Kelvin Thomas reveals his end goals for when he leaves Cobblers after 10 years as chairman
Leaving Cobblers both debt-free and in a better place are the main goals for Kelvin Thomas for when he eventually leaves the club.
Thomas celebrates 10 years as chairman this week and in that time Cobblers have made improvements both on and off the pitch but it has come at a cost, with the club’s debt now over £10million following completion of the East Stand.
However, proposed plans for a 19-acre warehouse development on land adjacent to Sixfields were validated by the council earlier this year and, should that go ahead as hoped, it would go towards paying off the debt.
"We have a completed stand and that's a big difference since we came in but the club also owns the land now and that will hopefully bring the debt down,” said Thomas. “We've always had the view that when we leave the club – if we leave the club – we will leave it in a debt-free position and that's still the goal.
"We're going through planning for the land and it's massively important for the finances of the club that we're able to achieve that. Everyone can see the debt levels, and let's not hide from the fact that, whatever we do with the land, if it clears the debt or gets close to it, we'll be very happy.
"One of the things that Nigel (Le Quesne) , David (Bower) and myself all recognised from the get-go is that this won't be a profit making enterprise and we'll probably lose money. That's just the nature of the beast but getting planning for the land is massively important. That's still pending but otherwise I think we're in a decent place.”
Thomas also added that, regardless of what happens in the future, he will be leaving the club in a much better position than when he took over.
He continued: "We didn't come in with a grand plan but the goal was always to make the club better and I think we could leave today and say we have achieved that.
"I don't think anyone could look at the club 10 years ago and look at the club now and say we haven't progressed. Whatever you look at – the league position, attendances, the community work, the stadium, the training ground – everything has improved and the club’s in a better place.
"We're very happy and very proud of what we have achieved as a club but we always look to keep improving.”