Tuesday 15 March 2011

Cornwall Stadium? £120,000 just to stay in the game

A fascinating Cornwall Council cabinet meeting tomorrow, as members debate a recommendation to progress plans for a sports stadium at Threemilestone, near Truro.

The game of poker unfolding before our eyes is gripping as the private and public sectors face-off across the table. Who will blink first? The stakes just get higher and higher. The recently published feasibility study says the total cost of the project could reach £41 million. It says the maximum council capital contribution would be only £5 million. The prize could be 400 jobs and an attraction generating a £3 million customer spend each year.

Who is to say if the odds implied in these figures are credible or not? The word "risky" doesn't begin to cover it.

To continue with the design and development work now requires taxpayers to stump up £120,000. What happens next, no-one knows - although there are plenty who'll tell you that once hooked, the gambler just keeps going until he runs out of money.

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