Jump to content

Statement - Board of Directors of Sheffield Eagles RLFC (Merged threads)


Recommended Posts

Following recent unexpected events the board of directors of Sheffield Eagles held an emergency board meeting last night to discuss the options for a playing venue in the city of Sheffield for 2014.

For several months since the announcement of the closure of Don Valley Stadium the club has been in detailed discussions regarding the newly developed Sheffield Hallam University sports complex on Bawtry Road.

Following a meeting last Wednesday it now appears that option is no longer available for first team fixtures. This has led to an emergency situation where the very future of the Eagles has been thrown into doubt.

Click here to view the article

League Express is on sale every Monday, in shops (UK only), on print subscription (worldwide) and online for desktop, tablet and smartphone
Follow us on Twitter/X @leagueexpress and TikTok @leagueexpress
Like us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/rugbyleagueexpress
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 89
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Every football club locally has been approached and given a negative response. There is nowhere else suitable in the city, or in Rotherham etc.

 

Owlerton is a run down (aside from the great corporate facilities designed for the dogs) stadium that even provides a pretty poor viewing platform for it's other uses, Stock Cars and Speedway. The back straight terrace was condemned several years ago. The only seating is in the restaurant or bars that are on the bends. There is good terracing, undercover at either end, but the view is obscured by the greyhound track/speedway track lighting and in that it's shallow and low down. On the home straight, where the restaurant is, there is no terracing and you're virtually on ground level with the pitch and looking through the barriers across both tracks.

 

It would also need, I reckon, a complete new playing surface as it's been cut up by cars running off.

Other opinions found on Twitter @stixrooster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like Owlerton and a drop into Championship 1 is the only viable option unless the millionaire sheikh at Sheffield United will take them in for free.

The uncertainty for the players has been apparent in the recent poor form theyve had, so at least now we know why.

Might have a few quid on Dewsbury on Sunday depending on what start they have.

What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like Owlerton and a drop into Championship 1 is the only viable option unless the millionaire sheikh at Sheffield United will take them in for free.

The uncertainty for the players has been apparent in the recent poor form theyve had, so at least now we know why.

Might have a few quid on Dewsbury on Sunday depending on what start they have.

Why would they have to drop into Championship 1? The capacity at Owlerton is around 4,000. The Eagles already own a temporary stand (was secured for use with the proposed move to Bawtry Road), which would be put under the "Panorama Room" to make a main stand.

Owlerton has some issues - as STix Rooster says, the terracing on the far side needs sorting, the pitch, changing rooms etc - but these are things that could be sorted without hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment.

The players form has nothing to do with uncertainty over the ground - they're just knackered. They've played a lot of games and the Eagles squad is quite small. It was always going to be a big ask to expect them to maintain the level we saw earlier in the season.

This statement from the Eagles is obviously designed to put pressure on the council to help out by finding a small amount of money to help with renovations to Owlerton. The council have already stated that they will "do all they can to keep the Eagles in Sheffield". Now they've been given a chance to follow through on their promise.

Bristol Sonics Rugby League

2007 & 2008 West Midlands RLC Champions

2008 RLC Regional Grand Finalists

2008 RLC Team Of The Year

2011 RLC Midlands Premier Champions

www.bristolsonics.com

� Stupid Questions League Winner 2004 �

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a kick in the nuts for the club.

 

There must be somewhere they can play, what happened to Bramall Lane?  Did United kick them out or was it too expensive?

The original plan for next year was to play some games (I.E the matches against Fev, Fax, Leigh etc) at Brammall Lane, and the rest at Bawtry Road (new Sheffield Hallam sports facility). For some reason the University changed their mind and that's what's caused the current situation.

It's not great, to be honest, but the club needs to make the best out of a bad situation. Knowing Mark Aston, Ian Swire and the rest of the directors, they'll be working 24/7 on this to sort out a solution that helps them stay in Sheffield.

Bristol Sonics Rugby League

2007 & 2008 West Midlands RLC Champions

2008 RLC Regional Grand Finalists

2008 RLC Team Of The Year

2011 RLC Midlands Premier Champions

www.bristolsonics.com

� Stupid Questions League Winner 2004 �

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would they have to drop into Championship 1? The capacity at Owlerton is around 4,000. The Eagles already own a temporary stand (was secured for use with the proposed move to Bawtry Road), which would be put under the "Panorama Room" to make a main stand.

Owlerton has some issues - as STix Rooster says, the terracing on the far side needs sorting, the pitch, changing rooms etc - but these are things that could be sorted without hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment.

The players form has nothing to do with uncertainty over the ground - they're just knackered. They've played a lot of games and the Eagles squad is quite small. It was always going to be a big ask to expect them to maintain the level we saw earlier in the season.

This statement from the Eagles is obviously designed to put pressure on the council to help out by finding a small amount of money to help with renovations to Owlerton. The council have already stated that they will "do all they can to keep the Eagles in Sheffield". Now they've been given a chance to follow through on their promise.

Alls rosey in the garden then, makes you wonder why the BOD bothered putting out a statement, they should have just asked you.

What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A bit of posturing to get some help out of the council probably.

That's pretty much it as far as I can see. Many in the council are supportive as far as I can tell, it's just that the Eagles need them to actually do something rather than just say they will "try".

Full page in the Sheffield Star today. Local papers love a good campaign and this one ticks all the boxes (opportunity for them to get comments in from readers, doesn't cost the paper anything, a convenient stick to beat the local council with).

They'll stay in Sheffield. One way or another they'll sort something out, probably at Owlerton. Not ideal but it's a start.

Bristol Sonics Rugby League

2007 & 2008 West Midlands RLC Champions

2008 RLC Regional Grand Finalists

2008 RLC Team Of The Year

2011 RLC Midlands Premier Champions

www.bristolsonics.com

� Stupid Questions League Winner 2004 �

Link to comment
Share on other sites

given that oldham are talking about playing at Leigh Sporting Village, maybe they could move there and we could have 4 sides playing there.

 

Jeez - why don't we all move to the LSV - seven games a week - that's one every day.

 

Simpuls !! :(

"We'll sell you a seat .... but you'll only need the edge of it!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lets be honest here, they could surely see it coming. For many years there has been problems with playing at Don Valley for them. Whether this be because of athletic meets or other events. The ball should have been set into motion many years before the announcement of the closure of Don Valley. It was never a good option for a ground in terms of it feeling like a 'home' and also for spectators and fans.

James

Rams Scoreboard/Facebook/Twitter/Occasional announcer/Teamsheets and much more!

Also, play in a classic rock and metal covers band www.justicerising.co.uk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Play the big games at Bramall Lane, and play out of town for the smaller games. If, for example, they played the smaller games at Fev, and let their season ticket holders in for half price, the money they got off Fev fans would pay for free busses for Eagles fans to travel from Sheffield. Might even get more away fans, cos Fev is nearer to most. Wakefield is also another option if you want to slum it.At least it would give the Eagles time to get another stadium ready!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.