'The sky's the limit' for Salford Red Devils after council's stadium deal - but not everyone is happy

The rugby league side have enjoyed a good run on the pitch and now, thanks to the buy-out, can look forward to a more secure future off it. Salford council already owned half of the Salford Community Stadium company CosCos, and has agreed to buy the remaining 50 percent from Peel - the deal including 26 acres of land around the stadium which will be redeveloped.

The Red Devils have been supported by the council financially previously but the deal, which Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said was done “in the interest of the people of the city of Salford” is proving divisive. The full cost of the buyout has not been disclosed but includes an existing debt of around £30 million, as well as £1.7m share equity held by the council in CosCos.

The deal for the stadium, which also hosts Sale Sharks rugby union club, has the backing of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham however who has labelled it “a community asset”.

‘Devil in the Detail’ podcaster Paul Whiteside has barely missed a game in recent years and despite opposition, insists the news is “massive” for the club as it gives it some much-needed financial stability.

“It’s massive news for the club,” he told Manchester World. “There’s been a lot of doubts in recent years over the future of the club, where we’ll be playing our games. There was talk of going to Moor Lane to play at Salford City’s ground. The way the game is going you need to be able to play in a stadium that has excellent facilities in order to play top class rugby.

“Our money situation has been well documented, that we haven’t got a lot, and that the crowds haven’t been brilliant. It’s been a bit difficult wondering if we could get some sort of deal done for the stadium, but this is a godsend. Not only does it secure our future, we’re no longer looking over our shoulders wondering where we’ll be next season or the season after. 

“It will also mean we’ll get a better deal with the matchday income. You’ll be buying something to eat or something to drink, and all of that money will be going back into the club rather than a stadium company now the council have purchased it. It’s secured the future of a club that is over 100 years old. Salford Rugby Club is a beacon for the city, and it’s a lot more than just a rugby club. To secure the future of the club is massive.” 

Paul believes that now the future of the stadium has been secured, it’s time for supporters to back what the club is doing - both on and off the pitch. 

“I think it's going to be a two way thing,” he said. “The supporters need to back the club, it’s well-documented that our crowds aren’t fantastic but now we’ve got the security, we’re playing good rugby, it’s about time the public got behind it. On the other hand, the club does a lot for the public outside of matchday, the foundation does so much work with the local community. Everybody is made to feel welcome at Salford. 

“The club is community run, that’s the model they want to achieve, so with the council helping us out now it feels like everyone is moving in the right direction. It’s looking a lot more positive now. 

“I grew up watching Salford at The Willows and you always felt as though the club was safe, we operated within our means financially. When we moved to the new stadium I think we just thought people were going to turn up, I think the model thought ‘we’ll get 8,000 and that’s what we need to be self-sufficient.’”

The relief for Paul is clear to see, and further development around the stadium could be even more beneficial. 

“The ground and everything like that is out of the remit of the players and coaching staff, that was for other people to sort out,” he said. “Now that it has been sorted, it’s like a big weight has been lifted from our shoulders. Whatever is built around the ground will bring more people in, and these people might see ‘well there’s a stadium there too let's go there’ and make a day of it. 

“If you look at Salford, a lot of rugby league teams are small towns, whereas Salford is a city. The sky's the limit for Salford, the reach is massive. Greater Manchester is a huge area, there are other clubs within it but I feel like Salford is the premier club.”

The announcement of the stadium buy-out has been met with some strong opposition. Paul had a simple response. 

“I get what people are saying, if you are a tax payer in Salford you can get why questions are being asked over why the council is buying the ground for a club that only gets 4,000 crowds,” he said. “My point would be, look at what the club does and what it can do. It’s a beacon for people, it’s something for the community. If you’re a young person in Salford, you’ve got something to aspire to. 

“There’s a lot of negativity in the world at the moment, but if you’ve got a rugby club with something for young people to do then it can’t be a bad thing. Surely its a good thing for the community to get involved in. These days people seem to be negative about everything, my point would be that the club is so much more than just a club that plays on a weekend, the community needs something like this to go to. The club is doing a lot more good to the community than harm.”

Councillors past and present have called out the decision by the council. Joseph O’Neill is a former Liberal Democrat councillor for Swinton South who represented the ward for four years. He branded the buy out “silly” despite some family affiliations to the club and called for some clarity from the local authority on what money had been spent.

He said: “The stadium never seems to get the crowds they expect. A lot of people do like it, and I’m not trying to be totally negative, but the money that is being put into it was ridiculous. I've written to the council in the past to ask how much it costs and I’ve never received a response. It feels shrouded in mystery. 

“I think it was a silly decision. If it was a business, it would be closed. It’s a rugby stadium and I can't see how it offers another purpose. It’s called a community stadium and the community side of things seems very poor. 

“It was a white elephant project when it first went through and I don’t think Labour want to admit they’ve made a mistake. We’ve got people around the area struggling to heat their homes. More money is going to be put into the project, but how far will this go? It’s like a piece of string - never ending. 

“My own son goes to rugby, my grandson goes to rugby and I’ve got two brothers who go to rugby. They want to go and watch it and so they should. I support Salford City FC and it’s run by businessmen and former Man United players. It’s a profitable little business there. What worries me is if a business like this starts to lose money, the council tax payer may feel the burden again.”

Conservative Cllr Robin Garrido, leader of the opposition at Salford council, said building the stadium was supposed to secure the future of Salford Red Devils – but pointed out that the club has had to seek further help from the council in recent years.

He said: “We’re now being told exactly what we were told in 2009 and 2010, and here we are again, it’s the same old story. This is going to be a huge drain on council finances. We’ve seen reports recently about the £6m black hole [forecast in the council’s annual budget], we’ve had black holes in previous years. We’ve had to make savings and where we’ve not made savings we’ve had to increase debt. Yet we’re now taking on something that’s going to be, at best, a considerable drain on finances.”