It's been a long time coming but this morning (Tuesday 13th Feb) Salford council has announced that it is set to take full ownership of the stadium used by Salford Red Devils and Sale Sharks. The town hall, which already controls 50 per cent of the site, has struck a deal to buy the remaining half of the ground which is owned by property company Peel. It will see the council take full control over the stadium and surrounding land, including car parking areas and training pitches. Empty land around the stadium is expected to be sold for regeneration projects to finance the agreement once complete. The future of Salford Red Devils was left in doubt last year until a 12-month extension on the stadium lease was agreed with the ground’s co-owners. Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I am delighted that we are nearing conclusion of months of painstaking discussions. “This represents fantastic value for the city council because once all of the land is sold and the area is regenerated, we will have created 790 new jobs, £28m-worth of social value, attracted £65m-worth of private sector investment. “But for me this has never been about making money, this is about delivering a community stadium, it’s about keeping 150-year-old institution in the city of Salford, which has given so much to the city over the years. “We’ll be able to recommit to deliver the initial vision of a community stadium for the city and its people. The future will be grounded in a new sports and leisure and rugby strategy, with links to activity, culture and health and wellbeing and fair access and opportunities. “The city’s heritage and rugby history will be safe now for future Salfordians.” Paul King, managing director at Salford Red Devils, said the club is at a ‘crossroads’ and could struggle to survive without a long-term tenancy at the stadium rather than 12-month extensions each year. Mr Dennett said once the stadium purchase is done the council will look ‘straight away’ at the lease situation, as well as working with the team to ‘raise revenue’ from the ground. Mr King said: “This is certainly a big step in the right direction, and hopefully this can now lead to a swiftly agreed deal. “I can’t understate how important the conclusion of the deal is for the club. We’ve stretched as best as we can for as long as we can to get even to this point today, and once the agreement gets over the line, it really does give us access to some transformative opportunities. “Not only are there commercial benefits waiting for us, but we can finally apply for the matched funding pots that are available to us through the Crowdfunder. “Whilst bringing forward a realisation of a shared vision based on what the stadium was originally built for, an agreement allows us to become a different Salford Red Devils – a secure, and self-sustaining Salford Red Devils that thrives within the City of Salford.” Tony Sutton, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League, said: “The RFL has been delighted to engage with Salford City Council and the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham throughout a long and complicated process, and we will continue to do so as we work with Mayor Dennett and his team to continue to grow the numbers of people playing rugby league in the region.” “The future of the Salford Community Stadium has been a protracted saga that has caused a huge amount of uncertainty both within the club and among our fanbase for too long. “While there is still work to do, this announcement hopefully begins to draw a line under the questions around stadium ownership and allows us all to start working together to create a real hub for rugby, across both codes, in the north.” The council’s deal to buy the stadium and surrounding land is expected to cost around £2m in total. The deal will also see the council taking on the £38m of debt owed by the stadium company, according to Salford’s mayor. Since Covid, the council has had to pay a subsidy to cover the running costs of the ground, which opened in 2012. In a letter to Mr Dennet Councillor Robin Garrido, leader of Salford Conservatives, questioned whether the full purchase of the stadium is the right option for the local authority. He wrote: “You will of course say that the deal to purchase may also include the surrounding development land, of which the council will receive half of the sales proceeds as and when the land is sold, but I doubt whether this income will be any where sufficient to pay of the debts the council will be acquiring. “The stadium is not showing a profit, only two plots of land have been sold in 14 years, one of the stadium tenants owes money, and as far as I can see no one disputes that the financial position of the Reds is uncertain. “I feel that the proposals have been unduly hurried, although I imagine quite a lot of expense has been incurred in officers’ time and other fees for KPMG and no doubt others. “If as an opposition we can be given accurate figures and cast iron projections of income we will of course look again at what is proposed, but at this stage I am told there is no business plan covering at least the next three years, neither has due diligence yet been carried out.” Plans to develop the land around the stadium are being looked at, with a proposal to link the area to Port Salford – a distribution gateway in the city with access to ship, road and rail. Empty land to the north of the stadium is being looked at by Cole Waterhouse with the view to becoming the site of a new logistics hub, according to Salford’s Mayor.
