APPARANTLY Hull City football club’s owner Acun Ilıcalı has warned that Hull FC’s future at the MKM Stadium could be in doubt when its current tenancy agreement ends in 2027.
Fans indicated they would prefer the Rugby League club to leave the shared stadium and Ilıcalı made comments that suggested he would be happy if that outcome were to come about.
The stadium is actually owned by Hull City Council and is only run by a company controlled by the football club, so the words of Ilıcalı, although concerning, are not necessarily decisive in determining whether the Rugby League club will continue to play there.
Nonetheless it is concerning to see yet another situation in which football clubs and Rugby League clubs don’t seem to sit happily side by side in a modern stadium.
We have only got to look at Huddersfield Giants to see a Rugby League club apparently being given its marching orders by the local football club.
It makes me wonder whether there is scope for a brand-new Rugby League stadium to be built in Hull to house both the city’s Rugby League clubs – half red and half black.
It’s quite obvious that Hull KR need a larger stadium than the one they currently have, and although they have plans to extend it, it is difficult to find the right financial backing to carry out that work.
It would perhaps be a more economic route for the two clubs to develop a new stadium dedicated to Rugby League, although a big issue would be the question of which side of the River Hull it would be built on.
Perhaps a stadium that straddled both sides of the river would be the solution.
I’m sure Hull owner Andrew Thirkill will try to ensure that the Airlie Birds remain at the MKM Stadium beyond 2027.
But it must be very frustrating to see an overseas owner (Ilıcalı is Turkish) trying to dictate the future relationship between two of the city’s most important sporting clubs.
And I can’t imagine that the mood of Hull FC fans was improved by Sunday’s home defeat by Toulouse Olympique, although it was no doubt a tremendous boost for the French club.