Its makes perfect sense if you know nothing about the situation.

I like to think that I pay attention to the whole stadium story but at this point with all of the speculation, blogs and nay saying from other fans I have to admit that I have lost track of just what the actual facts are and I and others I know would feel a lot more secure in our future with just a few answers.

1:Where is the main bulk of the funding for the stadium comming from? (I know it isnt the council or just from the land sale)

2:Have we (The club) asked the RFL what would happen to our franchise in the case of a serious delay to the project even if it was ongoing?

3:What is the delay with the architects?

4:Are there any realistic timescales for the begining and completion of the stadium from all parties concerned?

5:Is there a plan B i.e the Keepmoat or sharing with them over there?

My understanding is...



1) I think the official line is "Um, er, um..". Between the lines it seems to be that the club have SOME of the money (maybe even MOST?) already in place, enough to kick of a 'staged' build at least. It's not much of a leap to conclude that the a*se falling out of the property market has put a serious dent in the saleable value of certain assets the club were relying on to sell. The upshot is there's almost certainly some undisclosed shortfall which means a reduced pot. That means staging the Glasshoughton build, such as building something with 2 or maybe 3 sides at first. Of course that would mean a reduced capacity, below the magic 12,000 number required. Whether the RFL would accept such an outcome is the $64M question... but I fear they probably wouldn't.



2) The club claims to be appraising the RFL of the build situation on an ongoing basis. Nothing concrete about what the RFL are feeding back has ever been forthcoming (apart from the 'warning' Cas and four other clubs received about their franchise promises). My feeling? ... it doesn't look good.



3) I don't think there is a particularly huge delay with the architects, though perhaps the changes outlined in '1' had not originally been part of the submission remit given to the 'final four'? If that's the case I'd expect they've been told to review their designs with a view to possibly building what they've come up with in stages. Just a guess on my part, but if I'm right then such a consideration would be vital.



4) Well the only realistic timescale I suppose is the last thing RW said: "It's achievable to play there in 2012 but, if the economy continues as it is, it may take a little longer and we would have to look at contingency plans". He said it [url=http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/10/01/19/RUGBYL_Castleford_Nightlead.htmlHERE[/url, apparently.



5) Apparently Cas DO have a Plan 'B' (in fact the RFL made note of it when the first Franchise app's went in) but nobody's too sure what it is. The assumption seems to be something along the lines of "tart up Wheldon Road".





I'm not sure if that clarifies or muddies the waters, but there you go.

Thanks for that Disco sir.

It really is a long drawn out slog this stadium buissness and I just wish it was done and dusted already!

Hey ho I suppose all this waiting will make it all the sweeter when/if we get in there along with all the benefits and opportunities that it brings although I will be sad to leave the old place and all those memories behind but this too big an opportunity to miss out on with the prime location that could send us to the next level that we all dream of.

We live in hope!

Ive mortgaged my house on your tip

1. Its not in wigan and therefore not like having a joint ground in normanton or somewhere between the two

2. Its no where near big enough, we could only accomodate Season ticket holders

3. Its is more like 7-8 miles from wigan rather than three you suggest

4. both clubs have grounds which are up to SL standard, rather than both chasing pipedreams of grounds that will never happen unless they pool resources

Has all of that REALLY happened or is it just lifted from the BS placed in both clubs SL applications.



Lets be honest, neither club has even released proper architectural drawings of the ground your that far off!!! Cartoon drawings by some student doing a BTEC at Cas college dont count...but the RFL do usually accept this in SL applications so as long as that continues you should be reet!

=#8000FFWell if you're so all knowing

you'd have read the blog a page or 2 back and realised that Cas are finalising details with an architect, and go onto Wakey's forum and see they already have one.

WOW......you should have a stadium for 2040 then eh? FFS is that progress in castleford?



Then again having been there the horse and cart is probably still seen as progress and Wheldon Road State of the Art!!





If wakey have one why dont cas not bother, team up with wakeys plan and actually get a ground, rather than both keep dreaming.



If your honest you know its the only realistic way your going to get a ground.......as if wakey council are really going to stump up the cash for TWO grounds in the same borough!!!

=#8000FFWAKEY COUNCIL AREN'T PAYING ANYTHING FOR EITHER STADIUM!!!! HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT NEED TO BE SAID BY EITHER SET OF FANS?!







Both clubs are going about it in their own ways, both will have them by 2012, in fact Cas should be ready for starting late summer early autumn.

Yeah alright mate....like bradfut were redeveloping odslum in 1994!! Found an old league express the other week having a clean out with little mock up pictures of what it would look like in 2000!!! Had a good old laugh at that.



As much as id like it to be otherwise, yours and wakeys plans are pipedreams and neither will have sufficient funding unless you team up AND get the council involved.



If you take the emotion out of the topic then youd all realise its the only way.



Perhaps this will finally happen given another 16 years like bratfut have had, when come 2026 you and wakey will still be playing at Wheldon Road and Belle View in the National league and will realise its the only chance either of you will ever have of getting back in SL. Either that or merge as Calder

(PS. the last bit is tongue in cheek)

=#8000FFWell considering both teams have funding from various sources Wakey being Sport England/grants/sale of Belle Vue and Cas from sponsors such as Surfworld/sale of the Jungle and both teams getting land from the council to secure loans again, which reading the blog something Cas have already done in preparation ready for the build.

Wakefield will be a tenant at a community owned stadium. The funding for the stadium is in place and provided planning permission for the full development is given, it will happen. As a community owned stadium Cas are welcome to play there as well, although at the moment they are choosing to press ahead with their own stadium plans and good luck to them. As a Wakey fan, I can appreciate your sceptism regarding Wakey and Bradfords proposed developments because we have both had various plans for quite some time which have never come to fruition, but I think in the Cas case, the project has evolved over a shorter period of time and has been set back by the economic crisis and therefore until it is actually confirmed it is not going to happen, I think it is unfair to criticise.



In the case of Wakey, we are in the last chance saloon having sold Belle Vue, but as above, subject to planning permission being granted, the new stadium will be built.

1. Well from what I have read in the latest Richard Wright blog is the majority of the funding in place? Cas have not even released the funds from the land given to them by wakefield council yet and I seem to remeber the company that we had A FIXED PRICE agreement for the sale of the jungle which I presume was in a binding contract. So if they have pulled out or whatever has happened why havent we demanded they honour contract or pay us a sum to be released from contract.



2. Hope they have been telling the RFL more than what we have been getting. All we get is that everyone is working behind the scenes and that there is another meeting next month.



3. A significant delay with the designers. We were supposed to find out December January time and we are now in April. I get that there could be some issues if have to do a staged build but Please.



4. I would be happy if we got a brick in ground before another potential bad winter halts all work. But remember this we still do not have full planning authority to proceed. We were ahead of st' helens wakefield and salford and all theres seem to be gathering pace while ours stands pretty much still.



5. Plan B by the looks of what we have seen so far is give up and play in National League.



Hopefully the fans focus group mentioned in the blog that is supposed to be taking place next week will have the opportunity to put these point to the BOD.

You really are showing yourself up and exposing your lack of RL knowledge.....whatever happens or doesn't re new stadia, Wakey will not be playing at Belle Vue!!

It is often stated that all the money is in place. can you rpovide a link to a reputable source for this assertion? Thanks.

It is often stated (by you) that the venture wont happen. can you rpovide a link to a reputable source for this assertion? Thanks.

To coin one of your well used phrases "why should I do your research for you" the information is out there if you are that interested go and find it yourself

You mean the council that has publicly stated they wont put a penny into either stadia?



The council that lost millions in the iceland bank collapse, the council who is heavily in debt and will soon see a funding cut whoever wins the general election?



Or are you thinking of another council?



If we had a council willing to invest (like widnes, hull etc) we would already have a new ground but we dont we have a council that will not invest, so we have to build up the funding ourselves.



If you keep talking like you know best but then show that you have little idea about the facts of the situation you look like a right t!t.

I think the thing that most people from outside the area don't understand is that - for me at least - the scenario you suggest (two separate teams playing at Wheldon Road and Belle View in the lower leagues) is actually preferable to the prospect of having one merged team in the area which doesn't adequately identify with either Castleford or Wakefield. Certainly not Cas, anyway, seeing as a merged team would almost certainly carry the name 'Wakefield'.



Folks can say that's a short sighted view, but it's easy to tell others what to do while the long term prospects of your own Leeds, Wigan, St Helens, (etc) seem safe and secure thank you very much. Perhaps they don't understand the fact that (from Cas' side of the fence at least) there's not much bar the rugby club that still puts the town on the map. The Tigers are something that people can rally behind and take a civic pride in and that's what folk do. As a proportion of the town's population Cas' crowds are unbelievably high.



Calder or Wakefield Tigers (or whatever) just wouldn't have the same draw, so yes I want Cas to be up there with the best but to be honest, if it came to it, I'd rather watch a team called Castleford being a big fish in a smaller pond. The prospect of doing so isn't the 'threat' that some outsiders seem to think it is.

I know it's very unlikely but just suppose the Premier League decided that they didn't want RL teams playing at football grounds (and I am aware that you have a long-term lease but the Premier League are a much bigger organisation than the RFL) and you were forced to move out.



How would you feel if we told you that you could try and build your own stadium or go and share Saints new ground.



How many Wigan fans would contemplate playing out of a shared stadium with St Helens (do you think I would need more than 1 hand to count them???)





Things are taking longer than either us or Cas would want but we are still not ready to abandon plans and start all over again trying to find somewhere suitable for us both to share. Apart from the fact that not many Cas or Wakey fans would be happy with sharing, starting over would put us significantly behind where either project is at the moment and would pretty much guarantee no licence for either of us next time around.



You get on with supporting your team and leave us to support what ours are doing!!!

Where have I said it wont happen? give me a couple of examples. Or are you making up what I post?



So do you have a link to a reputable source showing the money is all in place?

So do you have a link to a reputable source showing the money is not all in place?

I have done plenty of research. I have yet to find a direct quote from rodney walker / Yorkcourt saying that all the money needed for the stadium is available and assigned to the project.



So far 3 wakey posters have replied to my question and not one is capable of providing a straightforward answer.