Details have been revealed for public consultations on renovation plans for Castleford Tigers’ Wheldon Road stadium, while fellow Super League club Wakefield Trinity has submitted plans to redevelop Belle Vue.
Plans for a new Axiom employment development are set to be submitted in the coming weeks, and alongside this a planning application for a major upgrade of Wheldon Road will also be sent.
If both planning applications are successful, Castleford said that the funds raised by the proposed new employment development would supplement Wakefield Council’s £2m (€2.4m/$2.5m) grant to the club via its Rugby League Resilience Fund.
In April, Castleford confirmed infrastructure and financial details for a major redevelopment of Wheldon Road, which is also known as the Jungle, after shelving proposals for a new stadium near the M62 motorway.
Castleford’s plans include a new main stand alongside major upgrades to the existing Princess Street Stand, Railway End and Wheldon Road End. The main stand would be all-seater and provide new facilities such as pitchside viewing areas for fans with disabilities.
The Railway End will benefit from a roof and new terracing, while further new hospitality suites will be offered to replace the existing facilities in this stand and in addition to those in the new main stand.
Castleford will hold two consultation events on June 13 at Xscape and June 15 at Wheldon Road, while a consultation website will also be launched shortly.
Mark Grattan, Castleford managing director, said: “These proposals for Wheldon Road will be transformational, not just for the stadium but also for the club and our local community.
“To finally have state-of-the-art facilities for fans, players and officials alike would secure the future of our club. A significantly enhanced and enlarged matchday hospitality offer makes sound commercial sense, while a new banqueting area makes the stadium much more attractive for non-matchday uses.
“We are really excited to finally be able to engage with the community on these proposals, and I would encourage people to come along to the events and participate in the consultation.”
Meanwhile, Wakefield has submitted the delivery plan for the redevelopment of Be Well Support Stadium at Belle Vue.
In March, Wakefield signed the agreement that will allow the redevelopment of the stadium to commence in earnest, and the plan was officially submitted last week.
The S106 Agreement, signed between the club, Newmarket Lane Limited and Wakefield Council, covers both the redevelopment of the stadium as well as Plot 8 at Newmarket Lane, Wakefield. The latter parcel of land was originally intended to be the site of a new stadium, but will instead be developed commercially under the new venture.
Since the agreement was signed, the club has been working with advisors on a detailed delivery plan covering design, costs, funding and a build timetable.
Morgan Sindall Construction will serve as the main contractor for the work and Wakefield hopes approval will be granted by the council in time for the demolition and construction to start after the home game against Wigan Warriors on July 3.
Wakefield chairman John Minards said: “I am personally thrilled that we have reached this important stage in our plans. Michael (Carter, chief executive) and I would like to thank all those who have worked so hard to help us reach this point.
“These include director Rodger Lambert as well as advisors; Turner and Townsend, Addleshaw Goddard, AFL Architects, Nolans, CPH, Pegasus Group and the club’s legal advisors Williams & Co.”
Image: Castleford Tigers/WMA
