Wakefield pitch sale could net £44k

Wakefield could raise £44,000 by selling the pitch at Belle Vue as part of their stadium works, according to CEO Michael Carter.

With plans set to progress at the ground, a replacement pitch will be put in place.

As part of a Q&A session with fans, Carter was asked if the Belle Vue turf could be purchased to own a part of history.

Carter said: “Absolutely we plan to do this. The pitch is 118m by 74m, which at £5 per square meter, could raise nearly £44000.”

The question was one of several addressed on the club’s website.

Others covered topics including ticketing, beer and food prices and marketing ideas.

He was responding to a question from a fan discussing about increasing revenue for the club.

He said at £5 per square meter, the eye-watering figure could be reached. Carter also responded to a range of other ideas, including tickets, offers and food.

Stadium re-development

Stadium re-development has been a talking point surrounding Wakefield for decades.

A planned new community stadium development at Newmarket has long since been abandoned.

The 10,000 all-seater ground was initially given approval back in 2012 but was plagued by a number of delays.

They are now instead hoping to re-develop Belle Vue at a cost of around £10m, having previously bought the freehold on the stadium and surrounding land in 2019.

The work will start with the construction of a new 2,500-capacity main stand, improved east stand terracing and include a 4G pitch and new floodlights.

A planning committee meeting will consider the application on December 16.

If approved, work could start early in 2022 with completion of the new stands by the club’s 150th anniversary in 2023.

It received a further boost recently when the local council proposed a £6m development fund for Castleford, Featherstone and Wakefield.

The money would go towards ensuring the three grounds meet RFL’s stadium standards and improve community usage.

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