I'm not sure he's going to like the answer to this.

I suspect he already knows the answer.

On another note the Council still have not decided whether to list Belle Vue as an Asset of Community Value. They have decided to take legal advice before making a decision.

Even tough the Club have given notice to quit Belle Vue it's still relevant to get Belle Vue listed as we don't know what is likeley to happen with any lease negotiations that may ensue but the Council don't seem in any hurry to list it.

Real or fabricated?

Hope thet keep a record of the legal advice this time!

Ironic isn't it.

I've found in my case it's very difficult to keep a record of legal advice taken when I have not actually taken advice.

Of course the Council may not operate like me.

Although the club may not be able/wish to comment at this stage.
To serve notice to quit BV, without having an alternative venue lined up seems barmy.
We have been told that the rent for the ground, should we drop into he Championship, will be prohibitive but last time I looked we were still battling to stay up.

Unless we are playing "first to blink", there needs to be some confirmation of our situation from the club, this is another potentially damaging step for Wakefield Trinity.

Maybe the Cats have finally run out of lives ??

To be honest, I don't know, but my guess is that Michael has an alternative venue lined up.

The fact is that we cannot afford to stay at Belle Vue whether that is in Super League or the Championship and we have to look at alternatives. Long term we still hope that will be Newmarket but in the short term we may have to leave Belle Vue and the City of Wakefield.

As Michael as said in a tweet the Council have to decide if they want a pro rugby team playing in the City but I think I know the answer to that already.

At first glance the whole thing sounds like one big gamble by the club, of course I'm not privy to all the relevant information. Declaring your leaving without a negotiated deal to play else will leave us extremely vulnerable in negotiations with any perspective Landlord.

Why give notice now nothing as changed, the ground is still owned by the same bank, we have not defaulted on any payments and the value of the land shows no sign of increasing unless Belle Vue is to become the new home for the Wakefield elite. I know they have plans to build a road linking Doncaster Road with Aberford but I doubt that would require our imminent departure.
I presume the club could have indicated their desire to leave activating a six month clause but who knows it just appears a little strange that after so many years we are being asked to leave. I hope it is not a considered gamble by the club to force the developers or council into action because at the end of the day they have three clubs to look after at we are currently the most problematical.

We will be going 'Darne Lane'. Step 1. Watch this space!!!

Carter has already ruled that one out.

Hope so!! When did he rule that out?

Not sure of the who's who at wakey but who ever TRB is i would take my hat off to you if i was wearing 1 very insightful from someone in a position to let the fans know what's going on,
I hope you get sorted and things work out for your club always found wakey fans as a decent bunch although i can't really say i enjoy visiting belle vue

I am sure things have changed and we have been forced into this.

If we stay in SL there is criteria in place and we must totally satisfy all the conditions. I have heard our ground fails in just about everything and the only reason we are still allowed to be using Belle Vue is the fact that we potentially have The Newmarket option so the RFL are giving us a bit of leeway. However they will not do that forever and I bet MC knows when our time is up.

MC is also fully away of the upgrades needed and I am sure he has an idea what it will cost. We don't own the ground and I have heard the cost of the work required for it to be acceptable is well into the millions. We don't have that money and if we did it would be stupid to spend it on a facility we do not own. So I would suggest even if we wanted to stay at Belle Vue we would have to sacrifice our right to remain in SL.

If we want to stay at Belle Vue it would only be suitable for championship rugby and there lies the second problem. The rent at the level we pay is not sustainable on championship turnover. Plus the ground is falling to bits and every year we have a visit from the safety people and get a large repair large bill just to keep the safety certificate in place. Lets face it, the work we had to do this season would have bankrupted the club if Snowy and his gang had not stepped in. We can't rely on the goodwill of the likes of Snowy season after season.

So I will back MC 100% on this, Belle Vue is a dump that requires too much money spending on it and to pay the rent we pay to use a facility not fit for purpose is financial suicide. If we have to move, then realistically its the only option we probably have.
Many say it will kill the club if we leave the City, who knows? However the fact is, we can't stay much longer at Belle Vue in its present state, if we do that we will die for certain.

Firstly, most commercial leases have notice points and so does the Belle Vue lease, had the club not given notice today then they would have been committed to paying a continued unfair commercial rent for a longer period of time beyond December.

Second, they are indeed currently paying an inflated and unfair commercial lease cost, as we all know, but they are willing to pay a fair commercial rent, like most businesses! Simple!

Third, they do have plan if they indeed have to move but the discussion around where is currently not relevant and if it comes to that then they will tell everyone.

Fourth, the choice is simple, stay at Belle Vue and pay a fair rent or leave Belle Vue and pair a fair commercial rent somewhere else. The choice to continue to pay an over-inflated rent at Bell Vue is not an option!

IA

I am also sure you can add to what I have posted above. you do know and accept that Belle Vue fails to meet just about every ground criteria there is and without a massive spend, staying at Belle Vue without the required upgrades and being in SL is also not an option.

It does indeed and therefore the only thing I would add to your comment is that staying at Belle Vue long-term in SL is not an option, because if things go to plan then the RFL will allow WTW to stay at Belle Vue, without spending massive amounts, if Newmarket becomes the reality we hope in the coming months.

We aren't the only pro rugby club to fall under wakefield council so the can't pick and chose who to help and who not to!!!

the clubs hand has been forced into making this decision as IA has said
I personally think the BOI are trying to force us out by over pricing the grounds rent, will leave a lump in my throat if we have to vacate the old girl

Am so pleased IA has posted; once again a sensible and informative post at a time when few of us know little.

However what is for sure is that MC will have a plan B.

If this means that this is likely to be our last season at Belle Vue, does anyone know how the middle 8 fixtures work so that we'd know when our last game at Belle Vue would be?

They have not been forced as such Snowie, but they have made a business decision, that had to be made, if they were to remain in a longer term financially viable position both is SL or the Championship. Michael and Chris were having to service a lease they did not agree (as it was signed under previous ownership) and that lease is clearly way above a fair commercial value and and that is a problem irrespective. When you also couple that with the reality of not been 100% certain of staying in Super League then that becomes an even bigger business issue.

The BOI and O'Hara are just trying to get as much money for their business and shareholders as they can and of course they are being paid what someone agreed to pay them. The new owners don't want to continue to pay that, because it is not fair and sustainable and have made them both what I would agree is a fair offer. They have not responded and today was the day that the club had to give notice if it was not to get committed into continuing to have to pay an overinflated rent.

The BOI are not trying to force anyone out, they are just playing the game! I think they will come back to the table now, because the club are serious, but if you were the bank a fair rent has to be better than losing say £5k a month on rates and 24 hour security!

I think it does not mean that and therefore, again, there is no point on speculating on something that is unlikely to happen... it might and will if the rent is not reduced... but if that is the outcome then we can talk about this in a couple of months time!