Salford say they are being put at risk because of delays to stadium buyout
SALFORD say their existence is being put at risk by dithering over the buyout of their stadium.
The Red Devils say they have been waiting almost three years for the city council’s deal to take on partner Peel’s stake to go through.
But as they stand by to start deals that would bring in vital revenue, they are hamstrung by delays.
Now they have had enough – they have called for action, now.
Come December 1, they may be in danger of not getting the IMG grading points needed to stay up and the financial implications would be disastrous.
Salford said: “It is clear our co-operation has been misinterpreted as our consent for inaction by some officers in the council.
“We urgently need them to act and to see a conclusion from the council in their negotiations over the lease before it is too late.
“After endless pontification and procrastination by council officers, we are less than a month away from having no such agreement, and the stark reality now is that without their action in the coming days and weeks, the future of the club is at risk.
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“Our current tenancy arrangement expires on December 1.
“A failure to resolve places the club at risk of a compliance issue with the RFL in respect of minimum standards due to not having a minimum five-year tenancy agreement in place.
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“As a result, this would severely impact our IMG grading and potentially put our Super League status at risk, reducing our central distributions from £1.31 million to circa £50,000 per annum and effectively liquidating the club.”
Salford claim a community ownership scheme, which saw more than £367,000 brought in, was done under the belief the stadium deal was months away.
But delays have prevented them from accessing up to £2 million of Government money, while they get nothing from food and drink sale and parking charges rose a week before the start of last season.
Those, along with the Rugby Football League cutting their distribution by up to £100,000, forced them to sell players including stars Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers.
And the hold-up means the club cannot progress talks into agreements – and money.
Salford added: “The dithering has also restricted our ability to access the matched funding opportunities that are dependent on having heads of terms of the stadium deal.
“Discussions around access to state aid are still ongoing after 12 months, throughout which the club were asked to produce a business plan without knowing details relating to incomes or costs associated with the stadium deal.
“The failure to progress the stadium deal has resulted in a significant loss to budget. There has been a developing narrative that the club is not paying its way, when in reality the unfavourable terms of the current tenancy agreement is extracting from its key income sources, on top of rent.
“The club is personally loaned and guaranteed to its limits, having made incredible sacrifices to survive – including the subsequent sales of star players that were only necessary due to a lack of resolution over the stadium deal.
“Had this been in place when expected – prior to February – access to income streams would have made unforeseen reductions to central distributions less significant a blow and our position now be much stronger.
“In the last few months alone, we have generated more commercial interest in the stadium than any other party in the previous three years.
“We have brought forward discussions and agreed in principle a commercial opportunity generating considerable income streams, which can only proceed once we have received heads of terms.
“We have introduced an educational partner and sub-tenant of Salford Red Devils. This now appears to have been taken away from us, with the club now apparently unable to gain income from any potential agreement.
“The endless negotiations are unravelling an incredible amount of hard work and opportunities generated by Salford Red Devils.
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“We are routinely reaching for the stars, whilst simultaneously having our arms tied behind our backs.
“We urge those involved to deliver on their word of recent years with urgency and in doing so ensure that the future of Salford’s club is safeguarded.”