Three groups in the running to take over Halifax's Shay stadium with more sought
It's after a deal to sell the football and rugby ground to Huddersfield Giants' owner Ken Davey fell through.
There are three potential suitors who might take over running of the troubled Shay Sports Stadium from the council – and more expressions of interest are being sought.
All three of the expressions of interest so far received would involve a community aspect, senior Calderdale councillors heard when the authority’s new Cabinet met for the first time.
The new administration hopes the future of The Shay might be settled possibly by early October.
There has been a question mark over the future of the Halifax stadium, which is home to professional sports clubs football’s FC Halifax Town and rugby league’s Halifax Panthers and is owned by the council.
Controversy shrouded a decision taken by the former Labour administration to divest the council of the stadium due to running costs to help balance the budget when finances are tight.
This culminated in an offer to buy The Shay from Huddersfield Giants rugby league club owner Ken Davy, but at the start of June Mr Davy pulled out of the deal citing his involvement had been “unwelcome” to some.
Reform UK, which won control of the council in May’s local elections had been critical of the proposal and had pledged to review the situation.
Cabinet member for Corporate Services, Assets and Resources, Coun Mike Payne, told colleagues they had been working hard since coming to power to establish the best way forward “to support our local professional football and rugby clubs.”
This had resulted three offers from interested parties.
“We want to reassure supporters that there are no plans for the council to withdraw from its operation of the stadium – however, it clearly isn’t viable for the current level of expenditure to continue,” he said.
Coun Payne (Reform UK, Sowerby Bridge) said the situation would also mean a full review of operations considering all options to bring about a more sustainable financial solution to the Shay’s problems – a gap of around £500,000 between revenue and expenditure each year.
“This is likely to involve some form of external investment to make The Shay a more commercial operation,” he said.
Talks had brought about three offers, said Coun Payne, outlining who they were from and what form they might take.
The first is from Halifax property consultants Stewart and Beverly Charnock Bates who propose a community asset transfer to a non-profit making community-led organisation, with professional direction to protect the future, he said.
“They have successfully gained grant funding for community sports initiatives in the past through, for example, the National Lottery,” said Coun Payne.
He said the second interested party is Tony Wood, who is the owner of Halifax-based Roxor Group, whose intention is to establish a community trust to operate The Shay.
“Roxor Group’s Nuie bathrooms brand is a major bathroom manufacturer and is a principal kit sponsor of FC Halifax Town home and away shirts, and Mr Wood has been active in the construction industry with ownership interests in a number of development companies,” said Coun Payne.
The third interest comes from a consortium of Halifax Panthers Directors – Jas Chatter-Singh, John Coulter and Ben Walker – wanting to operate as the Calderdale Community Stadium Trust, said Coun Payne.
“They remain fully committed to protecting the long-term future of The Shay Stadium as the home of professional rugby league and football in Halifax.
“Their vision is to see the stadium evolve into a vibrant Calderdale community hub – they believe the complex holds immense potential to serve as a cornerstone for local sports, health initiatives and community-led activities,” he said.
Coun Payne said the expressions of interest have been discussed only in principle with all three asked to submit their business cases.
The council was also asking for any further expressions of interest to be returned to it on a specific template it was making available, which would need to be returned by Sunday, August 2.
This would allow for four clear weeks for these to be considered and any follow-up questions asked while drafting a report by September 3, in readiness for a decision to be submitted to the Cabinet meeting scheduled for October 5, said Coun Payne.
Leader of the Council, Coun Dan Sutherland (Reform UK, Illingworth and Mixenden) said: “The new era of transparency within the council is being fully lived up to from the start, being fully open with all the details of our plans, who we are speaking to and what the timeline is.”
He said he had heard from many supporters who had concerns about the previous plan, “which was to sell The Shay and all the risks that came with that.”
“The offers you are considering are ones that would provide long-term security and keep it within public ownership, which is a massive step-change from the rather risky situation we faced before,” said Coun Sutherland.