Caley Thistle chairman Graham Rae has called for all the club’s shareholders to pull in the same direction following confirmation of the deal that will see ownership of Caledonian Stadium return to the club.
Concerns had been raised ahead of Monday’s AGM by a group of businessmen, including former chairmen Alan Savage and Dougie MacGilvray, over the area covered by the proposed lease agreement with Tulloch Homes.
Although the club will have no direct lease for the car parks, Caley Jags will continue to have access to them pending agreement of The Highland Council.
Although Monday’s AGM lasted more than two hours, with over 100 shareholders in attendance, Rae is pleased to have closure on the stadium issue and wants everybody with a stake in the club to work together in the club’s best interests.
Rae said: “The main issue for us as a club is around the stadium, the stands and the land.
“We were paying £205,000 a year and now it’s £15,000. That’s a huge thing on a 99-year lease, with 76 years still to run.
“What we’ve managed to do now is secure the return of the lease to the club, subject to the Highland Council’s approval which we hope will be forthcoming, back to how it was in the beginning with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
“That gives us a direct say at the table in terms of any future development.
“If we could get all the shareholders and former shareholders, and patrons of the club, to stand together and pull our talents and resources and commitment to the common good of this wonderful football club, just think of what we could do.
“Let’s work together and go forward. Clearly if there’s something that’s not right in our history, we will do our best to understand that.
“But it’s hard to second guess decisions and deals that were made 20-odd years ago with different people, different institutions.
“If we can pull our collective resolve it will be a phenomenally formidable group of shareholders that will lead this club to a bright future.”
Rae also confirmed Caley Thistle’s intention to become a community-interest club in future, similar to the model in place at Championship rivals Dunfermline, in an attempt to make the club less dependent on hand-outs.
He added: “The club loses money on a regular basis. Something like 14 of the 23 years we have been in existence, our annual accounts the public records show we have traded at a loss.
“We believe as a board that if we’re going to be sustainable we have to change that model.
“We have been talking with other clubs, most notably Dunfermline but with all clubs as we go around on our away games. We have been studying in detail the set-up they have put in place as a community interest company.
“We think at the moment, based on a high level helicopter view, that provides the best restructuring architecture for us.
“Our idea is to put the club back in the hands of the people with a situation where no one party has more than 10% voting rights.
“We have to figure out a way to do that, and figure out the legalities of that. But we have some good models for us to compare to.
“The alternative is the status-quo, to revert to the historical reliance on hand-outs and patrons, shares can be purchased if individuals or companies, as and when they feel the desire to assist the club.
“It’s a constant battle, constantly reaching out and asking for more, but if there’s a sense of community we feel that will help us improve attendance, support and the whole experience. It will make people think it’s their club and therefore they will get involved and more committed, and go forward in the spirit of a partnership.”