Last night, Salford Red Devils released a furious statement due to concerns over the negotiations around the stadium.
With a number of stalls and problems hit with discussions over the future of the AJ Bell Stadium, the club have stated that the situation poses a serious threat to the club’s future.
This is especially the case because of the situation around IMG and the value a stadium has to the overall score a team can acquire as they chase the top 12 positions which are awarded a Super League position.
But the club explained the legitimate threat posed to them via IMG because of this stadium situation: “In the last few months alone, we have generated more commercial interest in the stadium than any other party in the previous 3 years.
“The endless negotiations are unravelling an incredible amount of hard-work and opportunities generated by Salford Red Devils. We are routinely reaching for the stars, whilst simultaneously having our arms tied behind our backs.
“Our current tenancy arrangement expires on 1st December. 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 5-year tenancy agreement in place. As a result, this would severely impact our IMG grading and potentially put our Super League status at risk, reducing our central distributions from £1.31m to circa £50k per annum and effectively liquidating the Club.
“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.”
The club currently have the best Grade B awarded by IMG putting them eighth in the IMG rankings of all 35 clubs.
The Red Devils sit below Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, St Helens, Catalans Dragons, Warrington Wolves, Hull KR and Hull FC all of whom have Grade A status.
Huddersfield Giants sit ninth behind the Red Devils with other Super League clubs like Castleford Tigers, London Broncos and even Challenge Cup winners Leigh Leopards all behind Salford in the rankings but all of that could unravel if an agreement about the stadium is not reached.
