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John Hall (businessman)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir John Hall (b. Ashington, Northumberland, 1933) is a property developer in North East England. He is also life president and former chairman of Newcastle United Football Club.
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Born and brought up in Ashington, Northumberland, he worked in the mining industry as a surveyor before going into business on his own account[1].
In the 1980s his company, Cameron Hall Developments masterminded the construction of the MetroCentre shopping mall in Dunston, Gateshead. The development was not without its critics locally; reputedly, the script of Our Friends in the North was changed to remove a character resembling Sir John who took advantage of tax breaks to build a shopping centre.
After the success of the Metrocentre Hall moved into the burgeoing field of sports entreneurship. Despite previously being a season ticket holder for bitter local rivals Sunderland, Hall began constructing a Newcastle Sporting Club in an attempt to emulate the success of FC Barcelona.
He began by taking over the football club 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.
After taking over Newcastle United, he also bought the Newcastle Falcons and the Newcastle Eagles. He purchased the Durham Wasps in 1995, 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.[2].
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.[3] 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.
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[4].
Further evidence of Sir John's perceived opportunism is seen, by some, in his supporting the Labour government's proposals for a North East Assembly whilst professing to be a Conservative supporter; this led to him debating against Graham Robb in 2004[5], before supporting his unsuccessful Parliamentary candidacy in 2007[6]. It is probably fair to argue that Sir John is a maverick figure who has no fixed political alignment.
- ^ "Sir John cheers on risk-takers", The Journal, 2007-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Durham Memories: Ice rink that was built of surplus coffins", The Northern Echo, 2003-08-15. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
- ^ "How the Geordie Nation turned into a cash cow", The Guardian, 2006-02-08. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Newcastle get £133m buyout offer", BBC News, 2007-05-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Head-to-Head: Regional assemblies", BBC News, 2004-10-18. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Sir John brands derelict town centre 'a disgrace'", The Northern Echo, 2007-07-13. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Forbes |
Newcastle United chairman 1992 - 1997 |
Succeeded by Freddy Shepherd |