If only the criteria for a place in SL was down to new grounds eh. Wait a minute.

That's the next bit of the jigsaw. An announcement is to be made shortly about that end.

Ok then.
All things being equal stadia is a huge issue as the RFL have previously made painfully obvious as is the fact that clubs are crawling over themselves to get grounds sorted if they can.
If all that holds true then Cas are standing out, I am not in anyway saying I want Cas out as I don't but on the stadia situation they are looking like they are being left behind.

That better?

Seeing as 1.3K of the new build is being set aside for away fans with the South only being used as overflow I cannot see what you are trying to get at.
An £8mil new stand is going up at CP that is a fact which means that for the first time Craven Park (New) will have permanent capacity on all 4 sides of its playing surface. The fact one of them is a joke is something the club are trying to sort (The club are obviously aware of this seeing as they have designated it overflow as previously mentioned) but it is still capacity where as the North end had none.

I was just curious as to whether the "other end" was on the agenda, nothing else.
In the old golf stand, the view was excellent, only bad weather and over zealous stewarding sometimes spoilt the experience.
Btw, i'm not meaning to have a go, the new development looks cracking and as you rightly say, there will be plenty of room for
all spectators (home and away).
On a side note, I thought your fans were excellent this year, both home and away, hopefully we will both make the 8 this season ?

Fair enough.
I wasn't actually having a dig at Cas (Yes I know you are obviously a Wakey fan) BUT on the stadia front they are certainly on the back foot if/when Newmarket is started.

With regard to the South end.
It is obviously planned to have work done to it but when this happens is anyone's guess even more so when you consider the state of the country ATM.

It's gonna look mighty impressive when it's completed,

New HKR stand looks like it will be great when it's finished. I'm more worried about our own stadium, we obviously aren't going to be moving as we have no money but the full planning permission, couldn't cas maybe sell that planning permission to try and redevelop wheldon road? For me it's the only option.

It annoys me a bit how it's all to do with the stadia nowadays, I mean cas (without meaning to sound biased) have one of the best youth developments in the league with internationalss like Shenton and Westerman coming through the ranks and many more that have excelled. We also get one of the best crowd if not the best crowd per population, so it infuriates me how its all encircled around the stadium aspect.

Do you realise that the planned stadium at Newmarket can be used by teams in the district that also includes Cas Tigers and Fev ? Wakey will be anchor tennants.

I don't believe that it is all 'stadium focused'. The stadium is one box to be ticked, but was an area which a number of clubs realised that they were way, way behind.

Franchising isn't, or shouldn't have been, something that made clubs realise that their infrastructure was falling behind the times and holding their businesses back. Whilst it's admittedly easier for some clubs than others, the fact that we have clubs like Hull and Wigan playing in EPL standard stadia and clubs like Leeds and Warrington playing out of facilities that are open and/or generating revenue 365 days a year, the attitude must surely be "we need to improve infrastructure to ensure that our business remains competitive and can grow" rather than "we need to improve infrastructure so that we keep our licence".

I dont think that you will be able to sell the PP, although if there was another RL team or Football team interested then maybe there could be the prospect of a deal.
Concerning stadium criteria to remain in SL, the one sure thing is that the "franchise" system that was used last time around is in tatters and therefore there is likely to be a change before 2015.
What is of more concern, for the clubs at the lower end of SL, is the prospect of a reduction in numbers within SL, plus uncertainty over the
Broncos.
IMO there could be a reductiion to 12 clubs and there is still plenty of noise about Toulouse, so anything could happen !
The big 4 are safe, plus Catalan, plus Bradford but, even Mystic Meg couldnt predict where we will be in 2015.

Not good if you're coming in by public transport, though. Which is the exact same problem we've now got at Salford.

Still, it's good to see the development happening, I hope it works out better for you than it has for us!

Indeed but remind me again what has been the constant and overwhelming reaction from the club (Cas) and their fans over such an idea?

It would take a climbdown of biblical proportions for it to happen.

Fair point but it's on a main road and well served by buses and it is only 3 1/2 miles from the bus station as opposed to the 2 miles which is the case for BV.. Also the club has stated it will look at this issue and hopefully persuade Arriva to add extra busses on match day. You could walk it in less than an hour assuming you don't stop at too many of the many pubs on route



However in the modern era most fans arrive by car and in this respect NM will be a vast improvement. More winners and losers I'm afraid.

Correct in more ways than one, very bitter pill to swallow.

It would - and we would have to sell the Wheldon Road ground for us to be able to pay the rent at Newmarket.

This is one of those non facts that have gained some kind of credibility without any real evidence especially on a certain other forum.

As someone involved in NM as far as I'm aware no tenant costs have been set as yet. When they are they will be set by the Trust not the developer - it is not in the trusts interest to make them prohibitive or to gain financially from them. That is the genius of the Trust and the Community Stadium. Unlike at Salford??? as far as I'm aware the stadium will not be owned by Yorkcourt but will be owned and run by the trust. The developer is building the stadium as part of the deal to build the much bigger and lucrative Industrial/retail park from which they will get their profit. If anything I would expect Cas to pay less than Wakey though Wakey would get more benefits being the anchor tenant.

As for selling W/R - well you would, who would need two grounds when the new one gives you absolutely everything you need.

I doubt being at NM would cost much more than it costs to play at WR or BV overall and assuming there is a positive public response which doesn't seem to have been the case at Salford - Leigh I don't know much about - however unlike W/R and B/V the cost at N/M will be fixed making budgeting and cash flow easier.

At the end of the day N/M is no use to anyone empty.

All good points there Vasty - the only problem would be selling it to the fans (me included). NM is seen as Wakey - the enemy's territory - and it would be then seen as the way to a merger.

Does this mean that you are now agreeing with me with regard to Cas sticking out on stadia works?

If I were Steve Ferres, I'd be devising a strategy to sell it to the fans right now, since flogging off the WC for a few million quid would allow Cas to move to NM debt free, with enough cash in the bank to build a very competitive side. Quite an atttractive proposition for any club I would've thought, let alone one that's faced with either funding a brand new stadium, or investing some millions into improving a very tired old facility.

I don't deny though that it would be a tough sell, and that windfall would soon run out if the spectators stayed away in large numbers, which many have indicated they would; how much of that is posturing and how much is true I can't say.

If (I daren't say 'when' yet) build work starts, I expect there'll be some interesting conversations in the board rooms of both clubs. Either way, it seems clear that this particular RL rollercoaster will continue to run for a while yet.

News on the Derwent Park redevelopment- www.timesandstar.co.uk/weather-n ... -1.1020160

News on the Derwent Park redevelopment- www.timesandstar.co.uk/weather-n ... -1.1020160

What about ongoing maintenance costs and stadium costs? Surely the Trust has to make money to keep the ground in a fit state.............

As a Cas lad, I'm sure SF is wise enough that Newmarket would never work for a number of reasons. Why pay rent for one when you own your own? Why pay rent and reduce income streams, potentially? And why move out of the area where you know the majority of fans won't go?

I'm betting if a pot was set up for a WR redevelopment tomorrow, a lot more Cas fans would put their hands in their pocket to do that if they could visually see the improvements being done.

Fortunately, there are a lot more pressing matters in SL at the moment financially and economically. The RFL know what is happening down at Cas with the stadium and once we finally get some sort of answer re: the supermarket, we can then press forward one way or another. Until that, we're in a bit of a tight spot as we have no cash to redevelop WR and could well be relying on grants, other developers in the area etc. Or we could get the supermarket on board and GH could be full steam ahead. Until we know about GH, though, we can't do much.

The problem is one of time, Fully.
Although many aspects of your own new stadium are not in Castlefords controll, at some point, the RFL will lose patience with the lack of action. Indeed, both Wakefield and Cas were warned at the last round of licensing, that promises of a ground would not be accepted as progress.
The one mitigating factor is the help that a certain other club was given, coupled with the perilous state of the game.
However, as I have said previously, IMO we will see a reduction in SL numbers in 2015 and as was the case for 2012, the clubs at the lower end of the league will be most vunerable, again !

I think licensing will end too.

I think those at the top, i.e. Wire, Wigan, and Leeds couldn't give a damn whether it is licensing or promotion and relegation.

The worry is where clubs like ours will vote. Fans want P+R back but licensing arguably stabilises club and allows them to prepare long term. But similarly, it doesn't help when you have debacles like Bradford and clubs like Cas/Wakey are under threat for a reason beyond their control, hampering plans for the seasons ahead.