Very strange things related to the AJ Bell Stadium, or the City of Salford Community Stadium Ltd (CosCos), have been going on over the past week, with rumours that Sale Sharks and Salford City FC have put in a joint bid to buy the loss making venue owned jointly by the Council and Peel Holdings.
Neither Sale Sharks nor Salford City FC when approached by the Salford Star would comment, but today Salford City Council and Salford Red Devils have issued a joint statement...
"We are aware of rumours, but no decision has been taken on whether to sell the AJ Bell stadium or on any terms of sale" says Peter Openshaw, Interim Strategic Director of the Place Directorate at Salford City Council "We can confirm that CosCos has been approached in respect of the potential sale of the stadium.
"In addition, there are ongoing proactive conversations between the council and the management of Salford Red Devils on the stadium and safeguarding the future of the club" he adds "...Recognising the approach that has been made to CosCos on the sale of the stadium, the Red Devils are also preparing a proposal for the purchase of the stadium for consideration.
"There are no timescales on any of these discussions and all offers will be discussed on their own merits – with no guarantee that the stadium company CosCos will agree a sale at the end of them" he explains "The stadium is owned via a 50-50 management partnership through the stadium company CosCos so the council is not the sole party in any decision. Should a future decision be taken on the sale of the stadium, the council will be seeking reassurance for commitments for Salford Red Devils."
While it looks like no decisions will be taken before the May election, the writing has been on the wall for the stadium really ever since it was built, with Salford Council and Peel Holdings constantly providing loans to keep it from going under.
Despite Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, declaring to a full meeting of Salford Council in January last year that the Stadium was "actually a great success" and "a great news story", the forecast debt on it for March 2020 was £24.606million, plus £7.23million owed to Peel, making a grand total of £31.84million outstanding debt (see here and see here and see here)
Normally the Stadium company, CosCos, submits its annual accounts in January and gets loans to keep it afloat around the same time. This year, this didn't happen, and the accounts for the company, due by 31st March, are now officially overdue.
Meanwhile social media rumours have intensified over the involvement of Salford City FC, with posts that the club had taken over Irlam Steel training facilities nearby the AJ Bell Stadium.
This has been denied by John Bird, Treasurer at Irlam Steel, who told the Salford Star... "A junior team with some connection to Salford City FC have met up with the club to discuss use of our football pitch for their juniors. They have not 'taken over' but are keen to use the facilities."
Salford City, with ambitions to get to the Championship, will have to move stadiums from Moor Lane to play at that standard. Rumours are also flying around of a possible ground swap that would see Salford Red Devils play at Moor Lane, with Salford City moving to the AJ Bell. Salford Council owns the land that the Moor Lane stadium is built on, and rents it to the club.
Salford City Council is currently lining up a bid to the Government as part of its Levelling Up Fund for "an infrastructure project supporting COSCOS delivery and the Salford element of the next phases of Port Salford infrastructure (WGIS)" which will also push up the value of the Stadium.
While the Council has published its application plans for Levelling Up funds for the Salford and Eccles constituency, details of this second application for the Worsley and Eccles South constituency, and for CosCos, have not been published, with the Council stating that it will do "in due course".
The impasse has led to Salford Red Devils fans worrying about where their club might end up playing. Paul King, Salford Red Devils Executive Chairman, added to today's statement on the future of the Stadium...
"We appreciate the historic and ongoing support provided by Salford City Council in what we and our fantastic fans will clearly identify as a challenging period for the club off the pitch in the last few years" he says "The club has recently been made aware of a proposal for the acquisition of the stadium. Although late in the day, and as a club without a benefactor, we are looking at making a bid ourselves to protect our Salford base.
"However, we must also look at extending our tenancy at the AJ Bell stadium, safeguarding our future at our ground in the City of Salford, regardless of ownership" he adds "We appreciate the council stating their 'reassurance for commitments for Salford Red Devils' upon any sale. Our current tenancy agreement is simply unsustainable for the club and we have been seeking a new deal on terms that we can afford. CosCos have supported the club with rental payment arrangements in recent seasons, we hope that we can strike a new agreement that allows both parties a mutually sustainable level.
"Any ownership changes to the stadium that increases our rent above what is financially viable for the club would be devastating" he explains "We and the council must work together now to keep Salford Red Devils in Salford. These sentiments have been strongly shared by the Mayor and members of Salford City Council and we are hopeful that this joint resolve will conclude with a positive outcome for Salford Red Devils remaining at the AJ Bell Stadium.
"The club will provide a further statement should any significant developments arise" he concludes "As always, I am personally grateful, as is everyone at the club, for the fantastic support of our fans and fellow Salfordians."
For more background also see previous Salford Star article - Salford Council Stadium Retail Dream Over - click here
Update: 9th April...
Sale Sharks has now commented stating that no formal bid has been put in for the stadium...
"It is an incredibly exciting time for the club and our fans at the moment with a talented group of players and staff taking us to a Champions Cup quarter final and a strong position in the Premiership" says CEO Sid Sutton.
"Our club is going from strength to strength and in order to continue this growth it has always been our ambition to own our own stadium" ha adds "It's no secret that in recent years we have been exploring options and carrying out due diligence on a number of ways to achieve this. However, at this stage no formal offer has been tendered in relation to the purchase of the AJ Bell Stadium by Sale Sharks.
"I would encourage the facilitation of a public meeting, including Salford City Council, Peel Holdings, Salford Red Devils, Sale Sharks and Salford City FC, to discuss the options for creating a viable home for all local clubs" he urges "It is imperative this meeting is based on honesty and openness surrounding the situation, with the aim of providing clarity on the future homing of all concerned clubs."
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