Hull FC stadium latest as new football club owners speak out on relationship with Adam Pearson

The new owners at Hull City are determined to work together with Hull FC chairman Adam Pearson.

The two clubs share the MKM Stadium and Hull City vice-chairman Tan Kesler and owner Acun Ilicali want to improve the football club’s relationship with the rugby league side after several clashes over the years.

FC owner Pearson and the Allam family clashed on a number issues during the family’s running of the MKM Stadium through the Stadium Management Company.

However, in an almost ‘truce’, Pearson was invited to be Ilicali’s guest for last Tuesday night’s 2-0 home defeat to Barnsley in the football Championship.

With FC’s lease on the MKM Stadium having just six years to run, Pearson has been trying to renegotiate the terms, and Kesler wants the two companies to work together and co-exist.

“We reached out to Adam Pearson and we tried to come up with something that doesn’t see us continue to subsidise or run somebody’s business,” Kesler told Hull Live. “We become more like partners, where we fulfil supporters’ expectations.

“Previously, the relationship between the previous owners and the rugby club was not good so we’ve tried to fix that, and we want the rugby fans to be more comfortable and confident.

“As the new ownership and new era, we are not keen on spending money on somebody else’s business, spending on resources of something else.

“We will help them to become more competitive in the business aspect, but we will not pay the bills for everybody else.”