers of dwellings, and stadium capacities, multi storey carparks, gyms, health centres, etc etc.
Whether Paschal ever gets the chance to deliver them is the multi million pound question.
On the plus side, the fact that Merton Council had voted to allow a significant housing development, would give Taggart much greater flexibility in his business plan. However, the Irishman doesn’t own the site which has increased considerably in value during the four year battle for it.
Not only have land prices risen in general, but the considerable price dampener of flood risk and been all but eradicated by the Environment Agency.
So owners Galliard Homes now have several options. Stick with the AFC football plan and engage with the new London Mayor. Sell to Paschal Taggart who will build a new one-sided stadium with houses. Build a new greyhound stadium themselves, plus houses. Or devise a new plan which would include lucrative housing and ‘something else’ which would be accepted by the Mayor, the council and the local residents.
Two of the four options mean the bullet for greyhound racing anyway. But what of the other two?
Firstly, the Taggart position. Theoretically at least, Taggart could have sewn up GRA many years ago. The money to buy GRA was loaned to Galliard Homes by the Irish banks. After the Irish banks were taken over by the state, responsibility for the debt of £50.5m was taken over by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).
Could Taggart have offered maybe 60p in the pound and bought GRA from NAMA for around £30m? In hindsight it would have been a good deal. He could have sold off the remaining tracks (Belle Vue, Hall Green, Portsmouth, and Oxford), plus the goodwill for Perry Barr, and kept Wimbledon.
As things stand, the Wimbledon site alone, with planning permission, would be worth considerably more than £30m.
When pressed, Taggart’s view has always been that NAMA would never have called in the Galliard debt, with whom they have a very close, and extensive, business relationship.
Will Taggart stump up the cash now? Or would he go into partnership with Galliards?
Many of his closest confidents have major doubts. To describe the relationship as ‘frosty’ would be viewing it with a warm glow.
So would Galliards consider going it alone and building their own track before presumably leasing it to Clive Feltham? Imagine, greyhound racing saved in the Capital with a new modern stadium! The start of a new era.
Taggart passionately believes in greyhound racing but Galliards would probably take some persuading. “Everyone” knows that greyhound racing is a struggling industry with virtually every stadium reliant on BAGS or RPGTV contracts to remain viable.
They would get very little support from the other track owners who would rather carve up the Wimbledon RPGTV slots and open race competitions.
GBGB would be virtually no help. They have no apparent strategy to revive greyhound racing or the finance for any worthwhile plan. (If ‘Donoughue’ had put as much thought into the industry’s prosperity as it did into welfare, we might have a very different industry.)
A two year stay of execution? Unless the 88 year old battered flagship is rebuilt and a new course plotted, the whole greyhound industry is going nowhere.
