HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS owner Ken Davy has revealed the mammoth spend already involved in attempting to find the best location for a new stadium – as well as explaining why his ‘favourite’ site could be opposed by Kirklees Council.
The Giants intend to play at Halifax Panthers’ The Shay from next season until their new stadium is complete, although this is currently on hold as Davy waits to secure a location.
Davy has previously conceded that he wants to ensure a better atmosphere, with the John Smith’s Stadium capacity not allowing that for Super League games.
The Huddersfield mogul revealed just how “incredibly frustrating” the process has been already.
“We can stay here (John Smith’s Stadium) for the next 100 years. We’re not being forced out, but the reality is if we want the atmosphere that I want to get and our fans want to share in, we need a smaller stadium,” Davy told Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
“We need that in Huddersfield. We’ve had four sites that we have tried to get planning permission and approvals for, and we’ve failed on all four occasions.
“We haven’t given up, but it’s been incredibly frustrating, and it’s expensive. We’re into six figure spending on the analysis, the surveys, the applications, and all of that. It’s just been money down the drain.”
Davy’s preferred location for the new venue is a disused gasworks site, close in proximity to the John Smith’s Stadium.
But local council opposition could stop that happening as the 84-year-old conceded: “We’re revisiting our favourite spot at the moment, which is the gasworks site. Kirklees Council is reluctant to allow us to have a stadium there, as they’re looking for an investment zone with higher employment and higher salaries.
“Mind you, you can’t get much higher salaries than rugby players. At the moment, that investment zone is ruling the roost.”
“I believe that we could exist really well within that investment zone. I think we could support it because we would have the sporting facilities, gyms and things like that, that people need.
“We’d also be very close to the University of Huddersfield. I have a very good relationship with them, they’re a very good university.
“There are so many positives to the site, it was turned down over two years ago but we’re having another go.”