HULL FC have begun talks over extending their stay at the MKM Stadium.
The 25,500-capacity venue is Super League’s largest but the club’s tenancy agreement has only two years remaining.
Hull City Council own the stadium, while it is run by SuperStadium Management Company (SMC), which is owned by football co-tenants Hull City.
The strength of relations between the round- and oval-ball clubs has fluctuated over the time they have shared the MKM Stadium, but are currently considered to be positive by both.
And discussions have now begun with the council over a new agreement to replace the 25-year deal signed before it opened in 2002, with long-term security the aim.
Tony Sutton, who returned to Hull as chief operating officer late last year after almost a decade with the RFL and was involved in the transition from the Boulevard, said: “The council invested £50m in a stadium 25 years ago for the benefit of the city and the community.
“Working on that first agreement, 25 years felt like a long time. It was written as the first agreement, (talking about) if this happens, if that happens, if income is this and revenue is that. We know all of that now, so the point is simplicity.
“Of course we’ll be looking to optimise the terms to make sure the club is sustainable on a long-term basis on its own terms, because part of our aim – notwithstanding shareholder investment – is to be financially sustainable. Playing in a really good, well-maintained and invested stadium is part of that.
“I think the agreement will be simpler, and it will be a long-term tenure.”
Hull consider remaining at the MKM Stadium to be the only viable option, but are keen to improve their fan experience and to be more visible there.
The east stand, which three years ago was renamed as the Chris Chilton Stand in honour of Hull City’s record goalscorer, will from now on be named after legendary player and coach Johnny Whiteley on FC matchdays.
Chairman Andrew Thirkill admitted he has been “really unhappy” with his club’s status at the stadium in the year since taking ownership alongside David Hood.
“We are equal with Hull City in mind,” said Thirkill.
”We have tried to build a relationship with Hull City and the SMC. You’ll see new livery around the stadium, and there will be the Johnny Whiteley Stand.
”We are not second-class citizens at all. It feels like it, with some of the decisions that have been made. But without Hull FC, the stadium would not exist today.
“Our agreement runs out in two years, so those talks are starting now and there’s a meeting with the council in a week’s time about where we go.”