CASTLEFORD TIGERS’ new investor Martin Jepson has revealed to the COYFCast podcast that the West Yorkshire club could hit 14.5 points by the time IMG’s grading comes around at the end of the 2024 season.
Towards the back end of last season, the Tigers were given a score of 12.16 by the new rugby league stakeholders, though the club insisted that due to an administrative error, it should have been 12.91.
That original score of 12.16 left Castleford outside of the top 12 Super League clubs in terms of points.
However, improvements across the board have been put in place, with real estate tycoon Jepson already putting £1.2 million into the club to lift the club’s points on an investment level.
Improvements to The Jungle have also been made, with more seating than ever being installed with work on the Main Stand set to take place at the end of the year.
For Jepson, that should see the Tigers hit approximately 14.5 points by the time the real grading comes around ahead of the 2025 season.
“Where IMG is concerned, we’ve got a view at the board level where we think we can get to. There are bits in there that I don’t have access to the full data on mainly the financial pieces,” Jepson told The COYFCast podcast.
“But we are doing all the things necessary. We’ve got the seats in the Princess Street and the big screen will be here in a month’s time – that’s another 0.125 points.
“We should get another point for facilities and that’s non-negotiable. We are pretty much there with director, corporate seating and the seating capacity in the ground.
“We should get that one point, we should have been at 12.91 which means we should comfortably get over 14 points.
“The finances for last year have not been set yet but the extra piece for my investment which is 0.125 points on an annual basis so that will take us into the low 14s.
“If the accounts come out as we hope, we will push up towards the 14.5 mark but I can’t guarantee that piece as I haven’t seem them yet.”
Jepson went further to send out a rallying cry to Castleford fans.
“The bit that makes the difference is the crowds. It’s 0.5 points and we are just about on that target of 7,500 over the three years.
“Last year, crowds were down which affected us, so this year we need to average 7,800. We really need to get the crowds up for the rest of the season, frankly, appealing to the fans makes a difference.
“I appreciate that means turning up, putting their hands in their pockets but we need to get the crowds boosted. We are pretty much where we want to be.
“I think if you get to 14.5 then it’s enough to be in Super League.”
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