‘An extremely difficult business’ – Bristol Rovers owner admits challenges as stadium plans explained

Bristol Rovers’ Kuwaiti chairman Hussain AlSaeed has discussed the challenges of running the club over the first two years of his ownership and the club’s plans to expand and renovate the Memorial Stadium in a new interview.

Speaking to The i, AlSaeed described running the football club as “an extremely difficult business” and “challenging” while adding that he wanted to “make something that fans are proud of.”

AlSaeed took over as majority shareholder from former owner Wael Al-Qadi in August 2023, before becoming the sole owner of the club in November of that year. The Gas finished 15th in League One in the first year of AlSaeed’s tenure as chairman and are currently perched precariously above the relegation zone towards the end of his second year in charge.

‘What have I got into here?’

AlSaeed was speaking to i journalist Daniel Storey about his reasons for getting involved in club ownership in England and his experiences of the job so far, describing himself as a football fan “first of all” who had been keen to invest in the English game for some time.

“It’s an extremely difficult business,” AlSaeed said. “It’s challenging, certainly. It provides such a mix of feelings. Sometimes you think ‘what have I got into here’..?

“Whatever you do, everybody is watching. Whatever you say, everybody is listening. Not only that, everybody will remind you of what you said a month or two ago… So I have learnt to only speak when I am quite sure that something is going to happen. You learn as you go.”

The Gas posted a £5.4m pre-tax loss for the latest financial year, the first to wholly take place under AlSaeed’s management, but he said that he believes the club will reduce its losses by increasing revenue and by moving on from a transitional period of squad-building which he described as “expensive”, with the club having moved on from two managers – Joey Barton and Matty Taylor – since AlSaeed took over in 2023.

Asked what advice he might give other potential investors in EFL sides, AlSaeed told Storey that “if you think that you’re going to come and spend as much money as you want and get your team into the Championship in the first year, you’re going to be disappointed. Spending money alone is not enough. It’s a formula…

“We want to make something that fans are proud of – that’s the driver... No, it hasn’t always gone the way we wanted it to this season. But nonetheless it is so enjoyable. Most importantly of all, I believe deeply that the good moments are yet to come.”

Memorial Stadium plans discussed

Another topic of discussion was the ongoing plan to renovate the Memorial Stadium, Bristol Rovers’ home since 1996. The South Stand has already been renovated, and it has been proposed that further work would expand the capacity while moving to a majority seated layout.

“We know what we need to do but that takes time,” AlSaeed said. “You have to talk to the Council, you have to get the studies done. But that is what we are aiming for: renovating our stadium to make it more inviting and increasing it to 15,000-16,000. It might have to be done in two stages.”

AlSaeed had previously told BBC Radio Bristol that the entirety of the work could take “at least a season or two” to be completed. Plans also include upgrades to the team’s The Quarters training ground, which would bring the men’s, women’s and academy teams together in one place.

Before any work can be completed, the Gas must concern themselves with surviving a League One relegation battle. The club are currently six points but just one place clear of the drop zone following a hefty 5-0 loss at Lincoln City. Their next match is a six-pointer away to 22nd-placed Crawley Town on Saturday, which they will face without the services of joint-top scorer Ruel Sotiriou.