MORE than 1,500 people have signed an online petition blasting plans to change the way Wrexham’s Racecourse ground is run.
And the scheme to form a separate company charging both Wrexham FC and Crusaders rugby league club £3,000 a game to lease the ground has been branded as “outrageous” by a Welsh Assembly candidate for the town.
But Ian Roberts, chairman of both clubs, remained unrepentant and said if he received the petition he would “stick it in the drawer”.
Mr Roberts revealed his intention of forming a new company, separate from Wrexham Village, to lease out the ground in an interview with the Leader on Monday, admitting it was likely to lead to complaints.
The backlash began when a petition was posted on petitiononline.com, which by yesterday had attracted about 1,500 signatures.
Addressed to “all national/local government agencies and representatives, all Wrexham FC and sports fans”, it questions the right of Mr Roberts and co-owner Geoff Moss to transfer ownership of the ground.
It also predicts the move would put Wrexham FC into further debt, into administration and being thrown out of the Conference Premier.
The petition also warns of a scenario where the football club is evicted from the ground because it cannot afford the terms of a lease.
It says: “We have fought to stop this happening in the past and we will fight to stop it happening again if needs be.”
The town’s Plaid Cymru’s Assembly candidate Marc Jones said the move was “outrageous”.
But Mr Roberts said: “It costs £300,000 a year to run the Racecourse ground and where does that money come from?
“We are not planning to move the ground out of the group but sideways within it.
“That way we can lease the ground to the two clubs, like hundreds of other grounds in the country. I see this as a protection of the ground and not a detriment.
“There is nothing underhand and there is no ulterior motive. Who are they going to send this petition to anyway? If they send it to me I’ll stick it in the drawer.”
He added: “They are fighting the wrong people here and all this negativity harms the club. What potential owner would commit to buying the business when all this stuff is online.”
Mr Roberts also hit out at people for posting abusive messages about Geoff Moss’s running of the club via his partner’s business Facebook profile.
He said: “If this continues we will report it to the police.”