Wakefield Council to fund Featherstone Rovers stadium rescue

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

Wakefield Council is set to approve £500,000 to support the purchase of Featherstone Rovers' stadium after the club went into administration in December.

Wakefield Council is preparing to approve £500,000 in funding to support the purchase of Featherstone Rovers' Post Office Road stadium and its associated assets by the Rugby Football League. The club went into administration in December and was subsequently denied membership of the RFL.

The funding would come from the Rugby League Resilience Fund, established by the council to support professional rugby league clubs across the district. The council said the money would help create a 'sustainable successor club' capable of returning to competition from 2027. The RFL's contribution would match-fund the council's £500,000, with discussions also taking place about potential additional support from national funding bodies.

An RFL spokesperson said the organisation was 'grateful to Wakefield Council for enabling the release of Resilience Funding' and that it had worked closely with the council over the previous nine months. The spokesperson added: 'We remain hopeful we can find a solution to bring Featherstone Rovers RLFC back to the town.' Lukasz Borcz, the council's cabinet member for leisure and sport, said rugby league had 'played an important role in the sporting and community life of the town for generations' and the proposals aimed to protect both the sport's heritage in Featherstone and local facilities.

How it is being reported

• Featherstone Rovers’ future boosted by major stadium rescue plan after club collapseEfforts to bring professional rugby league back to Featherstone could receive a significant boost as council prepares to vote on a £500,000 funding package.Yorkshire Evening Post · 13 Oct, 11:30
• Council set to agree £500k for RL club's rescueThe move by Wakefield Council comes after Featherstone Rovers went into administration in December.BBC Leeds And West Yorkshire · 13 Oct, 11:00

In this story: Featherstone Rovers · Wakefield Council · Rugby Football League · Featherstone

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