Million quid isn't it? Pretty sure that was the number for Shudds and Gateshull.

I wouldn't mind a merged team with a neutral name/colours and a head coach that's better than what both teams have at the minute.

New stadium, 2 of the best youth development programs in the league put together, best PR, best community links and a million quid from the RFL? Sounds like a good deal really.



Because you'll end up with folk not going because "it's Wakey's stadium".

As has already been said, Dick will sell it to the Cas fans as a short term temporary move (which it could well turn out to be) I think most could stomach that as long as GH was nailed on eventually

not if its explained properly. cas fans will be thinking that the money for playing at NM will go in wakeys pockets when it will actually go to the stadium trust.

That doesn't mean anything to them, there's people already saying they'll stop going even if it's only for a year.

if ac and inter can do it...........to me it makes sense or i fear 1 or both of you will lose your place in superleague.

turn the argument round and just for arguments sake imagine GH was built 12 months before NM. how many wakey fans would come to cas. less i suppose because they would know the cash would go to cas.

I was thinking about the 'M' word the other day and came up with the name 'Wakefield United', I quite like that!

but it wouldn't

On the other hand, if the ground matches the like of Widnes, and we have a backer like Widnes, why the pressure to merge? The RFL might say that there can only be one team from the Wakefield area, but if we are at Newmarket, are spending the salary cap, have crowds to match the likes of Huddersfield and Widnes (which we do already), wouldn't we be merging to save Castleford? Would they merge if they were at Glasshoughton?

No one tells Leigh to merge with Wigan, or Widnes to merge with Wire. It is always with us that we talk about it, but if Newmarket comes off, what do we have to gain by it? I would tolerate a merged team at Newmarket, but what would Cas have to gain by it?

£12 million quid in the bank instead of spunking it all on a new stadium?

We should expect Huddersfield to be in favour of mergers. You've had one already and did okay. I'm not sure Sheffield share the view though.

A merged team with the Cas stadium money + another million from the RFL?

That's a club set for a decade at the top of the league.

A ground share was the right idea in 2005 or 6 when the plans could have been made to find a site that was fair to both sets of fans. Neither proposal on the table now fits that bill, but it was a no brainer, as the article puts it, and as the history now shows us. I still think it entirely possible that neither plan will ever get off the ground. I was published in the Express in 2006 I think, almost word for word what Kear has said....but it's way way too late now. It's Newmarket or bust for us and a lot of praying over the next few weeks.

You must be the most negative poster on here,if that's the quality of specci that £100 season tickets bring let's put 'em up to £200 a year!!!Glover out!!

Newmarket is slap bang in the middle of the two places, so purely on location its perfect. However Cas fans will see it as Wakefield, whereas a stadium in Normanton would perhaps be perceived as neutral.

I'm shocked nobody has mention Andrew Glover in all this. I can't see him wanting to merger his recently purchased business with another. Also, let's say both clubs average gates of 8,000, I can't see a new club attracting 16,000 each week so that would be more fans lost to the game.

There hasn't been a genuine merger, with both clubs as equal partners, in British rugby league yet, and if Wakefield and Castleford were to merge, there wouldn't be one either. One of the two clubs would end up swallowing the identity of the other. It's no coincidence that there are still independent clubs in Gateshead and Sheffield in the lower leagues, in spite of the "mergers" with Hull and Huddersfield.

The only thing that might work is a completely new club, with the existing clubs operating as feeder clubs in the lower leagues. That way, you might just convince enough people to follow a new club playing in the elite competition, made up of the best young players from both existing teams, but to expect fans from either club to abandon their history and create a brand new fan culture from the existing set ups is illusory, IMO. And whilst the small, rational part of my brain says that this would be a sensible step in many ways, every other part of my body says "sod that".

Having thought about the possibility of a ground share, I would be OK with going to watch CT at NM (if it gets built first) but only for a season. Similar to Saints at Widnes last year. It there were signs of the stadium at GH going up I think most CT fans would be OK with it - but only for that one season.
On a more realistic note - I can't help thinking about the possibility of Cas playing at our nearer neighbours Fev Rovers. They are putting in 2 more seating stands this year but will still only get 2,000 tops watching them. It would be nearer than NM and rent would be presumably cheaper.

On top of that I have a nagging feeling that Probiz recent "partnership" with Fev and our commercial manager joining them as CEO isn't merely a coincidence. Are the chess pieces been lined up for what we are all dreading the most?

The problem with that view is that the funding Cas need to build at GH isn't likely to be unlocked until FPP is granted for the complicated developments proposed for WR; that will take longer than a year in my view, so it could mean an extended stay at NM.

As for the Fev proposal - will their stadium be SL compliant, even after the works you've described? I can see the RFL refusing it either way, to force us together and increase the possibility of a merger; I'm certain that's what they want.

Looking at timescales for the above B2K. Newmarket (if passed) won't be ready until the start of the 2014 at the earliest. If rumours are correct about the new plans for Wheldon Road CT could be looking at 2 years later. 4 seasons from now - 2016 would be a realistic timescale IMO. That would mean 2 more full seasons at WR and 2 years "on the road" depending on (and this is the main problem) when the bulldozers come in to demolish WR.

Regarding Fev's stadium been SL compliant. That is the reason for the ground impovements. If Fev build what they say they are going to they will have more seating than Cas and Wakey put together for next year. They would tick all the boxes. The only thing that the RFL could do to stop their promotion to SL would be to change the rules again.

The thing with this argument is that AC and Inter are strong enough individual clubs for merger to not be a threat, sadly cas and ourselves are not in that situation.
A groundshare on a permanent basis would mean the loss of two historic clubs on the negative side, although there are some positives to be gained, though probably not enough for many.

Just my 2 p worth, If CT need to wait until fpp is granted to move then why would anyone bulldoze WR before fpp is granted ??

WR is not that bad that we need to go on the road until fpp and the cash is released ??

I may be wrong but can't see how, anyone wish to elaborate

An entirely reasonable expectation - the 'rules' are only there as a proxy to get the RFL what they want, which in this case, would be a strong RL side from the WMD taking up just one spot in SL. If they see a chance to make that happen, I think they'll take a punt.

The next few months are probably being viewed as the biggest opportunity ever to present itself to RL in this area for a number of years; the problems will come when trying to line up the expectations of all the stakeholders - I would imagine that WTW, CT & FR will want something very different to each other and the RFL, whilst the fans of all clubs will be completely divided - some will want to plough their own furrow, some will want to merge and others will want to oppose any change and potentially, be lost to the game forever.

Personally, I'm attracted to the idea of a WY super-club, with a fantastic youth and community set-up that could make proper links with all the schools and amateur clubs in the district and funnel all the young local talent into an enviable academy system; with a feeder club playing in the Championship and a slick and well-oiled PR machine in place, that organisation could become a dominant force in English RL within 10 years.

Emotionally however, I'd want it to be called Trinity; it would seem appropriate, given that three clubs would be coming together as one entity. I don't have any inside info by the way - just thinking aloud.

I think its due to the belief that the RFL want everyone in nice shiney stadiums, be them new or upgraded like hull kr, by the start of the next franchise period. Not including odsal obviously as the own that so it doesn't count. The latest rumour on your board hints that GH won't be ready til midway through that period so you would need to move somewhere for a year or two to keep your licence.

West Riding Trinity Tigers

As Bren2k said I think we owe it to our kids to build a super club, a club local youth can feel proud to represent and genuinely compete at the highest level.

Will there be a direct rail link between NM and Xscape if so I see no reason why the merged team should not play at NM


ps @ Theboyem I try not to read the other Cas-forum as its more tedious that trying to explain to a Wigan fan no one is remotely jealous of them