Castleford Tigers have a new shareholder and major investor in the shape of Martin Jepson.
The Real Estate giant now owns a 32% share of the club as we head towards the 2024 Super League, a big year for the Tigers arguably now more so than ever because of IMG.
When the illustrative IMG gradings were revealed, Castleford finished 13th which, if repeated in 2024, would see them lose their Super League status.
The Tigers appealed this score and should have scored 12.91 and would have made the 12 only just. The West Yorkshire club are desperate for a redeveloped stadium in the near future and are awaiting planning permission at present.
The club though will still have to wait over a year for the redevelopment which is a concern for their IMG score.
Jepson explained on BBC West Yorkshire Sport: “Well the big issue surrounding the club is about the stadium redevelopment. That’s not really in the club’s gift because plan consent hasn’t yet been granted. Hopefully it will be granted and the news on it is much more positive than it’s been for some time. So it’s imminent but it’s not going to happen in the next 12 months.
“So for me it’s about investing in the infrastructure and working on what’s the art of the possible in the next 12 months. I think there’s a lot of building bricks starting to fall into place there’s still risk still things to be done but there is a clear focus for the next four months.”
However, he believes that his background can help: “I would hope it can help in terms of planning and that structure and that sort of thing. I understand how things work, hence I understand how complicated planning processes are.
“I would hope that because I’ve got a background in development and it’s more development and construction but that side of the industry, I can bring people along our expertise along that can assist the club with what they want to do over there. So there’s a lot of work to be done.
“Let’s be honest we all know that the ground needs work. We all know that it’s something that can be improved and should be improved and needs to be improved. So this is all part of what the IMG process is about. They want a better spectacle on the field, they want better facilities, better visible product for the TV and everything else and the sponsors. So we’ve got to make them understand that that’s part of what’s involved.”
