IFK Gothenburg has been without an arena agreement until today, Thursday, and risked being without a game plan against Djurgården in the premiere on Monday. Something that the Football Channel revealed last week.
But on Thursday afternoon, both Blåvitt and the municipal arena company Got event confirmed that it is all resolved over the 2024 season.
But now IFK Göteborg is going hard on Got event in a long post on its own website.
There, the club writes, among other things, that it sees the possibilities around Gamla Ullevi as many – but has a clear objection:
“It is expensive for IFK Göteborg to play there. As the city of Gothenburg’s single largest arena tenant in football, we pay as much for a match as the city’s other four men’s teams combined”.
IFK Göteborg believes that there are no alternatives to Gamla Ullevi, which is reflected in the talks with Got event.
“We choose to call it just a conversation rather than a negotiation. With the knowledge that IFK Göteborg must sign to have a playable match arena, little or no room is left for real discussion with an interest in development”.
IFK Göteborg claims to understand Got event’s situation with “underdeveloped arenas”, but at the same time believes that the club must protect its own development.
“For IFK Gothenburg, next year’s negotiation has now started. Are Got event and the city of Gothenburg ready to take the discussion this time?”, concludes IFK Gothenburg.
IFK Gothenburg’s club director Håkan Mild elaborates on the club’s statement for Fotbollskanalen:
– We want to be involved in creating better conditions for our supporters and partners at the arena. Then it is extremely important that we are development-oriented. That we discuss and try to create a consensus. We think that has been very difficult. It’s not a negotiation, it’s more or less “this is how it is”.
Håkan Mild continues:
– We wonder how interested Got event and the city of Gothenburg are in creating something that measures up. How to proceed? We don’t think they are interested in finding solutions and getting better. The discussion has to be on the table somewhere – and it has been hidden for far too long.
Blåvitt claims in his statement that the financial weight of the agreement, together with the city’s arena debt, means that the club “starts at a heavy loss before the referee has even started the match”.
– Depending on how our arena looks, we will do it. There are no opportunities to generate commercial income as it does in other arenas. We are in the red there. That’s how it is, says Håkan Mild.
– It will not be good for the city of Gothenburg. And especially not for IFK Gothenburg. We drive traffic, we invest in people and time to do it in the best way, but the one that benefits the most right now is Got event and the city of Gothenburg.
Got event comments on IFK Gothenburg and Håkan Mild’s statements for Fotbollkanalen via SMS:
“The reasoning is not new but has been up in our agreement dialogue. We share some, but not all. Some relate to Got event, but not all. We believe that development and cooperation comes from increased understanding of each other’s perspectives. That is why we also look forward to upcoming talks with IFK”, writes event manager Henrik Jutbring.
2024-03-28 17:48:00
#arena #chaos #Blåvitts #criticism #event #Starting #heavy #Fotbollkanalen
