Whitehaven £6m Stadium Revamp

[Hopping Mad]

League One Whitehaven plan to spend £6m revamping the Recreation Ground.

The online version of the Whitehaven News reports:

Whitehaven RLFC have revealed an ambitious £6m project to revamp their home and put the club at the heart of the community. The redevelopment of the Recreation Ground would involve the creation of a new building – The Hub – at the Railway End of the stadium which would have a range of uses including the capacity to host events for up to 700 people, hydrotherapy pools for rehabilitation and spaces for community groups. The ground itself would also be overhauled, with the installation of a 4G pitch, the creation of new stands and a move to return a roof to the Popular Side.

Director Mark Stamper gave a passionate presentation to a packed room of supporters at the stadium about the club's vision of a team filled with local talent and a modern facility to bring the community together under one roof. Mr Stamper said the new building could also include tournament-class facilities for boxing and martial arts, educational and arts facilities and space for socialising with a bar and cafe. He said: "We've been working on this for four years and this is where we are now. It's not a wild dream; we have a detailed plan. This is a historic home for rugby league in Whitehaven. We don't need a new stadium, just renovation of our existing facilities. We have the capability among us to develop it so why lose it?"

Fans heard that the club have been working on the plans for a number of years while creating a team of mostly local players and strengthening links with amateur sports clubs, and are now at the stage where funding must be found to make the development a reality. Mr Stamper appealed to local people and businesses to help them secure the money needed and added that if some but not all of the £6m could be secured, the project could be scaled down to £3m as long as it did not compromise what they were trying to achieve. "This is a call to arms," he said. "That is what we are here for today; there's no point pretending it's not a lot of money because it is. We need you to come to us with businesses. It's about doing something that would benefit the whole community as well as elevating this rugby club. The timescale is budget. We need to make it happen and whatever avenues we need to go down to secure that, so be it."

 

[paulwalker71]

It looks really good..... until you get to the part where they admit they don't have any money yet.

Still, I wish them well..

[OriginalMrC]

Really hope they manage it but didn't they nearly go out of business last season. How are they going to raise £6m for redevelopment? 

[Mr Plow]

5 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

It looks really good..... until you get to the part where they admit they don't have any money yet.

I’ve got loads of great ideas as well.... I just need a few millions to make them happen

[deluded pom?]

4 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

Really hope they manage it but didn't they nearly go out of business last season. How are they going to raise £6m for redevelopment? 

EU grants.

[DavidM]

Well , might not expect it given the rivalry , but I hope they get it to fruition . The area has two decaying uninviting stadia and lags behind in the facilities you need now to attract events and gain traction for advancement .  Way overdue for better . Brilliant if we can get two modern stadia in West Cumbria . Lots to overcome , lots to pull together to get anything off the ground , but hopefully for both ambitious plans can turn into reality for people here and increase the experience for folk here and the visiting attraction for away fans 

[Damien]

Do they own their ground?

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

Do they own their ground?

No its owned by the Miners Welfare Association, that was one of the stumbling blocks last time there was a proposal to develop the ground

[The 4 of Us]

23 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

EU grants.

They’ll need to make sure they redraw the Scottish border when they break away then. 

Mockups look fine although think someone’s child has spent too much time on Minecraft. 

[doc]

46 minutes ago, The 4 of Us said:

They’ll need to make sure they redraw the Scottish border when they break away then. 

Mockups look fine although think someone’s child has spent too much time on Minecraft. 

So, they're at the same stage as Castleford.

[Davo5]

9 minutes ago, doc said:

So, they're at the same stage as Castleford.

And ahead of Wakefield 

[gazza77]

1 hour ago, deluded pom? said:

EU grants.

Ah... 

[Clogiron]

I might be a outsider but  surely one ground for both clubs, and I suppose the reds football team has to be more achievable? I know we Brits talk about local rivalry but if the can do it in Munich, Rome and Milan where the rival fans have been known to kill each other I'm sure a 1200 Cumbrians could spend alternate weeks in the same stadium, they could even have separate home ends in their respective colours, the same applies to Wakey & Cas or would you all rather wither and die in your own 'traditional' stadium?

[GUBRATS]

6 minutes ago, Clogiron said:

I might be a outsider but  surely one ground for both clubs, and I suppose the reds football team has to be more achievable? I know we Brits talk about local rivalry but if the can do it in Munich, Rome and Milan where the rival fans have been known to kill each other I'm sure a 1200 Cumbrians could spend alternate weeks in the same stadium, they could even have separate home ends in their respective colours, the same applies to Wakey & Cas or would you all rather wither and die in your own 'traditional' stadium?

Given the what you would think was enough open land between the 2 towns it is the most logical solution , but I would never suggest that 2 clubs should be forced to share , quite simply the argument would soon turn to ' merger ' , that's why it's probably a ' no go ' 

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, Clogiron said:

I might be a outsider but  surely one ground for both clubs, and I suppose the reds football team has to be more achievable? I know we Brits talk about local rivalry but if the can do it in Munich, Rome and Milan where the rival fans have been known to kill each other I'm sure a 1200 Cumbrians could spend alternate weeks in the same stadium, they could even have separate home ends in their respective colours, the same applies to Wakey & Cas or would you all rather wither and die in your own 'traditional' stadium?

Munich, Rome and Milan are at least the same cities though. In a country as territorial as the UK, a shared stadium would either be in the wrong town or neither town, if you catch my drift. Even in a city like London where space is at a huge premium, the only thing approaching a ground share was when Fulham played at QPR for two years while Craven Cottage was redeveloped. 

[damp squib]

18 hours ago, paulwalker71 said:

It looks really good..... until you get to the part where they admit they don't have any money yet.

Still, I wish them well..

The same template as nearly every RL "good news" story. You read paragraph after paragraph getting more and more excited and then the last line is "we're just waiting for one or two investors to come on board".

[Quinskolar]

Now where is that chocolate, blue and gold money tree? Maybe kidnap Mrs May and pretend Whitehaven is in Northern Ireland? 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

On 29/04/2019 at 17:42, OriginalMrC said:

Really hope they manage it but didn't they nearly go out of business last season. How are they going to raise £6m for redevelopment? 

I'm speculating here so I could be miles off, but recently there have been some very big contracts signed at Sellafield and there's a fair chance that there will be some sort of community fund - in recent years there has been a bigger push for the wider community to benefit from the nuclear industry, and the elected Mayor seems to be a bit more commercially savvy than past administrations so maybe there is more money available and this is Whitehaven's first play for a slice of it 

[Rob]

Why would you build three small stands down one side?  Why not one big one?

Unless they are some kind of 'kit' stands which come in some standard unit lengths?

 

[dkw]

28 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

I'm speculating here so I could be miles off, but recently there have been some very big contracts signed at Sellafield and there's a fair chance that there will be some sort of community fund - in recent years there has been a bigger push for the wider community to benefit from the nuclear industry, and the elected Mayor seems to be a bit more commercially savvy than past administrations so maybe there is more money available and this is Whitehaven's first play for a slice of it 

Sellafield is now ran by the NDA, they won't and can't hand out millions on a whim. 

[Mr Frisky]

34 minutes ago, Rob said:

Why would you build three small stands down one side?  Why not one big one?

Unless they are some kind of 'kit' stands which come in some standard unit lengths?

 

Probably because the middle stand is already there and compaired to the rest of the ground is new(ish)

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

19 hours ago, dkw said:

Sellafield is now ran by the NDA, they won't and can't hand out millions on a whim. 

Yes I know it is ran by the NDA as is the LLWR, Copeland receive £1.5 M/year from the NDA for the Copeland Community Fund for hosting it, this is invested to provide an income. The contracts I mentioned in my first post Details here have now been signed, as I said earlier I'm speculating but this may result in a boost to that scheme. Additionally, Sellafield as I understand it, is the 2nd largest business rate payer in the country after Heathrow airport, all that money currently goes to the government but last year the local mayor tried to make Copland a part of a pilot scheme where a portion of the business rates from large businesses stay in the area, he didn't manage to pull it off but if he's re-elected tomorrow I wouldn't be surprised to see him try again. 

I have no idea if I am anywhere near accurate but it is the only source of money I can think of and maybe Whitehaven are making an early play for a slice of it