The only way the crusaders look likely to survive with the parasites that own them seemingly wanting rid of them and Wrexham FC is for the RFL to buy them and the Racecourse.

Sounds silly but lets think about it....

The uni are offering approx £2m to buy the stadium and turn it into flats. While this seems to be a lot of money, the RFL will essentially lose 2m in their bail out loan if the crusaders fold, where as at least we can keep them in business and have a ground for them to play at this money is not lost.

In addition, they would probably be able to buy the crusaders off the current owners for as little as £1 as essentially they are losing money and want rid. Therefore the RFL could have a club and a ground, and importantly equity and assets to lend against, which they have never had, in WALES, for a relative snip at 2m.

It is currently looking like the Wrexham Supporters Trust (WST) are looking to buy Wrexham FC who currently pay 150k to rent the racecourse. Thus, the crusaders, as an RFL owned outfit, would benefit from this income also.

Then let the crusaders build in the Championship for 3 years to re-join the super league in 2015 with one other championship club - completely open and decided so there can be no allegations of prefential treatment when the franchises come round.

The RFL can then use this to build up the crusaders ourselves and actually market the crusaders properly, to build on their existing fan base, and to be a viable SL team in 2015.

The team could also be run on the cheap by simply getting rid of the imports, keeping the welsh lads, and suppliment them by offering all SL clubs the opportunity to loan out their young players to the Crusaders to develop, which surely all of the clubs would look to support.

There are so many opportunities for me in this - not only can the RFL ensure they are then viable, but the crusaders can be run in a sustainable way, and can be run as a non profit organisation with all money made re-invested into the club and no one taking a cut, or dodgy owners running into the ground. This would also lead to fans sponsors and supporters wanting to invest more of their money in them as they know it will benefit the club and not some director taking a big wedge!

Revenue streams could also be increased by making the Racecourse the annual venue for Championship and NL1 Grand Finals, the Northern Rail Cup, Exiles game, Welsh National Games and England Knights games, whilst also gaining revenue from allowing the university to use facilities.

Would probably make sense. Would be a brave and bold move, and would likely see an outcry of moaning and wailing from certain quarters but who cares?

I would be in favour of it.

While an interesting concept , I don't actually think it would work , somewhere along the line it would cost money , it would only work if they could persuade SKY to buy,fund or sponsor the Crusaders in the Championships and also into SL

As for moving them and An Other into SL automatically , no matter what anybody says , 14 is the optimum figure for the top tier , so unless you can suggest who or how you would remove two clubs without causing the type if stress and aggravation we have seen this week , it probably isn't viable

You were doing so well up to mentioning that .
Why should it be the venue for England games regardless of the level of the competition ?
Would the Welsh go watch Wales teams play home games at Wembley ?

i thought the rfl got the ground for free if the club defaults?

This could work, if the RFL had the guts to do it.

Crusaders are done, the stigma now attached to the club means that even if they were bailed out financially there wouldn't be much of a future for them.

Don't believe they've got stigma.....triumph over adversity- often thats when you see the best in human nature. In the sense of the fans im sure they would stick with them if it was a backs to the walls effort and the RFL decided to take over the running of them.

It would take some balls from the RFL but is possibly the only feasible option. But if the RFL are serious about driving this game forward, they need to start acquiring assets themseves as a business anyway and so this would work on all levels IMO. I think the crusaders would actually get alot of floating support through this as they would be the RFL club.

Come on RFL - Hands in the pockets. Dont let the crusaders fail. Given the population of north wales Wrexham is the only viable place we are ever going to have a north wales team and if we lose what we've got now, and that ground is lost to the uni, we will never go back and North wales will certainly be lost. IMO we actually have more potential in North wales than south, due to proximity to the northern clubs bringing more fans that will support the game, and also because the majority of North Wales people are not ingrained with rugby union, and so will give league a chance. Add to that there is very little top level sport in the area and it shows what an ideal location that wrexham is. Lets not lose it now into the abyss forever.

Come on RFL - Give them 3 years. if it doesnt work and they're losing hand over fist even with proper management then pull the plug then, but surely with the money the RFL have been making in the last few years, even if it did make losses they could be sustained.

The RFL owe wales a chance.

Actually not a bad idea at all!

If there is any stigma its attached to Moss and Roberts, not the club.

Problem I would imagine is that though the RFL does make a tidy sum nowadays a lot of it gets redistributed out to the clubs and development. I can't imagine they have a bank account that they've been quietly putting money away in, which amounts to the sort of cash needed to buy a club and a ground.

Still, I like the idea.

There's been a bit of talk about the NRL and Melbourne Storm and how the RFL should look at this case to see how to expand the game. This would be the answer. If they struck up a good deal with the football lot it might ease the negativity there. And yes, it would be seen as preferential treatment if they did eventually make it back into SL, but by owning a running a club the RFL can demonstrate exactly how they want it to be done for all to see.

Is my math wrong but if the RFL have a 750,000 pounds loan against the ground and the asking price for the ground is 2,000,000 then shouldnt it only cost 1,250,000 to purchase the ground.

In any case the original suggestion to buy the ground, if doable, would be a great idea. Are there any funds the Welsh RFL could attract if the proposed to make it a Welsh national stadium for RL?

It could also save the Soccer club and that would go a long way to getting the locals on side.

Without the ground, both clubs are stuffed.

Very true and at last the football clubs fans and Crusaders fans are united when they have too often been at each others throats and the fact some Wrexham FC fans have boycotted the Crusaders so not to give Moss and Roberts any more money has not helped.

Everyone should be behind what Wrexham Supporters Trust are trying to do and if they win there could well be a future for a RL team there.

Interesting to see how many turn out at the protest rally tomorrow (3pm) but hopefully a big turnout wearing both sides jerseys to get more publicity for the fight for both team's survival.

This is a very good idea.

Anyone know if this whole discussion could be emailed to the RFL?

In one action, without a huge outlay, the RFL could buy a home for Wales Rugby League, keep the game going if only to keep the momentum going with junior teams, as well as giving the game some good will from round ball lovers in the area.

It would enable the Wrexham Supporters Trust to develop a business plan to buy the soccer club and investors for the rugby operation.

Both teams should benefit from the goodwill of not being linked to any of the previous owners.

Buy the whole lot, soccer team included for 2 million, mortgage if needed.
Give the soccer team to the WST for nothing (its a loss making operation), and imagine the positive publicity the RFL would get in the area!

Such a good idea and hardly expensive in the scheme of things. But too good an idea for the RFL to go for it. Shame the WRL don't have the cash to do it.

Agreed, buy the Racecourse Ground, make it the home of Wales RL, give Wrexham FC a 99 year lease to not only make some money back on rent, but also win favour with their fans too.

A very good idea on paper. I have always believed that Crusaders needed time and they were probably, in hindsight, fast-tracked into SL too soon.

A know people in Wrexham, and a good few have taken to supporting them. Who cares if Wrexham is 'only just' inside Wales? The natives are fiercely Welsh and proud of it, which is an excellent thing.

The only stumbling blocks are the running costs. Yes, the ground can be bought cheap, the club could probably be bought cheap. But then how do you fund players salaries, and the running of the club? You need lots of cash for that, and if sponsors and crowds are not forthcoming, then you have to argue that the current board were right to pull the plug.

Sadly, it's a catch 22 situation. To survive and most importantly prosper, the club really need to be in Super League. However the club isn't ready to be in Super League. What you're effectively asking the RFL to do, is put a shedload of cash into preparing the club for THREE YEARS, without a return on their investment.

That said, if the RFL are serious about Wales, and making RL work there, then they should seriously look at it. Whether they can afford it or not, is another matter.

Sounds like a plan. I'm sure that there must be sponsors willing to help fund the team and I guess S4C would also show games again. Email the RFL and make them know enquiries@rfl.uk.com

Sounds like a plan. I'm sure that there must be sponsors willing to help fund the team and I guess S4C would also show games again. Email the RFL and make them know enquiries@rfl.uk.com

The RFL already have a business plan for running a club at Wrexham in front of them, they deemed it unsustainable. If it is possible for the two clubs in Wrexham to pay enough rent to make this a profitable exercise then they should do it, a knockdown price as they own a majority of the ground already would be good oif possible. Then there is the bonus of having a stadium for Welsh internationals wthout having to pay for it and maintaing the roots laid down in the last couple of years.
The problem is they would no doubt try to fast track the team into super league again or realise that it is not sustainable for anyone to run the club from the championships, something to which fans of other championship clubs will no doubt atest

Was my post just flat out deleted

Running costs do provide a challenge, but not a hindrance. All clubs have to deal with it. The trump card for the RFL if they owned the ground is that they already have marquee contests that they can take there. They can take the NRC final, Championship finals, Welsh International matches, CC semis, 9's there. You could also have massive weekend long schools tournaments, like a jamboree of RL with the kids stopping in the Uni accomodation next door when the students aren't there. You've got all the Cru matches there and the Wrexham FC matches. Then the RFL could turn to the Welsh Tourist Board, Welsh football and Welsh Rugby Union and look at taking internationals from those codes there.

Essentially there's no reason for there to be a weekend when the stadium is not in use or why events that will sell better than FC and Cru matches can't be held there to support the running costs.

I'll repeat what I said at the start

=#FF0000While an interesting concept , I don't actually think it would work , somewhere along the line it would cost money , it would only work if they could persuade SKY to buy,fund or sponsor the Crusaders in the Championships and also into SL

As for moving them and An Other into SL automatically , no matter what anybody says , 14 is the optimum figure for the top tier , so unless you can suggest who or how you would remove two clubs without causing the type if stress and aggravation we have seen this week , it probably isn't viable

This is the only way it would work , and it would cause an incredible amount of unrest , resentment and quite possibly legal action from any ' displaced ' club

My point is that if the stadium is used effectively throughout the year with monies going to both clubs and the RFL it should be possible to run a Championship RL club and a non-league football club. I don't believe there is a need for Sky for to be involved; the two clubs would be able to share running costs, whilst also realistically being able to attract marquee events from different sports.

Personally, even if the RFL were to buy the ground and the club, I can't see Cru getting back into SL any time soon. I would say you're looking at least five years to build a solid foundation. Plus, Cru were kicked out because of the Franchising process, therefore if they were to get back in, it would be through the Franchising process. And, by the time they are ready to go back, SL should be in a position to expand its numbers, which, for me, is the logical route forward.

I love this idea. I would love to see it work, but I just don't think it will happen.

I do wish the RFL owned a stadium, it would save them heaps of money and make them heaps of money as well.

If only RL would have built a home when the sport was created. We would probably now have a national rugby league stadium. Rugby league would be a lot better off if we had our own Twickenham in the North.

The RFL need to try at hi-jack any Leeds United attempt to build a new stadium. Having Elland Road as the home of Rugby League in the North woud be a start.

Why? they already did 'build' in the lower leagues for three years last time around and were then elevated to the promised land.
Why should they just be guaranteed a place in another three years. what they should do (if they do continue to exist) is win the NRC or reach the grand final and then be allowed to apply like everyone else, and if their bid isnt as good as the competition (easy now Fax nows

) then they dont get in. simples.