MARTYN SADLER struggles to understand why Huddersfield Giants Chairman Ken Davy wants to buy The Shay and build a new stadium in Huddersfield.
HUDDERSFIELD Giants Chairman Ken Davy has sunk millions of pounds into his club over many years.
And I have nothing but admiration for his love of the club and Rugby League itself.
Huddersfield had once been playing at the decaying Fartown ground in front of hundreds rather than thousands of spectators.
After a spell at the Leeds Road football ground, the club moved into what was then the McAlpine Stadium in 1994 and crowds jumped dramatically at that time.
The future looked rosy.
But, having said that, I do believe that he’s barking up the wrong tree when it comes to his apparent desire to make a temporary move to Halifax before coming back to Huddersfield in a new, smaller ground that would replace the John Smith’s Stadium as the Giants’ home base.
Ken is frustrated by the Giants’ inability to draw a decent crowd at their current home, with the vast majority of the seats in the stadium remaining empty.
Speaking as an interested observer, I completely understand how he feels and I share the feeling.
Huddersfield’s home ground is the nearest one to the League Express office and I often find myself going to a game there when they play at home on any day other than Sunday, our production day.
I would obviously like to see far more people doing the same as me, but instead the Giants’ support seems to be declining, in sharp contrast to some other clubs.
Is the solution to move out of the town, however temporarily?
I don’t think so.
Is the solution to move to a smaller stadium?
Again, I don’t think so, especially given the cost, the planning difficulties and the timescale of building a new home in or near to the centre of Huddersfield.
It seems fashionable among some Rugby League supporters to criticise the John Smith’s Stadium, or more particularly the atmosphere at the Giants’ home games.
And I can understand why many people would do that.
But the solution is surely not to throw in the towel.
There are times when the Giants have drawn much bigger attendances than they have done recently.
And instead of their Chairman spending a fortune on buying The Shay from Calderdale Council and then financing a new stadium in Huddersfield, surely it would be far wiser (and more economical) to do some market research into the failure of the club to draw bigger attendances and then to initiate a strategic marketing response to boost the numbers.
I refuse to believe that the Giants are a lost cause at the John Smith’s Stadium, while accepting that they could do better.
In the days prior to Ken Davy taking over the Giants it was widely said that the club had lost its connection to a generation of supporters.
Unfortunately the same seems to be happening again.
It needs imagination and commitment on behalf of the club to win those lost supporters back again.
Otherwise, if Ken gets his wish, we might then see even fewer spectators rattling around a smaller stadium.
This article is taken from Martyn Sadler’s ‘Talking Rugby League’ column in this week’s League Express
