Bangor: Nantporth Stadium football complex £63k dispute

Defender Catrin Hughes: "It wouldn't be nice to be denied promotion because of the uncertainty about the stadium"

The future of a community football complex could be in doubt due to a dispute over £63,000 in rent and insurance arrears.

About 25 teams use the pitches at Nantporth Stadium in Bangor, Gwynedd.

But the community interest company (CIC) that runs it has asked for more time to repay Bangor City Council, which has threatened legal action.

The council said it had to "act in the best interest of Bangor's tax payers".

Nantporth CIC said some of the sum derives from unpaid rent by the former sub-tenants, Bangor City FC.

The club - which no longer has an active team - surrendered its lease last year in an agreement that meant the CIC would shoulder the debt.

The CIC now wants to negotiate repayment plans with the council, and is asking it to refrain from taking action for 12 months to give assurances to the clubs that use Nantporth.

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However, the council has asked for payment within 21 days, citing "ongoing breaches of the terms of the lease".

Bangor City FC owner Domenico Serafino confirmed it had cleared their debts to the CIC when it left the stadium.

About 25 teams use the facilities at Nantporth on a regular basis, including Bangor 1876 Ladies FC

Among the teams now using the facilities are Bangor 1876 Ladies FC, who are close to winning their division this year.

But to get promoted they need a guarantee they can use the stadium - or another one of the same quality - in future.

"We've come a long way in the last few years, this year especially," said defender Catrin Hughes.

"It wouldn't be nice to be denied promotion because of the uncertainty about the stadium."

'A big deal in our house'

The club's youth sides boast about 150 members, and they use the all-weather 3G pitch next to the stadium, which hosts the 2023 Welsh Cup final between Bala Town and The New Saints next month.

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Ffion Thomas, club treasurer and a mother of two girls who use the facilities, said football was a "big deal in our house".

"My girls are out all the time playing football, we train during the week, we have games on Saturdays."

Parents Nicola Davies and Ffion Thomas both have daughters who use the facilities

Nicola Davies, whose three daughters train at the ground, said they could "miss out on making friends, and miss out on playing football and socialising".

Nantporth CIC manage both the stadium - which it rents from Bangor City Council - and the 3G pitch, which it owns.

On 8 March, one CIC director, Dilwyn Jones, received an undated solicitor's letter asking for full payment of the debt to the council within 21 days.

About £44,000 is owed in back rent, and £19,000 in insurance arrears, but Mr Jones said they "thought there would be some manoeuvring room for negotiation and our initial discussion with the council was that there would be".

Financial difficulties

But he said discussions had "frozen" and he encouraged the council to reopen negotiations on debt repayment and refrain from taking action for 12 months to give assurances to clubs.

He added that the CIC was now in a position to start paying back the debt, having recently got the complex back up and running after Bangor City FC surrendered their lease in summer 2022 having stopped playing football after years of financial difficulties.

Mr Serafino said that the site has been returned to the CIC "under an agreement signed by the parties and that we therefore have no debts to... [the] CIC".

Bangor City Council says it "has taken this action in order to ensure a stable long-term future for the stadium"

But Mr Jones believes that "around 90%" of the rent due to the council would have been covered by the football club under the previous sub-letting agreement.

He added that the CIC knew when the club left that they would need to pay this debt to the council, which was itself "fully aware" of the situation.

Bangor City Council said its dispute with the CIC "relates to ongoing breaches of the terms of the lease".

In a statement the council added: "The city council has a statutory responsibility to manage public finances to the best of its ability and act in the best interest of Bangor's taxpayers.

"The city council will not comment further on details of this matter as it does not want to influence any potential legal action.

"However, it would like to assure the citizens of Bangor that it has taken this action in order to ensure a stable long-term future for the stadium, and which will support the teams and clubs that use the Bangor City stadium."