planning.wakefield.gov.uk/public ... ype=WEEKLY

planning.wakefield.gov.uk/public ... ype=WEEKLY

I don't normaly put much stock in all this "off on, off on" speculation about developers but that link has some alarming information about withdrawn planning applications, particularly in the related documents section.

When you consider Richard Wrights recent comment on Sky TV when he seemingly refused to rule out a stadium share with Wakefield Trinity, reports about Castleford players being offered reduced contracts for next year and beyond, further reports about Castleford having financial worries and the lack of progress on the proposed site, it looks ominous, from the outside anyway!

The one plus of Cas looking to groundshare is that it will give the project more impetus (not that I am suggesting that it doesn't have any), as it will benefit a wider sporting community. The fact that they end up shelving their project and end up coming in with ours will not look good from the outside though.

IF cas end up without a ground, are we soft enough to allow them to groundshare? (providing we get our stadium)

personally, id be somewhat ruthless...they didnt/dont want to know about a ground share...and there could come a time when they come cap in hand.....id telling them to go tittle !!!!

That times quickly approaching!
The fan i was speaking to has (or claims) to be very close to a board member who walked out due to "personal reasons", this in truth he claims to have more to do with money he is owed by the club (Fulton & Wright) & the contempt he claims they show to Cas fans for leading them down the garden path for so long regarding J32. If all what he told me is true i would be outraged if i were a Cas fan.

Having said that, can they pay rent? If so why would the Community Trust be foolish enough to turn down the money they would make, as long as everyone was clear, our community trust, their stadium, we play on sundays at 3.30 & rent was paid on time!

Not our ground to be able to say that.

Quite right.

And no, the CT would not turn them away. In fact their potential involvement makes it far more likely to happen and with much less hassle - politically if nothing else!

would the RFL allow this? a shared ground? or would they insist that this should be a tempory measure and insist that the clubs eventually play in seperate stadiums?

My guess is that they would allow it.

It wouldn't look good, but how could the SL react when the next franchises come round? I can't forsee how we'd look the lesser of the parties involved as we've been part of J30 from the start and it is in Wakefield. Similarly I don't remember the RFL stating ground shares are a problem in an application.

It would be intriguing to know what weight would be given to the less tangible issues that don't strictly meet the points criteria, e.g. the perceived consequences of Cas effectively being the junior partners in the deal.

All ifs and buts i suppose.

Both clubs in one stadium would not, in itself, be a problem. The challenge for both clubs will be to make the business work from that stadium.

2 clubs with 10k crowds; competitive sides and good community / junior work will be fine!

I was originally talking largely in speculation. However, if there are concerns about Cas' plans, what is their incentive in hiding this? Surely the later they leave it, the harder it will be to arrange alternatives, or is it the case that they are playing for time in the hope thinsg somehow fall into place?

Thats exactly what the cas fan told me last night, that was the reason a member of their board left (aswell as being owed money), RW & JF are laughing it off, claiming we pulled the wool over the RFL's eye's, why shouldn't they.
I may not like Castleford, or there fans, but i do feel for them if this is true.

:29ilksd0

Surely the potential revenue streams for Wakefield Trinity would be affected by Castleford Tigers sharing the ground.

I'm not sure what the charitable trust and Wakefield Trinity's tenancy agreement will include or not include but surely if Wakefield were the only tenant then the stadium would be generating revenue for Wakefield Trinity seven days a week.

I'm assuming that the charitable trust will turn the stadium over to Wakefield Trinity for its day-to-day running and that Wakefield Trinity can then utilise the stadium to maximise revenues from all the various activities that will then take place in the stadium.

If however the Castleford Tigers were also a tenant then they would be sharing in many of those revenue streams. That can only have a detrimental effect on one or both clubs, but if Wakefield at in the box seat as the anchor tenants then why would it make good business sense to agree to a ground share.

The possible reasons I can see are

Denial might be one reason!

More likely, if this is true, is the need to be seen as having done everything possible before admitting defeat in their stadium quest. They will then need a strategy to manage the release this information to the public and to the Rugby football league/super league.

Richard Wright would be in a very precarious position as the chairman of Castleford Tigers if this information is not managed properly. There would be calls for his head on a platter not least because of the continuous spouting off propaganda in all forms of media that he has embarked upon for the last five years.

To the best of you knowledge have any potential names for the stadium been banded around yet?
As if it were a Community Stadium, run by a Trust, for the district of Wakefield, one might assume something like The Wakefield Community Stadium, however if Cas were to come in on this i think that would be a MAJOR hurdle for them, their fans. And may suggest Cas were merely tenants, when in truth we both would be, all of this based on name alone.
But as they say, what's in a name....

please join my campaign for it to be called the Dreadnought Stadium

I think that is a name which is not only steeped in Wakefield Trinity tradition but will also capture the imagination of potential new fans, players and even away supporters.

Create a Fund & buy the naming rights.
I would chip in £50 (lets call that a "share" for a 10 year lease on that name.) Make 1000 Shares available for fans to buy.

Bet you could find 1000 fans would could either buy a share of that or chip together and buy one as a group. Cant imagine it being more that £50,000. can it? Over to you lot...

This thread has gone on from Paul Johnson then....

Agreed - will split!

Alternatively I imagine none of this will be an issue as a stadium used a minimum of 28 times a year rather than 14 would be very attractive to a potential stadium naming partner!

I hope Castleford are interested in a ground share at Stanley. Pooling resources and both sets of land put in the pot by the Council should enable the funding required for the stadium to be obtained a little easier. Also a 15,000 stadium like the Keepmoat could be delived.

Its also more attractive to the Stadium owners, the Community Trust to have 2 Clubs paying rent rather than 1 so it should be more sustainable.

I for one would be very much in favour of a shared stadium.

If it is to be a permanent home for CT then we should go about it in a very innovative way, i.e teams come on to the pitch from either side of the pitch, with one half decked out red, white and blue, the other in amber and gold, or monkey wee yellow, which ever they choose to play in that year!

If it is only a short term tenancy for CT then deck it out red white and blue and move lock, stock over, club, superstore & kitchen sink.

Until Cas start drip feeding their fans the bad news it's all hear say (in their eyes anyway)

I would be in favour of a ground share as the business plan is more viable with two paying tennants as opposed to one. I also suspect that the rfl, council etc would be in favour of this. Also the chances of actually digging a hole and starting the thing IMO would greatly increase.

The location is also perfect for a share.

The negative would be the rfl community screaming for mergers further down the line and both clubs would have to protect their own identities and maintain their good superleague progress and development of other income streams.

Come on cas get on board!

Can you all remember those wooden spoons that cas used to wave at us and then they ended up eating from them themselves. Well I wonder if they have got a load of begging bowls because the longer this rolls along the weaker they will become in a stadium share.

Richard Wright ought to stop fooling himself and their fans and come on board with us at Stanley. I would have no problem with Cas playing there and if they get on board quickly it will give the benefits that Sandal Cat mentioned.