CASTLEFORD TIGERS have a contingency plan to bolster their bid for future Super League status should there be any snags in their stadium redevelopment project.
The Tigers know the current condition of The Mend-A-Hose Jungle (Wheldon Road) will seriously undermine their points tally under IMG’s club-grading system, which will determine which division clubs play in.
Planning permission is being sought from Wakefield Council for a major overhaul of the venue, which has been their home since 1927.
A new all-seater main stand will be built, along with a banqueting suite and corporate hospitality function rooms.
Refurbishment of the other three sides of the ground is also proposed, along with a new floodlit 4G training pitch.
Castleford hope their plans will be approved by November, but should there be a delay, they will dip into a £2 million pot provided by Wakefield Council through their Rugby League Resilience Fund to improve the current facilities in the meantime.
Club managing director Mark Grattan explained: “Where we are with the redevelopment is genuinely out of our hands, but we have done everything we need to do.
“It is with the council and we said it would hit planning in October or November.”
In terms of the club’s possible IMG score, Grattan told the COYFCast podcast: “Plan A is the full redevelopment, which ticks every box going and would help generate more money.
“We’ve also got a Plan B, so if there is an issue and if it drags on where we can’t start anything next season, we have £2 million in the pot from the Council to do what we need to do (to the ground as it is now) in terms of getting that extra point (from IMG).
“Potentially, if the stadium looks like it does now going into next year when we need to get the IMG points, we will start work with the Council money.
“What we would do then – this is the first draft in my mind – you would refurbish the main stand.”
