Football Dynasty-Chapter 202: Looking for a New Site for the Stadium

Richard had already flown back to Manchester once the Netscape affair was wrapped up. He entrusted the remaining matters—specifically the sale of his shares to AOL, which he had considered ever since hearing about AOL’s contact with Jim Clark—to Taylor Smith of Barclays.

"I know. Don’t worry about it," Taylor Smith said confidently after Richard briefed him on the plan upon arriving in Manchester.

With the Adidas deal now 90% finalized—awaiting only approval from the European Commission’s antitrust division—he was set to officially take on the role of Maddox Capital’s representative for the Netscape deal.

With that, Richard returned to Manchester at ease. Now with a new title to his name:

A true billionaire!

On the morning of the FA Cup fourth-round match against Arsenal, Richard got dressed and headed downstairs to join his parents for breakfast. They had traveled all the way to Manchester to see him—reuniting after several months apart since his return home.

Looking at the crowded space and seeing how his parents had to share it with so many others, Richard fell silent.

It seemed like it was finally time to buy a house in Manchester.

Perhaps it was because he had been away from home so often over the past few months that his father, Bryan, and his mother, Anna, were especially happy to share meals with him. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful. However, everything changed when Bryan opened the newspaper. His expression darkened.

Richard had just sat down at the table in front of his parents, so he noticed it immediately and was taken aback. Bryan, looking tense and visibly angry, slammed the newspaper onto the table.

Breathing heavily, he exclaimed, "The Sun, that trash! They can’t even clean up their own mess, yet they have the audacity to drag others down! Publishing garbage like this—disgusting! Damn it, Ross, cancel our subscription to The Sun starting today!"

Ross worked for Maddox Entertainment under Harry, Richard’s brother and had been assigned to assist Bryan and Anna at their home. In his thirties, he was a reliable man who handled travel and expenses for the family, essentially serving as a personal manager. Without fail, he showed up at their apartment by 7AM every day.

Bryan turned to Richard, still fuming. "Son, teach them a lesson in today’s match, especially that Arsenal. They think a few trophies make them special. Hmph! Even the Manchester City of a few years ago played better football than they do! That ungrateful bastard!"

Richard smiled and nodded, picking up The Sun from the table.

In the paper, there was a picture of Bruce Rioch, the current Arsenal manager, and Martin O’Neill.

Arsenal:

Goalkeeper: David Seaman

Defenders: Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Andy Linighan, Nigel Winterburn

Midfielders: Martin Keown, Paul Merson, Raymond Parlour, Glenn Helder

Forwards: Ian Wright, John Hartson

Manchester City:

Goalkeeper: Jens Lehmann

Defenders: Cafu, William Gallas, Rio Ferdinand, Roberto Carlos

Midfielders: Mark Van Bommel, Theodoros Zagorakis, Neil Lennon, Jackie McNamara

Forwards: Ronaldo, Henrik Larsson

Speculating on the starting lineups was one of the media’s favorite pastimes. The Sun had penned a piece previewing the match, boldly predicting that City would field their strongest squad against Arsenal, citing their recent FA cup exit.

’Hmmm, Bergkamp isn’t playing either,’ Richard rubbed his chin.

Compared to the rising Newcastle, Arsenal is in decline. The once-glorious Arsenal from last season is now a shadow of its former self.

Well, the blame falls on them. The first move that sparked Arsenal’s downfall was letting Andy Cole go for just five hundred thousand pounds.

Now, four years later, he’s joined Manchester United for six million—proving just how wrong Arsenal was to let him slip away.

This season in the Premier League, Arsenal wasn’t just failing to compete for the title—they couldn’t even hold their heads up in London.

Richard shook his head. The rise and fall of this team was a textbook case of managerial responsibility.

While former Arsenal manager George Graham was criticized for his mismanagement and conservative tactics that stifled the players’ talents and ambitions, Bruce Rioch has taken a very different approach. He’s shifted away from long-ball play toward a more fluid, midfield-driven game. However, from Richard’s perspective, Rioch may be overdoing it—experimenting too much, such as deploying Keown in midfield and benching Bergkamp.

After Rioch, Arsène Wenger arrived and built a new generation of Gunners. Many of the players on the pitch suddenly returned to their peak form, which only highlighted the previous coach’s lack of competence.

Richard then rose from his seat, ready to head to Marine Road with his parents when—

RING~

Before he could say anything, his phone rang.

When he saw the number, he was surprised—it was Miss Heysen. Although unexpected, he picked up immediately.

"Oh, thank God you finally picked up!"

Taken aback, Richard immediately responded, "What happened?"

"Manchester City Council has already agreed to our plan to purchase the land from Ancoats to Bradford!"

"..."

Richard was in a daze before he finally realized what had happened.

Plans to build a stadium in East Manchester were originally made around 1990, during Peter Swales’ era, as part of the city’s bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Manchester City Council funded the design of an 80,000-seat stadium on a brownfield site known as Eastlands. However, in October 1993, the Games were awarded to Sydney, Australia.

Refusing to give up, the council later submitted a successful bid to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games during the Lee Consortium era, following Peter Swales, using the stadium plans from the original Olympic proposal.

Around that time, Manchester City Council also entered into competition with Wembley Stadium for national stadium funding. Two years later, Richard—who had by then replaced the Lee Consortium—decided to withdraw from the bid due to Manchester City’s financial troubles.

As a result, Manchester lost its opportunity, and the funding was ultimately used to redevelop Wembley Stadium instead.

This sudden withdrawal left Manchester City Council dissatisfied with Richard, while he gained favor with the London Council instead.

That goodwill would later prove invaluable though. It was a key reason why he successfully secured the iconic Grade I listed St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Biltmore Mayfair Hotel.

What no one anticipated however, was that shortly after pulling out of the Commonwealth Games, Richard would return with a bold new plan: a solo bid to redevelop the North Eastlands area of Manchester—on his own terms.

"What’s wrong, Richard?" Seeing Richard pause suddenly, Anna couldn’t help but ask.

"If you have something more important to attend to, then you’d better go. Don’t worry about us. Your mom and I can take care of ourselves," Bryan added.

They both already knew what their youngest son had been doing back in the United States. And though they wished they could keep both their sons close, they understood—life had its own demands, and everyone had their own path to follow.

"Besides," his father added with a reassuring smile, "Joanne mentioned she and Jessica would be coming to the stadium. We can adjust the schedule and pick them up ourselves. So really, don’t worry."

"Is that so?" Richard thought for a moment before nodding in agreement with his parents’ suggestion.

After parting ways with his parents, Richard immediately boarded the car that Miss Heysen had prepared to pick him up.

"How’s the situation there?" Richard asked immediately as he got into the car.

Inside, Miss Heysen wasted no time. She gave him a quick briefing, then handed over the map she had prepared in advance.

In Europe and the United States, countless organizations—whether focused on animal rights, environmental protection, trade unions, or other causes—are known for fiercely defending the interests of people or communities. But is that really the full story?

In reality, rather than fighting for broader causes, these groups often prioritize the interests of their own members, especially those at the core.

Take the trade unions’ anti-poll tax movement in the early 1990s, for example. Do you think they organized strikes all day solely for the benefit of all workers or the general public?

No.

While negotiations sometimes secured small benefits, these gains were often minimal or largely symbolic. The real advantage frequently went to the core members—those holding key positions within the unions—not just ordinary workers.

If you view these groups as "associations" that maintain control over certain industries by regulating membership and access, it becomes easier to understand how they operate.

This is similar to what Richard did with the Greater Manchester Council. They only saw potential benefits for themselves, so when Richard withdrew from the project, they felt their money had slipped out of their grasp. But what happened after Richard made a billion-pound bid to develop the derelict land stretching from Ancoats to Bradford?

That was entirely a whole district.

Heck, they could even create an entire town there from scratch!

You can imagine it like this: Manchester City’s future Etihad Training Complex will be an 80-acre site. It will house 17 football pitches, including the 7,000-seat Academy Stadium, and over 450 players will train there each week. The complex will also include education rooms, medical and fitness centers, and the club’s offices.

All of these facilities—including the land and construction—were part of Sheikh Mansour’s £1 billion redevelopment.

Now, just think: what if Richard used that same billion pounds solely to purchase land?

Not just 80 acres, but ten times that size—800 acres or 323.75 hectares.

The estimated land size from Ancoats to Bradford in Manchester covers approximately 2 square miles, which is equivalent to 1,280 acres or 520 hectares.

So, 800 acres?

Yeah, you could say Richard would practically be the mini-boss there.

This is why Richard had never bought a house or any property in Manchester until now—he wanted to save money. Now that the Netscape deal is finalized, and with the internet era just beginning, he expects his other investments also to reach at least hundreds of millions.

Money is no longer a problem!

Richard skimmed through the map and detailed data Miss Heysen had provided.

Stretching northeast from Manchester city centre, the corridor between Ancoats and Bradford is largely an industrial zone. Most of the land is derelict, with only a few small residential neighborhoods and commercial areas scattered throughout.

In the center of the map, there is a circled area that will become the stadium—the centerpiece of Richard’s entire vision. It will be his biggest and most expensive investment, surpassing all his investments so far.

"Are there no restrictions from the council? Like, can we buy whichever parcels of land we want, depending on the exact boundaries?"

"No," Miss Heysen replied. "They have already triggered the compulsory purchase order since that area has been taken over by the council for urban renewal. What they need now is the funding, and coincidentally, we have offered to provide it."

A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is a legal tool used by the government to acquire land or property without the owner’s consent. This is typically done to enable development projects or infrastructure improvements such as roads, railways, hospitals, or stadiums.

Richard was taken aback. "Why? Why would they allow that?"

Normally, city councils don’t allow unrestricted land purchases—especially large-scale ones. They enforce strict zoning laws to regulate how land is used, whether for residential, commercial, industrial, or public purposes because It may lead to gentrification, displacing existing communities, and driving up property prices to unaffordable levels.

So why would they allow someone to buy freely?

Richard frowned at this. He was afraid something wasn’t right—like there was something developing beneath the surface.

When he asked Miss Heysen about it, she fell silent for a moment before locking eyes with Richard.

"You’ll understand when you get there."