Salford Red Devils supporters are urging the club to push through a stadium swap with Salford City FC.
Fans were told at the recent annual meeting that the Red Devils would be looking for a new home after the 2022 Super League season but that various options were being considered – not only City’s Moor Lane ground.
But Peter Brady, chairman of the Salford Red Devils Supporters’ Trust, said: “Moor Lane is the only realistic option in the city and I think it’s the right move for the club.
“There are a number of opportunities at Moor Lane that we don’t have at the AJ Bell, including the revenue from food and beverage and advertising. At the moment we rely on ticket sales and a guy selling lottery tickets as you walk into the stadium. Whereas, at Moor Lane we would have all the rights to hospitality.
“I think the stadium move will save the club. If we stay at the AJ Bell, I don’t see the club surviving.”
The Rugby League club have called the AJ Bell, formerly the Salford Community Stadium in Barton, home for nearly 10 years after moving from The Willows in April 2021.
Mr Brady said: “The AJ Bell provided us with state-of-the-art facilities, something that we didn’t have at the Willows but we lost a core element of community spirit when we moved there.
“It was a shame because Peel Holdings and Salford City Council promised to drive our revenue streams and offer us support in paying the large rental payments, it was quite clear that support drained away quite quickly.
“For that reason we always struggled to call it home.”
They have shared the 12,000-seat stadium with Rugby Union club Sale Sharks for this whole period. However in 2023 the stadium is being taken over by new landlords with talk of a rent of £450,000, a figure that is not financially viable.
“There is a big financial disparity between the two codes, Super League clubs get around £1.5 million from Sky while Sale Sharks get the equivalent of £11 million. They can afford it, we can’t,” said Mr Brady.
Executive chairman Paul King said at the AGM: “We have a lease at the AJ Bell until 2023, so we could stay here until then, but if things go the way we want them to go, then we probably wouldn’t want to stay until then, moving at the end of 2022, although there are a lot of uncertainties attached to that move.”
Mr King also discussed many options for where the Red Devils could re-locate, including the Etihad Athletic Track and Gigg Lane, the former home of Bury FC. However, the most likely location is Moor Lane, the current home of Salford City FC who would take over as co-tenants of the AJ Bell in the potential switch.
Paul King is now discussing challenges of the AJ Bell Stadium:
– Rent yet to be negotiated for 2022 or beyond 2023
– Contracted here until 2023, with rent being £450k once the new landlords take over (significantly more than we pay now).
-Increased rent means cuts elsewhere— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) November 9, 2021
A big incentive of moving to Moor Lane, currently known as the Peninsula Stadium, is the naming rights of the stadium, rights that are held by Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell.
Moor Lane positives:
-Naming rights
-Revenue from food & beverage
-Self-determination
-Atmospheric
-An opportunity to reset in a home of our own
-Early due diligence suggests it is affordable— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) November 9, 2021
The Red Devils are yet to confirm a stadium swap. Moor Lane, although attractive, is not ideal. Work would need to be done to make the stadium acceptable for the Super League’s standards, including improving the floodlights and TV gantry.
Challenges of the proposed move to Moor Lane:
-Development work (floodlights, tv gantry, hoardings)
-Capacity
-Parking
-HQ & training facility (neither of these at Moor Lane)
-RFL future landscape unclear— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) November 9, 2021
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