Sheffield Eagles have said there is still time to get the Olympic Legacy Park ready for the 2018 season as they await the council’s decision on who will win the contract to develop the site.
The Eagles say they have been assured that if they don’t win the bid, they will still be able to play at the lower Don Valley site: but the Championship club have revealed they will be unable to play at Wakefield’s Beaumont Legal Stadium in 2018.
Sheffield chief executive Mark Aston says that if the Eagles get approved, they will have sufficient time to get the facility ready for next season – but if not, they will be “in limbo” once again.
“What we know is that long-term we will now have a home, and it will be at the OLP,” Aston said.
“If we are granted permission to build the stadium through our man, could we get three sides done by the beginning of next season? There is a possibility.
“If it went elsewhere it’ll take longer which means we’ve an issue of how we get back to the city in the short-term.
“We’ve had a good conversion with the OLP, now the council need to understand where we are at, and help us to get to where we want to be.”
“What we do know is that we need to be back in Sheffield. We need to have something ready, but if we can work quickly over the next month or so, we can make the OLP happen.
“If it’s us and our backer that gets the nod then there’s a good chance we’ll be there next year, if not then that worries me.
“We need to return to Sheffield in 2018, it’s that simple. We can’t play at Wakefield after this season and we wouldn’t survive another year out of the city. Our preferred bidder, gives us the opportunity to come back to the Steel City in 2018.”
