Huddersfield Giants’ move to Dewsbury WILL work as hidden benefits emerge

Huddersfield Giants are heading to Dewsbury.

Your initial reaction is probably something like the majority of the 10,000 inside the Accu Stadium for the grand reveal on Saturday – muted.

But delve deeper, and this IS a good move for Huddersfield Giants, for now and their future.

Here’s why.

Let’s address the elephant in the room

Yes, Huddersfield will no longer play in Huddersfield. There’s no getting away from it, that is a negative, and a sizable one at that.

The Giants never wanted to leave the town. They’ve pursued sites to no avail and pushed hard for a solution but ultimately received little support.

They were left with two options; stay at the Accu or go to Dewsbury.

Most would agree the former isn’t possible. Let’s face it, the atmosphere at Huddersfield is the worst in Super League. It is too big. It has been the symbol of the criticism and goading aimed at the club for many years and it’s not an attractive place to play and in turn, Huddersfield has proven to be a club not attractive to play for. Their recent history reinforces all of those points.

Change is needed and it has come in the shape of Dewsbury, nine miles from their current home. Importantly, it does sit in the Kirklees borough, though.

Is it ideal? No. Does it secure their future? Yes. And here’s why.

The benefits

You need only take one look at recent accounts posted by St Helens and Leeds Rhinos to see the eye-watering amount of money Super League clubs are losing. Powerhouse clubs at that.

Huddersfield are no different. Their owner, Ken Davy, has invested an enormous sum of money over decades. Without that, who knows what the Giants would look like, or if they would exist at all.

The purchase of the Dewsbury site will hit him in the wallet too, with the club suggesting they will invest £10 million.

The key word in that sentence is invest, more on that shortly.

Revamping the stadium

Dewsbury’s stadium does require plenty of work, which the Giants are ready to commence once they receive approval. They will rip out all seats in the main stand and replace them with new ones, the interior will be completely renovated for hospitality and corporate purposes too. Behind both sets of posts, there are plans in place to build tiered stands with both standing terracing and seats. The pitch dimensions will be extended too.

Essentially, they will invest, significantly, to modernise FLAIR Stadium and make it Super League standard.

That will eventually give the Giants a stadium with a capacity of around 8,000 that is fully branded with their own identity, in contrast to their present home that has Huddersfield Town’s branding everywhere. Once completed, it will be a stadium better suited to their needs and beyond that, a good venue to watch rugby league. They’ll have to take on the operational costs but in return, will take all profits they generate too.

It provides them with more opportunity than they’ve ever head.

Back to the finances

Huddersfield aren’t just purchasing a stadium, they are purchasing a site with a significant amount of land around it. The stadium plays a prominent part in that and a lot of money will be invested in it.

But the possibilities for the Giants extend way beyond the stadium. The surrounding land provides them the opportunity to oversee a huge regeneration plan should they wish to do so, and if they do that, they have an asset that can make them much more financially viable than they have ever been in the modern era.

It’s something Hull KR are actively pursuing now with the land surrounding Craven Park, and if Huddersfield do eventually go down that route, they will have a major asset, whether they are playing there or not.

Of course, it requires fans to fill out the stadium, and that is ultimately the risk factor of relocating. But then, given the costs of playing at the Accu, and the undoubted financial benefits they’ll have received from agreeing to leave the stadium, the financial risks are not that high at all.

What for Dewsbury Rams?

This deal secures their future.

The financial realities of rugby league are no secret and that’s been all too obvious in the Championship this year.

Dewsbury will play in a modernised stadium with next to no costs involved their side. They will also partner with the Giants on a rugby perspective. Love Rugby League understands Huddersfield won’t run a reserve grade team next year and instead will partner with the Rams and send players there to play in the Championship.

That ensures the Rams don’t have to spend as much on players too.

There’s also been an emphasis stressed that the stadium will be dual-branded, ensuring when Dewsbury are at home, their branding will populate the stadium.

As part of the redevelopment of the ground, their wrestle room will be repurposed, but they will be able to use Huddersfield’s new training facility at Laund Hill whenever they wish.

There’s also the ability to collaborate with the Giants on ticketing and other events too. Could they do doubleheaders with the Giants? Quite possibly.

For Dewsbury, it is literally a no-lose situation.

Will it work?

Why not? The reality is that Huddersfield couldn’t carry on as they were. The reality is that if this site was in a HD postcode, it would be perfect.

Ultimately, they will need the buy-in from their supporters. That is key. But if they get that, the Giants will be in their best position for a very long time.