Newcastle United Football Club
Hall began his ownership of the team by taking over Newcastle United in a bitter battle for control and appointing Kevin Keegan as manager in February 1992. Keegan turned the club's fortunes around, taking the team from the brink of relegation into the Third Division, to competing with Manchester United for the Premier League in 1996.
He issued bonds worth £500 to fans and issued coupons to fans of 19–22% APR.
After taking over Newcastle United, he also bought the Newcastle Falcons and the Newcastle Eagles. He purchased the Durham Wasps in 1995, causing Durham ice skating rink to close down, who began to play at Sunderland's Crowtree Leisure Centre. They were renamed the Newcastle Cobras when they moved to Newcastle Arena the following season.
He attempted to build a new stadium on Leazes Park for a rugby, football and ice skating but a petition from local residents with 38,000 signatures put an end to that plan.
Sir John began to rebuild the stadium, and the Leazes End of St James' Park is named the Sir John Hall Stand. Despite being an immensely popular figure amongst fans some authors have questioned whether Sir John's involvement with Newcastle United was anything more than profitable opportunism. Combined with a health scare, in 1997 Hall handed over the Chairmanship to Freddy Shepherd, and his family interests in the club to his son Douglas Hall.
On 23 May 2007, Hall sold his entire 41.6% shareholding in Newcastle United to sports retail magnate, Mike Ashley, for £55 million in a deal that valued the club at £133.1 million.
Read more about this topic: John Hall (businessman)
Famous quotes containing the words united, football and/or club:
“What lies behind facts like these: that so recently one could not have said Scott was not perfect without earning at least sorrowful disapproval; that a year after the Gang of Four were perfect, they were villains; that in the fifties in the United States a nothing-man called McCarthy was able to intimidate and terrorise sane and sensible people, but that in the sixties young people summoned before similar committees simply laughed.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“...I’m not money hungry.... People who are rich want to be richer, but what’s the difference? You can’t take it with you. The toys get different, that’s all. The rich guys buy a football team, the poor guys buy a football. It’s all relative.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“The creation of “strong-minded” women, so-called, is due to the individualism of men, to the modern selfish and speculative spirit which absorbs everything within itself and leaves women nothing but self-assertion for their protection and support.”
—“Jennie June” Croly 1829–1901, U.S. founder of the woman’s club movement, journalist, author, editor. Demorest’s Illustrated Monthly and Mirror of Fashions, p. 44 (February 1870)