Ecosse Exile
New member
Just been searching through the Argus archives and found this piece from December 2001.
Bellotti: I saved the club from going under From The Argus)
Bellotti: I saved the club from going under
David Bellotti insists he has no regrets about his reign at Albion.
The club's controversial former chief executive has defended the sale of the Goldstone, claiming the Seagulls got 'an extremely good price' for it.
He also believes history will judge him "more fairly" and that "people will realise what I did to help the club".
Bellotti breaks his silence in the December issue of FourFourTwo magazine, out now.
The Goldstone, Albion's home for the previous 93 years, was sold in July 1995. It left the Seagulls homeless and they had to groundshare with Gillingham in Kent for two seasons.
Bellotti claims the club had no choice but to cash in on their ground.
"We had debts of £5.7million that we had to clear by the following year or we would go under.
"The problem was the Goldstone couldn't be redeveloped.
"On one side we couldn't add a roof and other restrictions meant we couldn't be given Football Trust funds.
"The site had no potential, so we couldn't attract a buyer for the club, who would have in turn cleared its debts.
"We were running out of time and no one had come forward to help us so we had to sell the Goldstone to keep the club alive."
The sale to property developers Chartwell Limited for £7.4 million cleared the club's debts, but Chartwell soon sold it on for £24 million.
Bellotti added: "A year earlier Hove council valued it at £4 million, so £7.4 million was an extremely good price which no one questioned at the time.
"Chartwell paid for all the buildings on the site and the upgrade of the roads surrounding the Goldstone.
"I would estimate this cost £10 million, so although it looks like they made a massive profit, I'm not sure they did."
Bellotti had a bodyguard for his own safety and was forced to flee from the directors' box as fans vented their anger. Two games at the Goldstone were abandoned after pitch invasions.
"I have a high regard for Brighton supporters, but there was a minority that went too far," Bellotti said.
"I felt I was doing my best and doing it honestly and I could always see light at the end of the tunnel.
"I was happy to pass on a debt-free club to the new owners. It would have been disappointing to have gone through all I did to pass on a club in a worst state, but I didn't.
"History will judge me more fairly and as time goes on and the facts rather than emotions of the day remain, more people will realise what I did to help the club."
Im ashamed that we were all so wrong about you Mr Bullshitti, of course the club was in so much better shape when Archer was finally forced to release the stranglehold he had on the club. A once proud club, that was handed over, homeless, with running costs spiralling.
So another decade of history has indeed Judged you, and we have to admit that without you none of our current success would have been possible.
Sorry to all of you for dragging up the past but i got fed up with reading about Crawley and when i saw this the red mist rose once again.
Bellotti: I saved the club from going under From The Argus)
Bellotti: I saved the club from going under
David Bellotti insists he has no regrets about his reign at Albion.
The club's controversial former chief executive has defended the sale of the Goldstone, claiming the Seagulls got 'an extremely good price' for it.
He also believes history will judge him "more fairly" and that "people will realise what I did to help the club".
Bellotti breaks his silence in the December issue of FourFourTwo magazine, out now.
The Goldstone, Albion's home for the previous 93 years, was sold in July 1995. It left the Seagulls homeless and they had to groundshare with Gillingham in Kent for two seasons.
Bellotti claims the club had no choice but to cash in on their ground.
"We had debts of £5.7million that we had to clear by the following year or we would go under.
"The problem was the Goldstone couldn't be redeveloped.
"On one side we couldn't add a roof and other restrictions meant we couldn't be given Football Trust funds.
"The site had no potential, so we couldn't attract a buyer for the club, who would have in turn cleared its debts.
"We were running out of time and no one had come forward to help us so we had to sell the Goldstone to keep the club alive."
The sale to property developers Chartwell Limited for £7.4 million cleared the club's debts, but Chartwell soon sold it on for £24 million.
Bellotti added: "A year earlier Hove council valued it at £4 million, so £7.4 million was an extremely good price which no one questioned at the time.
"Chartwell paid for all the buildings on the site and the upgrade of the roads surrounding the Goldstone.
"I would estimate this cost £10 million, so although it looks like they made a massive profit, I'm not sure they did."
Bellotti had a bodyguard for his own safety and was forced to flee from the directors' box as fans vented their anger. Two games at the Goldstone were abandoned after pitch invasions.
"I have a high regard for Brighton supporters, but there was a minority that went too far," Bellotti said.
"I felt I was doing my best and doing it honestly and I could always see light at the end of the tunnel.
"I was happy to pass on a debt-free club to the new owners. It would have been disappointing to have gone through all I did to pass on a club in a worst state, but I didn't.
"History will judge me more fairly and as time goes on and the facts rather than emotions of the day remain, more people will realise what I did to help the club."
Im ashamed that we were all so wrong about you Mr Bullshitti, of course the club was in so much better shape when Archer was finally forced to release the stranglehold he had on the club. A once proud club, that was handed over, homeless, with running costs spiralling.
So another decade of history has indeed Judged you, and we have to admit that without you none of our current success would have been possible.
Sorry to all of you for dragging up the past but i got fed up with reading about Crawley and when i saw this the red mist rose once again.
