Wakefield Council has revealed that it is prepared to commit £500,000 of public money to help secure the future of Rugby League in Featherstone, after Featherstone Rovers’ collapse into administration.
The council’s cabinet committee will be asked to approve the funding from its Rugby League Resilience Fund to the Rugby Football League (RFL), which is hoping to purchase Post Office Road and all the land within its curtilage through the RFL Facilities Trust.
The money will be conditional on the RFL providing matching funding and showing that a sustainable operator for the club has been identified who can meet the RFL’s ownership requirements.
The proposals are the best sign yet of a potential route back into the Championship for the club, which was excluded from this year’s competition after it went into administration and a takeover bid failed to satisfy the RFL’s governance criteria.
It meant that the club was absent from the professional game for the first time in more than a century.
Cllr Lukasz Borcz, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for culture and sport, said: “Rugby League has played an important role in the sporting and community life of the town for generations.
“These proposals are about protecting Rugby League heritage in Featherstone and protecting facilities that are valued by local people.
“The use of funding from the Rugby League Resilience Fund will help to establish a sustainable professional future for the game in the town.”
Under the proposed arrangement, the RFL would buy the ground and lease it to a new club operator, with the aim of the club returning to the Championship in 2027.
The RFL has been working closely with the council over the past nine months.
“We are grateful to Wakefield Council for enabling the release of Resilience Funding to support the future of Rugby League in Featherstone,” said a RFL spokesman.
“We have worked closely over the last nine months, and we are mindful that we will be in receipt of public money to support this.
“Therefore, more than ever, we must ensure we ourselves believe there is a viable sustainable future. We remain hopeful we can find a solution to bring Featherstone Rovers RLFC back to the town.”
Discussions are also taking place over potential additional support from national funding bodies.
The council said a grant funding agreement would include safeguards to protect the public investment, with no money released until the RFL had demonstrated that a viable operator was in place.
The Cabinet is also being asked to explore whether council-owned sports pitches adjacent to the stadium could be included in future plans for community use.
The council’s decision is listed for October, although the funding remains subject to approval and the fulfilment of the conditions.
