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Gudni Bergsson has thrown his weight behind the Supporters’ Trust’s efforts to have the Macron Stadium given special status by Bolton Council.
The BWFCST has nominated Wanderers’ home as an Asset of Community Value, which would offer some protection against it being sold on to an outside party without the deal being made public knowledge.
Former captain Bergsson, now an attorney in Iceland, has given his public backing to the venture which has also received support from local MPs.
“As a former player for Bolton Wanderers for eight years, most of them as captain, I would like to express and register my support for the application,” he wrote in a statement on the BWFCST website. “My time at Bolton Wanderers, six years of which were spent at the Reebok (now Macron) Stadium, resulted in me having a great affection for the community and the people of Bolton.
“I know that the Macron Stadium is a focal point of the Bolton Community and the home of our club and this should be protected by the Bolton Council in my opinion. I therefore fully and wholeheartedly support this application.”
The chance to protect a venue of local importance in such a way has only been possible since the Government passed the Localism Act in 2011.
Since then, any public amenity – from a stadium like the Macron to a public house – can be given a degree of protection.
There are, in fact, seven Bolton pubs which have been accepted as ACVs – all of which were nominated by CAMRA.
Town centre drinking holes The Hen and Chickens and The Olde Man and Scythe, Stoneclough’s Market Street Tavern, The Queen Anne in Little Lever, The Bridge Inn in Horwich, The Shakespeare in Farnworth and The Finishers Arms in Smithills are all given protection until 2021.
An ACV does NOT give the Supporters Trust absolute right to purchase the Macron, were it to be sold.
It does, however, grant them a six-week moratorium to bid for the asset, and a further four-and-a-half months to raise and move the funds.
The owner is not obliged to accept their bid, even if it is larger than those already offered. Nor is the trust obliged to make a bid if they feel another interested party would be beneficial to the club.
ACVs are designed to prevent so-called ‘secret sales’ and are designed to make publicity of the deal mandatory.
The first successful application for an ACV came from the Oxford United Supporters’ Trust back in 2013.
Since then, fans’ groups from several clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City have followed suit.
Supporters Direct claim that since 1992, 54 clubs in the top five divisions have become separated from the ownership of their stadium.
A story carried by The Sun newspaper on Sunday claimed that current Wanderers owner Ken Anderson was in discussion with a British-based group to sell the stadium and hotel.
Anderson flatly denied the rumour – branding it “absolute rubbish” and stated in a Q&A with Bolton Wanderers fans in December that he was “in it for the long haul.”
Conservative Bolton West MP Chris Green also issued a statement to The Bolton News last week offering his support to the venture.
Mr Green said: “The club has had a difficult 12 months, but there is now plenty of optimism amongst Wanderers fans for the rest of the season.
“Nevertheless, it is important that we do everything to make sure the club remains at the heart of the community, which is why I’m supporting the Trust’s application to make the Macron an asset of community value.
“Should the ground at any point by sold, having asset of community value status would be vital in ensuring that Wanderers are able to continue to play home games here.”
He added: Having been based in the town since the 19th century, it is very important that we maintain this link as any sale of the stadium could potentially force the club out of Bolton.”
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The BWFCST has nominated Wanderers’ home as an Asset of Community Value, which would offer some protection against it being sold on to an outside party without the deal being made public knowledge.
Former captain Bergsson, now an attorney in Iceland, has given his public backing to the venture which has also received support from local MPs.
“As a former player for Bolton Wanderers for eight years, most of them as captain, I would like to express and register my support for the application,” he wrote in a statement on the BWFCST website. “My time at Bolton Wanderers, six years of which were spent at the Reebok (now Macron) Stadium, resulted in me having a great affection for the community and the people of Bolton.
“I know that the Macron Stadium is a focal point of the Bolton Community and the home of our club and this should be protected by the Bolton Council in my opinion. I therefore fully and wholeheartedly support this application.”
The chance to protect a venue of local importance in such a way has only been possible since the Government passed the Localism Act in 2011.
Since then, any public amenity – from a stadium like the Macron to a public house – can be given a degree of protection.
There are, in fact, seven Bolton pubs which have been accepted as ACVs – all of which were nominated by CAMRA.
Town centre drinking holes The Hen and Chickens and The Olde Man and Scythe, Stoneclough’s Market Street Tavern, The Queen Anne in Little Lever, The Bridge Inn in Horwich, The Shakespeare in Farnworth and The Finishers Arms in Smithills are all given protection until 2021.
An ACV does NOT give the Supporters Trust absolute right to purchase the Macron, were it to be sold.
It does, however, grant them a six-week moratorium to bid for the asset, and a further four-and-a-half months to raise and move the funds.
The owner is not obliged to accept their bid, even if it is larger than those already offered. Nor is the trust obliged to make a bid if they feel another interested party would be beneficial to the club.
ACVs are designed to prevent so-called ‘secret sales’ and are designed to make publicity of the deal mandatory.
The first successful application for an ACV came from the Oxford United Supporters’ Trust back in 2013.
Since then, fans’ groups from several clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City have followed suit.
Supporters Direct claim that since 1992, 54 clubs in the top five divisions have become separated from the ownership of their stadium.
A story carried by The Sun newspaper on Sunday claimed that current Wanderers owner Ken Anderson was in discussion with a British-based group to sell the stadium and hotel.
Anderson flatly denied the rumour – branding it “absolute rubbish” and stated in a Q&A with Bolton Wanderers fans in December that he was “in it for the long haul.”
Conservative Bolton West MP Chris Green also issued a statement to The Bolton News last week offering his support to the venture.
Mr Green said: “The club has had a difficult 12 months, but there is now plenty of optimism amongst Wanderers fans for the rest of the season.
“Nevertheless, it is important that we do everything to make sure the club remains at the heart of the community, which is why I’m supporting the Trust’s application to make the Macron an asset of community value.
“Should the ground at any point by sold, having asset of community value status would be vital in ensuring that Wanderers are able to continue to play home games here.”
He added: Having been based in the town since the 19th century, it is very important that we maintain this link as any sale of the stadium could potentially force the club out of Bolton.”
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