Council agrees to £3m loan for club to purchase Belle Vue
Wakefield Council have agreed to provide Wakefield Trinity with a loan of £3.15m to buy the freehold of the stadium at Belle Vue and surrounding areas.
The council said the land was a “positive step in providing much-needed security and stability for the club’s future,” as well as helping to realise their ambitions to develop a new community stadium.
It is believed that the loan will help the club to provide positive assurance to the Rugby Football League (RFL) that there is clear intent to make the stadium compliant with RFL regulations.
John Minards, Wakefield Trinity Chairman, said: “We are grateful for the support of Wakefield Council, without whom this purchase would not be possible. While it is great news that we will be owners of our own ground, this is only very much the first stage of our redevelopment plans and we continue to be in active discussions with a number of parties as we progress towards our ambitions for a world-class stadium fit for the 21st century.”
The move comes after years of wrangling over the building of a new stadium for the Rugby League side. Wakefield Trinity has had a long-running dispute with the council over the proposed new stadium.
In 2017, Wakefield Council were due to forward a proposal for a £12m redevelopment, which would see a 10,000-seat stadium on the site by 2020. Plans were agreed in principle with the Super League side, which has played at Belle Vue since 1895.
But Wakefield Trinity said they wanted Wakefield Council to continue with plans to build a stadium near Rothwell, as announced in 2010, rather than redevelop the club’s existing Belle Vue ground.
In November 2017, the club threatened to take the council to High Court after saying the Belle Vue plan was “uneconomical.”
Plans for a 12,000-capacity stadium at Newmarket Lane were first put forward in 2010 and approved in 2012 but work has never started.
Cllr Denise Jeffery, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Development at Wakefield Council said: “We have a proud history of rugby league in the Wakefield District and I’m pleased that this loan will help Wakefield Trinity secure the ownership of the stadium and provide a catalyst for development.
“We have been exploring the potential of redeveloping Belle Vue for some time and as I have said before, the Council is committed to working with the club to support the development of a community stadium.”
