Posted by The man leading Bristol’s bid to host World Cup matches has hit back at claims made by the Institute of Directors over how the event will be paid for.
Last night, the ruling Liberal Democrat cabinet unanimously agreed to present Bristol’s case to the Football Association to host matches in 2018.
A delegation led by Cllr Simon Cook, deputy leader of the council, will travel to Wembley on Thursday to hand in Bristol’s bid – which is estimated will bring in £250million to the local economy.
The cost of hosting the event are about £17m and the cabinet agreed that council tax payers would not foot the bill, suggesting an extra business rate would be charged to help cover the sums involved.
But Nick Sturge, the head of the IoD in Bristol, last night told Bristol24-7 that businesses in the city would expect the council to share in the investment required.
He said that the benefit to firms in the city would, in turn, benefit the council through increased business rates. “An equitable relationship – with the council investing some and business investing some – would be, I think, the business proposition.”
Commenting on Bristol24-7, Cllr Cook said Mr Sturge “could not get away” with the business rate argument, as this tax is collected by central government and was only redistributed on a per capita basis.
“We are obviously delighted to hear points of view about a possible extra business rate from anyone in the city’s business community,” he said. “But Nick Sturge cannot get away with saying that, even without such a rate being imposed, the city council would automatically benefit ‘because there would be more businesses thriving and so business rates would increase’.
“As Nick well knows, no matter how well business in the city is doing, the money we collect each year in business rates all goes to the government. However much or little it is, we keep none of it. Ministers reallocate the nation’s business rates back to local authorities on a per capita basis.
“However, the extra business rate that the council may consider imposing towards World Cup costs is a different
matter. The proceeds of such a tax would in this case accrue directly to the council, so long as it was all spent on the project it was raised for.”
Earlier today, at an official ceremony to sign the bid document, council leader Barbara Janke said she hoped the government would make lottery money available to help with the costs.
Finding the money to pay for hosting World Cup matches – described as both a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and a “gamble” during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday night – will be one of the most difficult issues facing the council.
The risks involved have already claimed one casualty, with Portsmouth announcing this morning that they had pulled out of the race to host matches.
Conservative council leader Steve Wemyss, who led Tories in voting against the bid, said: “I would love the World Cup to come to Portsmouth, but not at any cost.
“We are deceiving the council taxpayers if we think we can afford this. Let’s say no rather than have to cut other services to pay for this. We have to be realistic.”
The withdrawal of Portsmouth leaves Bristol in an even stronger position to win their bid. Only Plymouth is a competitor in the south of England, excluding London, and the FA has said in the past it wanted a national bid that brought together all regions of the country.
A 16-strong delegation from Bristol – including Wallace & Gromit, former England star Gary Mabbutt, the winners of the Bristol World Cup Schools Quiz from Waycroft Primary School; Colin Sexstone, Chief Executive of Bristol City Football Club; and Cllr Cook will travel to Wembley.
The team will travel in confident mood, with Cllr Cook adding: “Bristol is an international city located in the heart of some of the most celebrated countryside in Britain.
“The city benefits from a diverse population with a strong passion for football and we have experience of hosting large events such as the International Bristol Balloon Fiesta and Bristol Harbour Festival that attract between 200,000 and 300,000 people over a weekend each year.
“We are submitting a strong deliverable bid that has cross-party support and are confident that Bristol can deliver an exciting 31-day festival for the World Cup in 2018.”
There are now 15 cities bidding for host city status – with the winners named by the FA on December 16.
Further reading
Business rates should be re-localised.
If that were the case then Nick Sturge’s argument would be very valid.
Councils could choose to raise, or indeed lower, business rates, and could afford to make greater infrastructure investments knowing they would benefit directly from an increase in business growth.
Plus local people can pass judgement at the ballot box – with business rate decisions being nearly as important as Council tax increases or reductions.
Major cities such as Bristol are losing out under the current system.