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There is little doubt that Hereford United will have to dig deep into its reserves this coming season with the cost of building the Blackfriars Stand and the possibility of the long battle with West Mercia Police continuing. There is also the problem of whether the barriers are strong enough in the Meadow End and if not the cost of bringing them up to standard.
Speculation suggests the total cost of the Blackfriars stand will be around £1.5M. This figure would include all the work that has already been incurred such as preparing plans, having surveys, and then there are the demolition costs to take account of before a start can be made.
According to chairman Graham Turner it is expected that the grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund could amount to close to 50%. Assuming that is the case then the club might receive £700,000 which would mean the net cost of the stand will be around £800,000. Hopefully Turner will give the club's Liason Meeting an idea of the cost tomorrow evening.
The battle with West Mercia Police over vicinity charges for policing around Edgar Street shows no signs of being settled. At this stage it still has to be hoped that Turner's view that the club should not have to pay for vicinity policing will prevail. The costs involved are already thought to be into five figures - you don't hire 'a major player in commercial law - Wragge & Co of Birmingham' on the cheap - and will continue to rise until the case is dropped or goes to court.
Turner is battling this case not only for Hereford United but for the remainder of the clubs in the Football League. Hopefully the football authorities will agree to pay Turner's costs in his fight particularily should the case go the court although, as yet, they have been silent about financial help. If not, the club will have to decide if it can carry on the fight against these charges.
The third problem is the Barriers on the Meadow End. They are to have a second test on them shortly. If they can not take the strain, improvements will be urgently required. Any repair work will depend on the suitability of the foundations. If they're found to be inadequate then further costs will be incurred. Turner has already said this work will be done by Christmas.
How will all these extra costs effect the clubs bank balance?
The last figure that was published for the bank balance was for May 31st 2008. Then it was £939,000.
At the time of the club's AGM, last March, it was suggested that the club might be around break-even for the year which ended last May. However season end gates were poor and it might be prudent to factor in a loss of £50,000 for the year.
Since year end Toumani Diagouraga has been sold for circa £200,000. Against that season ticket sales are down by around 200 and advertising and sponsorship sales also slower than last season. That could equate to around £50,000 less income to date, perhaps more.
Taking the above into account, it appears that the club may well have approaching £1M in the bank at present but that could easily drop to next to nothing by the time the Blackfriars End is paid for. And that's assuming neither the police case nor the Meadow End costs are too high.
In truth Turner faces a dilemma. If he spends a lot of money during a season when it's unlikely much profit will be made, he could plunge the club back into the red - although the assets value of the club will have risen by having a new stand on the books so there is little likelyhood of a serious financial problem.
The worst senario would be if the authorities condemn the Meadow End and Turner is faced with the costs of rebuilding that End as well at a time when the Richardsons don't appear to be too keen on being involved.
Whatever happens the days of Hereford United having around £1M in the bank are numbered at least for the foreseeable future. Unless another club comes up with a good offer for a Hereford United player such as Marc Pugh or Adam Bartlett.