Sheffield Eagles link up with historic football club as plans for new ‘Super League-quality’ stadium are unveiled
The design plans for Sheffield Eagles' proposed new home - Credit: Sheffield Eagles
Championship club Sheffield Eagles have revealed their plans for a new 5,000-seater ‘Super League-quality’ stadium as a joint venture with historic local football club Sheffield FC.
January 2022 saw the Eagles pen a five-season deal to play their home games at the city’s Olympic Legacy Park, with today’s press release confirming that by the time that comes to an end, they hope to be in situ at the opposite end of the city in this new development.
Their new partners, Sheffield FC, are the world’s first football club, formed in 1857. It is they who have already submitted a planning pre-application to Sheffield City Council, with the full joint application to be submitted in the New Year.
Based in the Meadowhead region, pictures and a video have been released this morning of what the new site is intended to look like. There will be ‘professional’ rugby league and football facilities, bolstered by a football museum, a cricket pavilion and an indoor community sports hall.
The Eagles state: “The proposed 5,000-capacity stadium will meet the highest standards for both Football and Rugby League, adhering to both Football League and Super League criteria.
“The comprehensive stadium development scheme will offer access to high-quality sporting events, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, social amenities, business prospects, and an array of community programmes.”
Sheffield Eagles unveil plans for new ‘Super League-quality’ stadium alongside Sheffield FC
Mark Aston – the Eagles’ Director of Rugby – said in today’s release: “Sheffield Eagles are very excited to be part of this joint venture with Sheffield FC and to be at the heart of this world-class development, which at the heart will have a stadium that meets the Super League criteria to assist us in our aim to return to the top flight.
“Sheffield Eagles have grown immensely in the last three years thanks to the work of the Eagles Foundation and the planned facilities will also be a home for our Women’s, Wheelchair, Learning Disability and Physical Disability teams.
“It will also allow us to further develop homegrown talent and provide a base for our already large community programme.
“The development will bring very valuable sporting facilities to the Sheffield sports scene and open up several opportunities for sports outside of football and rugby league to be involved and provide enjoyment as both spectators and participants.
“With Sheffield FC being the world’s first football club and Sheffield Eagles about to celebrate its 40th anniversary, both clubs have an enormous amount of heritage to bring together and I am pleased that the plans will see that history captured under one roof.”
“With league positions making up only 20 per cent of the RFL’s Club Grading Scoring matrix, the development of facilities and the ability to improve our commercial footing and build a solid base for the community aspects of our operation are an absolute priority for us.
“This development gives us an opportunity to drastically improve our grading and we hope that the entire city can get behind and share in the initiative!”