Even if you do not support the Sheffield Eagles, Please take a few minutes of your time and sign this petition. I'm hoping for as many signatures I can get to keep Sheffield Eagles in Sheffield or even in existence! You will have to register to sign, please follow the link. We may not be in our thousands, but we are no less passionate about Rugby League https://sheffield.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPe ... spx?id=115 Thanks so much in advance if you took the time to sign. We the undersigned would like to express our concern for the future of our club SHEFFIELD Eagles. It’s taken 13 years for Mark Aston and his team to recover from being disbanded to where we are today the current CHAMPIONS of the Championship League. He’s worked tirelessly within the community to encourage young people to be involved in the game, some of which have already gone on to play in our first team. Sheffield prides itself on being a City of Sports and now Sheffield Eagles are asking the council to ensure their future is in Sheffield and not in doubt. We would like the council to reassure us that this work has not been in vain and to keep Sheffield Eagles in SHEFFIELD. We are probably the most successful team that Sheffield has had in recent years. We want the council to help the Sheffield Eagles remain in Sheffield by helping with fundings, like they have offered to help the athletics relocate now the Don Valley Stadium is to be demolished.

Even if you do not support the Sheffield Eagles, Please take a few minutes of your time and sign this petition. I'm hoping for as many signatures I can get to keep Sheffield Eagles in Sheffield or even in existence! You will have to register to sign, please follow the link. We may not be in our thousands, but we are no less passionate about Rugby League https://sheffield.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPe ... spx?id=115 Thanks so much in advance if you took the time to sign. We the undersigned would like to express our concern for the future of our club SHEFFIELD Eagles. It’s taken 13 years for Mark Aston and his team to recover from being disbanded to where we are today the current CHAMPIONS of the Championship League. He’s worked tirelessly within the community to encourage young people to be involved in the game, some of which have already gone on to play in our first team. Sheffield prides itself on being a City of Sports and now Sheffield Eagles are asking the council to ensure their future is in Sheffield and not in doubt. We would like the council to reassure us that this work has not been in vain and to keep Sheffield Eagles in SHEFFIELD. We are probably the most successful team that Sheffield has had in recent years. We want the council to help the Sheffield Eagles remain in Sheffield by helping with fundings, like they have offered to help the athletics relocate now the Don Valley Stadium is to be demolished.

Done, and I would urge all fans of our sport to do the same. It really is a sad to see the club in this position, after all the work that has been put in by Aston and co both on/off field. Best wishes for the future.

I remember going to the Don Valley stadium on several occassions and having a great time (albeit usually freezing cold). The fans of Sheffield were always very welcoming and had real enthusiasm for the game. They deserve all our support, as they have had some terrible treatment over their short history. These are areas that we should be promoting the game for the future.

Done

I was there last April for what would turn out to be their last ever home league defeat against Leigh. Not the best of places to watch RL, but a good day out. Such a shame that rugby league in Sheffield has been screwed over on far too many occasions.

Best of luck guys, signed.

done...good luck!

I remember going to Don Valley as a kid (early to mid 90s). I remember the Sheffield fans as being the only fans in the league at the time with a drummer; was a nice novelty back then

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Signed, and the very best of luck.

Done. My missus is a Yorkshire lass (been a happy home this week as you can imagine) from the Sheffield area so they have a place in my heart.

As we bear down on Old Trafford it's a sobering thought that Sheffield played the opening game v PSG on the dawn of SL all those years ago - a city that size should not only have a vibrant RL team in Sheffield but should be hammering on the doors of SL again.

Done. I hope you can get a good campaign going, ad get plenty of support. Local councils, as well as central government need to realise the positive effect sport in the community has, and put some dollar behind it. The Olympics was all about legacy, and after the great event that was, I fear we'll soon forget the lessons that should have taught us. Supporting local teams like the Eagles are the way that Sheffield, a city so closely linked with the 2012 games, can tangibly prove that the whole 'legacy' ideal wasnt just a load of empty words.

Done (no. 356 to have done so). Good luck.

The legacy of the Olympics seems a pretty hollow notion when Darling of the Olympics Jessica Ennis has lost her home track because it isn't up to scratch.

Good luck to Sheffield .

Signed.

I went to university in Sheffield, so got to see a fair bit of the Eagles between 1996 and '99 when they were in their prime. If it isn't bad enough what happened to them from 2000 onwards, then this has to be the final insult. If Sheffield City Council can't accommodate them in a city of that size (is it still the fourth largest city in England?), then there is just no hope for the future of top-class sport in that part of the world.

signed.(352)

I couldn't watch 'the full monty' again if I hadn't.

Can we start a petition to send the Pies to Holland too?

Done and Good Luck

Done.

I've met the Sheffield fans at the Championship Finals when they've been played at the HJ for the last couple of years. If ever a group of dedicated supporters deserve a result to go their way its these guys.

Many thanks for the support it's very much appreciated

Good luck in the playoffs

Sheffield Eagles is a good friendly club and enjoyable place to watch a game. The big problem is they just aren't big enough in Sheffield in terms of crowd.

They are like a northern London Broncos in that they have a small group of very committed supporters and in fairness to the club it has had a fair bit of success and Mark Aston and the guys around him seem to run the club well with the resources they have, I think its quite a professional outfit on the pitch.

But in all that like you say they are in a large city and not far from rugby league heartland but the Eagles are not really part of the fabric of the city. It's a football city and the Eagles haven't ever been able to really capture Sheffield.

I do not hold out much hope for petitioning the local council because the council has had funding cuts and is having to cut back on services and the relatively low crowds makes it difficult to really lobby them for financial help. We saw what happened with the Don Valley and even the PR image of Jess Ennis and the local press weren't able to save them. The problem will be that for people at the council charged with making tough decisions on priorities in the face of cuts, the Eagles are just a lobby group that represent a small number of people, but councils get them all the time and have to say no.

I think the only real hope for Sheffield would be to get support from a private investor.

It's a funny city Sheffield because despite being associated with being a grim industrial northern city its a bit more upmarket than the other northern cities, pretty clean, safe, a nice open and green environment and in the areas around the city (especially between the city and the Peaks) there is quite a lot of wealth. So I think there's some potential in there....but for rugby league I'm not sure, its difficult. I know a fair few Sheffielders including rugby league supporting Sheffielders but they support other teams.

That said I am not knocking Eagles fans attempts to save their club as I say its a great place and its a very welcoming place to watch RL.

I'm not sure if you been to Sheffield City Centre recently, but Meadowhell continues to cause havoc. I don't think Sheffield is nearly as prosperous as Leeds, home p the current champions, or even Manchester, home of next season's



I think history, and the fact Sheffield is one of the original bastions of soccer have more to do with it. That said, cuts or no cuts, IMHO councils should be supporting strong community clubs, and RL generally, and from what I can gather the Eagles specifically, fit this bill.

he only asked for your help sally c.

Out of interest, for those of us who aren't really in the loop on this, what are the Eagles options now the Don Valley is closing? Obviously Sheffield has two football stadiums, but I'm assuming the cost of renting either of those would be way out of budget considering their capacities and Eagles' average attendances. Where are they hoping to move into, and where are they hoping to avoid? Or has it gone past that point and outright closure of the club altogether is the most likely outcome here? I agree they were treated disgracefully when that happened the first time obviously, so full credit to those responsible for reclaiming them.

Obviously I wish them as well as anyone else on here does, but you're always going to find support on an RL forum. If I was a Sheffield resident with no interest in the Eagles - which let's face facts, is the vast majority of them - then I perhaps wouldn't want a council that was being forced to make huge budget cuts to be finding the money to accommodate a sports team that attracts only a small minority of the city's population to it's games.

I'm not trying to stir it or anything, I have no wish to see the Eagles forced out, but if Britain's Golden Girl can't save the Don Valley I highly doubt they can, so taking sally's post above into account, I was just curious as to what the various options on the table for them are?

it does nobody an harm to show support. And its much more quicker to sign up than give chapter and verse telling why you won't!

Hi there, thanks for the support, the only option available is Owlerton Greyhound Stadium, the club had spent the past year preparing to move in at Sheffield Hallam Uni, but the Uni pulled the plug at the last minute. They wish for support from the Council to get them into Owlerton in time for next season, as a lot of upgrading needs doing. The club have stands that can be put on the side of the dogtrack, but need help in getting the rest of the ground up to scratch such as the changing rooms. The football clubs dont wish to have the Eagles, Sheffield United are happy to have the odd game, but to be based at full time would involve the Eagles funding a state of the art pitch that can stand up to both sports.