Rugby league needs to help save Salford

BY JOHN DAVIDSON

IN A battling sport the Salford Red Devils are Super League’s ultimate battler.

They have a long and proud history, one that goes all the way back to 1873, but more recently titles and success have been harder to come by. Financial strength and sustainability, as well as attracting big crowds, has also been difficult to attain.

But the Red Devils have fought on and managed to somehow survive, even reaching both a grand final and a Challenge Cup final in the past 18 months. 

It was a remarkable, plucky against-all-odds underdog story. One that warmed the coldest of Artic hearts. However, now a huge threat to Salford’s survival has arisen.

The club’s home ground – the AJ Bell Stadium – is up for sale. The stadium, owned jointly by the local council and real investment company the Peel Group, was built in 2012 for the Salford community and partly funded by a grant by the European Union.

The AJ Bell is used by Salford and by Sale Sharks, the Premiership Rugby team. In the past it has hosted 2013 World Cup matches and 2016 World Rugby Under-20s Championship games.

Now Sale want to buy the stadium and kick out their co-tenants the Red Devil

Make no mistake, this is huge to the future of the Super League club. If they lose their tenancy, they may become a dead duck. There is no other suitable venue for them to play in their area. They will be homeless.

The Red Devils currently have a great tenancy agreement that they can afford. But if Sale buy the AJ Bell, which was built for the Salford community and not for a few millionaires from Cheshire, fees will likely double and it looks dire for the future of the rugby league outfit. 

There is also a political element within the council and its mayor with elections coming up.

But the simple fact is that the AJ Bell Stadium was paid for by taxpayers, for the city of Salford, and Sale do nothing for the city of Salford. They do a lot in the areas of Cheshire and Trafford, but little actually in Salford. 

Meanwhile the Red Devils have forged strong links in the community through the club and its foundation, they work with schools and offer mental health programs.

The Super League side might not have the political clout or financial muscle of their rugby union rivals, but they bring a lot when it comes to community engagement and local connection. They cannot be allowed to be kicked to the curb like this.

The RFL and Super League bodies need to strongly support the Red Devils in this case. The club’s fans have been busy trying to fight the sale and ejection of the Red Devils.

A petition, which you can read here, has been started to keep the AJ Bell Stadium in the hands of the Salford community and the Red Devils. It has more than 4600 signatures and has been sent to the local council.

There is also talk of protests this week, at the council’s offices and at the next Sale Sharks home game.

Rugby league as a whole sport needs to unite behind the Red Devils and help them. This club should not be unfairly ejected and held to ransom.

This is not about rugby league against rugby union, or even rugby league against football with rumours that Salford City would become co-tenants at the AJ Bell Stadium if Sale buy it. 

It is about the rich and powerful running riot over the poor, it is about Goliath vs David, it is about the local community being exploited.

As a code rugby league is remarkably fractured, but here is an issue everyone involved with the sport can get behind. The future survival of the Salford Red Devils may well depend on it.