‘Rickety’ start for Salford City Stadium says mayor

SALFORD mayor Ian Stewart has described the first few years of Salford City Stadium as a “rickety road” at an event last night.

The 15,000 capacity stadium was built for the Salford City Reds rugby league side but the club nearly failed earlier in the year, owing the council £1.5m.

This month the council, which owns the stadium with Peel Group, arranged a £600,000 emergency loan to the stadium’s operating company after it recorded a £4.3m loss last year.

Speaking at the Salford Business Awards last night, which was held at the stadium, Mr Stewart said: “It’s been a rickety road, but not a rocky road. But I’m pleased to be able to say this stadium is stable and growing.”

The council originally funded the stadium, which opened in 2011, with a £22m loan and a contribution of land worth £6.7m. The now defunct North West Regional Development Agency contributed £4m for land remediation and Peel, which also put in £600,000 recently, donated land.