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  • "This hardly surprising news - without the stadium and housing development at Booker Airfield, London Wasps and WWFC are useless loss-making albatrosses around Steve Hayes's neck.

    Two points that need taking up from people trying to paint Steve Hayes as the victim here:
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    1) Steve Hayes did not plough money into WWFC, he ran up loans to himself whilst he had control over the club's finances. These were loans he was expecting to either be paid back by the club or covered by money made from the WSDL stadium company that he owned 100%. Instead, this is now a monstrous mountain of debt that no club the size of WWFC can ever reasonably expect to pay off entirely in any reasonable timescale.
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    2) Although Steve Hayes dearly loved to describe his project as a 'sports village', waxing lyrical about the rugby and football pitches being laid out on the site, these weren't actually going to be funded by WSDL (or by him directly or through any other vehicles he might use). Instead, all that was certain in this project were the houses and retail units that would be funding it all and the stadium, the two points that were put into the background as they were clearly objectionable at the site. The ancillary community sports facilities would have to be funded by each sport's governing body, something which could not be taken for granted.
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    Steve Hayes took a gamble with all the risk being loaded onto WWFC, London Wasps (both in real peril of going out of business, if not out of existence all together) and WDC and Bucks CC rate payers expected to pick up the tab for various aspects of this blatant attempt to fill his boots at taxpayers' expense."
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Steve Hayes looks for buyer for London Wasps

10:03am Wednesday 5th October 2011 in Prestwood & Great Missenden By Alan Feldberg

Steve Hayes Steve Hayes

LONDON Wasps were put up for sale this morning.

Owner Steve Hayes has announced that he is looking for a buyer for the club that has steadily declined since he took over in 2008.

Rumours that he was looking to offload the club have been rife since plans to build a new stadium at Booker fell through in the summer.

Now Hayes has confirmed it's true, insisting the club isn't sustainable at Adams Park.

What this might mean for Wasps' future in Wycombe remains to be seen.

In a statement, Hayes says: "As you will see today I have made the decision to begin a search for new owners for the club.

"This was a very tough decision for me personally but ultimately I believe it is the right one to ensure that London Wasps continues to drive forward both on and off the pitch.

"I have spent much of the past few months considering the best course of action for the club following the decision by Wycombe District Council to stop supporting our plans to develop a Sporting Village which would have included a new stadium.

"The vision of planning and developing this facility was one of the key reasons I got involved in the club and being unable to bring this to fruition remains bitterly disappointing.

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"I remain of the belief that London Wasps at Adams Park is not a sustainable long-term option and I and my advisors believe that the Sporting Village plans remain feasible for Wasps as a standalone club.

"Therefore I will work with and encourage any new owner to bring these plans to realisation at an alternative location."

Niether Hayes or director of rugby Dai Young were available for further comment.

Hayes added: "I have been honoured to be at the helm of such a prestigious club and I believe that a number of our initiatives over the past few seasons, such as our St George’s Day Game at Twickenham, have showcased the club to new audiences and more importantly new supporters.

"I would like to think that I will leave the club in a relatively healthy position as the team continues to transition in a positive manner and behind the scenes we have also been making real inroads into making the club a commercially viable business.

"This process will take time and nothing is going to happen overnight but rest assured that any potential new owner will need to convince me that they have the best interests of the club at heart and be in a position to invest at the right level.

"Any new owner will have to show me that their aspirations are to provide London Wasps with the right level of investment and structure to ensure that they are once again a team in the hunt for titles at the end of every season.

"My priority now is continuing to support the club and its staff while this process is underway."

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