Call to Arms

by Gareth H Thomas

24 September 2007

During the televised Glasgow game on the weekend, Robert Norster - Chief Executive of Cardiff RFC Ltd - argued that as seven [Guinness] Premiership sides have ground share agreements, why shouldn't CRFC Ltd's Cardiff Blues also enter into a ground share agreement with Cardiff City Football Club? Well, Mr Norster was being less than open with the truth regarding the state of "ground sharing" in England. Let's take a look at the real situation.

 

Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester play at Kingsholm in the centre of the city. They have owned this ground since 1881. The is ground is currently being redeveloped following a share issue to raise funds to expand the capacity to 17,000. The total costs of refurbishment are estimated at £10m. Work began in March, and there are now press reports that Gloucester City Football Club will ground share with the club. The crucial difference between this ground share and the one proposed by the board of CRFC Ltd? The Rugby Club own the ground and the football club will be tenants.

 

Harlequins RFC

Harlequins have owned The Stoop since 1963. The Union team now share the ground with a rugby league side - Harlequins RL - who are tenants of the rugby union club. The Rugby Club have further redeveloped the ground recently with the building of the new 'Lexus" West Stand. There is talk of the South Stand being replaced in two years time possibly with part of it or the North Stand becoming terraces too.

 

Leicester Football Club (aka Leicester Tigers)

Leicester play at Welford Road Stadium which was built in the 1930s with a capacity of 16,815. The site is located in the centre of the city and Leicester Tigers moved to this site in 1892 and have been playing there ever since.

In 2004, the Tigers announced a plan to abandon Welford Road in favour of a ground share at Walkers Stadium with the city's main football club, Leicester City F.C. However, the two clubs could not agree on which one would have priority at Walkers Stadium, and formally shelved the plan in 2005. This won't be a problem for the present board of CRFC Ltd, as they are more than happy that the football club will be in firm control.

Leicester purchased the freehold to land adjacent to the ground in 2006 and are planning an expansion on the existing site. There are no plans for a ground share.

 

Bath Rugby

Bath Rugby play at a ground called "The Rec" (short for "Recreation Ground" - not a comment on the facilities). This site is located in the centre of the city and is owned by Bath and North East Somerset Council. The Rugby club share the facilities with Somerset Cricket Club.

In July 2002, the High Court determined that the Rec was held by a charitable trust and the council, as sole Trustee, was charged with maintaining the Rec "as a recreational facility available for the benefit of the public at large." The trust registered as a charity in November 2002. The rugby club now have a temporary leave to play professional rugby on this site.

The latest proposal are that a new £15m stadium will be built on the site. The situation is ongoing.

 

Saracens RFC

Saracens were established in the same year as Cardiff RFC - 1876. The club has enjoyed a nomadic existence playing all around London - Southgate, Winchmore Hill, Bramley Road, Enfield FC and finally (and most recently) Vicarage Road in Watford. Saracens are tenants of Watford FC who own the site at Vicarage Road. In 2002, Watford FC were in financial crisis and any development of the stadium was shelved. It was unclear what would happen to Saracens RFC should Watford have gone into administration.

The experience of Saracens is the model closest to that being proposed by Mr Norster.

 

Newcastle Falcons

The Newcastle Falcons play their home games at Kingston Park in Newcastle Upon Tyne. The club began its life as Gosforth Football Club in 1877, and was renamed Newcastle Gosforth in 1990 when they moved to Kingston Park. When Sir John Hall took control of the club in 1996/7, the team was rebranded as the Newcastle Falcons. Hall sold his share of the club in 1999, but the club continue to play at Kingston.

Following Hall's purchase of the rugby club and the link with Newcastle United FC, the rugby team now share the ground with the soccer club's reserve team. From the 2007-08 season, will be home to Newcastle Blue Star, a semi-professional football team.

 

London Irish Rugby Club

London Irish are based in Sunbury-on-Thames - site of their "old" ground. They play their home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading where they are tenants of Reading FC. In 1991 London Irish merged with London Scottish and Richmond to form a new company. An amateur club - London Irish Amateur RFC - was formed at the same time and continues to play in Sunbury. The parallels for Mr Norster's view of the future are clear to see.

The Exiles are currently one year from renegotiating their contract with Reading FC - the current contract is for seven years. Rumours abound that CRFC Ltd are considering a 20 year lease. Furthermore, London Irish have other stadia in the area to which they could move - and are being touted as potential tenants. There is therefore a choice. However, once the Cardiff Blues move to Leckwith as tenants of CCFC, there will be no choice.

 

Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks are owned by Sale Football Club. The team play their home games at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County FC. The ground is owned by Brian Kennedy's (owner of Sale Sharks) Cheshire Sport. As such, although there is a ground share in place, crucially the ground is owned by the major shareholder of the rugby club. So this agreement is very similar to Cardiff Arms Park, with the majority shareholder - the Cardiff Athletic Club - are owners of the ground on which the rugby team plays.

 

London Wasps

London Wasps play their home games at Adams Park, a football stadium in High Wycombe. Wasps rent the ground from Wycombe Wanderers FC. In recent months, there have been much closer relationship between London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers FC, and in August Steve Hayed - managing director of the football club - joined the board of London Wasps Holdings Ltd.

Plans to build a new stadium in the High Wycombe area, with a capacity of 17,000 - 20,000 and to be the first UK stadium in modern times to have terracing have also recently been announced. The new stadium would be joint owned by WWFC, London Wasps and Wycombe District Council. It will share a site with retail outlets, a hotel and conference facilities. Formal plans should be expected in 2 years, meaning if proceeded with the new complex would open in 2012.

 

Worcester RFC

Worcester Rugby Football Club play their home games at Sixways Stadium just off the M5. It was opened in 1975 and has been the site of constant development since then. The latest investment by the rugby club has been a £23m program recently announced by the club's owner - Sir Cecil Duckworth. The project includes a new North Stand that will take capacity to 13,200, an Esporta health centre with swimming pools and racquet club, a new car park, and replacement training pitches.

 

Bristol RFC

Bristol play their rugby at the Memorial Ground. The first ever game played on this site was against Cardiff RFC. In the 1980s, Bristol began to redevelop the ground. In 1996, Bristol Rovers became tenants of the rugby club, and then became joint owners through the Memorial Stadium Company. However, in 1998, when Bristol were relegated, the rugby club were forced to sell their share, and lost part ownership of the ground. They are now tenants of the football club. Plans for redeveloping the stadium have now been given the go ahead and an 18,000 capacity stadium will be built on the site.

 

Leeds Carnegie RUFC

Leeds Carnegie (rebranded recently from Leeds Tykes following a sponsorship deal with a University) play their home games at Headingly. There are two separate grounds, with a two-sided stand housing common facilities. Initially, the whole complex was owned by the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company, which is the parent company of both rugby clubs. Yorkshire County Cricket Club purchased the cricket ground on 31 December 2005 and, as announced on 11 October 2006, the whole ground is managed as one jointly between Yorkshire C.C.C. and Leeds Rugby.

The rugby stadium is undergoing constant redevelopment with a new Carnegie Stand recently built at a cost of £7m.

 

So it's clear that many Guinness Premiership Stadia are being redeveloped and many have joint usage. Indeed, it makes financial sense to maximise the usage of facilities owned by sporting clubs in order to maximise revenue. However, the key issue is one of ownership. Gloucester, Harlequins, Leicester, Sale, Wasps, Worcester and Leeds all own, or partially own the stadium in which they play. Only Bristol, London Irish, Newcastle and Saracens are tenants. Bath remain a particularly complex case.

So in conclusion, without doubt new facilities at the ground at which the Cardiff Blues (and premiership side) play would be to the benefit of fans. But at what cost? Whether you are for or against the move, ask yourself whether it is good that the team is owned by its landlord, or whether the Bristol and Newcastle model better suits the long term future of the club.