KEN DAVY believes a new home for Huddersfield Giants close to their current John Smith’s Stadium base would benefit the whole of the town as well as his club.
The Giants’ owner-chairman wants a ground which is around a third of the size of the existing 24,500-capacity venue, which he says is too big for the Super League side’s needs.
He would like it to be built on the vacant site of an old gasworks off St Andrew’s Road and between the John Smith’s Stadium and the town centre, but must convince Kirklees Council of his plan’s merits.
And until Davy finds a suitable location and planning permission is granted, the Giants’ proposed temporary move to The Shay in Halifax, of which he is trying to take control, and the completion of a deal to hand over the John Smith’s Stadium to existing groundshare partners Huddersfield Town Football Club, are both on hold.
The hoped-for gasworks site forms a key part of the council’s Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor and falls within a health and digital technology investment zone fronted by the University of Huddersfield’s National Health Innovation Campus.
Kirklees have called the location a “significant development opportunity” and “strategically well positioned to support growth in health and wellbeing, and advanced manufacturing businesses”, adding: “The site is ideally suited to a mix of office/research and development/manufacturing uses.”
Davy has reignited his interest in the site after initially switching away from it and looking more closely at Leeds Road Playing Fields, also close to the John Smith’s Stadium.
He says that location is now ruled out, as have been the club’s former Fartown home and their Laund Hill training base.
Talking to Huddersfield Hub, he said: “The gasworks site is only a small part of the investment zone.
“But it could be a vitally important part as we could put a stadium on there with various medical and sports injury research facilities, which has the potential to benefit the whole town.”
While Davy won’t sign over the Giants’ share of the John Smith’s Stadium until he has certainty over a new venue, he sees the value of it being controlled entirely by Huddersfield Town’s American owner Kevin Nagle in the long term.
“Kevin is very keen to develop the site around the stadium – there’s 50 acres – and that will be very beneficial to Kirklees and the people of Huddersfield,” he added.
“I have consistently said The Shay was a temporary solution and I wanted to help Kevin and Huddersfield Town by moving out earlier because it will take a few years to build a new stadium.
“We want it all to happen but we can’t take the risk of leaving and not having an approved site for a new stadium.”
An appearance by rock band Stereophonics at the John Smith’s Stadium means the Giants’ Super League clash with Wigan on Saturday will be played at Dewsbury’s FLAIR Stadium.
A new hybrid pitch is being installed at The Shay.