after a move to Bramall Lane, they now have the ground. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html

after a move to Bramall Lane, they now have the ground. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html

Never been a fan of Don Valley. It is a step in the right direction.

Good to hear - hope some SL teams act to get their stadia in order soon too.

In all seriousness though, can Sheffield maintain a well attended RL team as well as 2 near top flight football teams, elite league ice hockey team and whatever else they have? It's a big ask.

I hope potential Owls supporters won't be put off by this.

a good move, but football will always rule in sheffield, they always found it hard to get a decent gate even when in superleague, as for the ice hockey team, their attendences have droppped dramatically

Same story for most Ice Hockey teams. The Steelers are moving out of Sheffield next year and Manchester left the MEN not that long ago.

As long as they clean up the pig muck before the RL it should be a good move.

Dont mean to be funny but it will look shocking having 800 in a 35,000 stadium.

That's a superb move. No doubt at all that people were put off by the Don Valley, should imagine it will be a big success.

I'm not football expert but i knew a few sheffield fans and as i recall the owls played there before the blades did, so i cant imagine this would put them off.

The Don Valley Stadium is a 25,000 seat stadium. Does having 800 people in the DVS look good?

The fact is that even if the Eagles don't improve their gates at Bramall Lane, every one of those 800 people will get a massively superior view and experience of the game. This is a great move for Sheffield.

So Lets get this straight.

There are much smaller clubs outside super league who have better stadiums than even some top teams



Why have smaller clubs been able to sort it yet st helens, wakey and cas have not.

There are 6 teams outside super league with better stadiums than ones in super league. There are no excuses anymore for the big clubs not having up to date stadia.

Nail on head.

Because St Helens, Wakefield and Cas don't have (near) top division football clubs in the town/city like Wigan/Huddersfield/Sheffield/Hull?

Because there isnt a suitable stadium nearby to move into? in the wakefield district the only proffesional sport is rl, so only rl (that doesnt have as many big investors, or funding assistance from its governing body like football has) has stadiums big enough for rl. Sheffield has 3 big stadiums built for other sports that rl can use wheras many areas dont have access to one.

These clubs do not "have" better stadia, they play in better stadia that are owned either by other sports clubs or (e.g. Leigh & Widnes) by the local council. Although there is nothing necessarily wrong with that it does make them less secure than clubs which own their own stadium, e.g. Warrington.

The point is, they have it sorted even if it is a shared ground or it's owned by the council! The point is they are playing in stadia that is up to date.

Get it sorted! They have had years.

This is the dimmest post of the year.

It's all very nice when you can simply move in and pay a spot of rent to a top level football ground that is on the doorstep but if you have not got that luxury and you have to build your own there is a small matter of £20-30 million to find.

As it happens, Saints new stadium plans are about to go out to tender this month and both Cas and Wakey have been striving as hard as they can to secure planning and finances for new stadia. These things all take time. Some councils take longer than others. Some meet with more obstacles than others. What more can they do?

You can't just buy one on Ebay you know?

Your missing my point.

Leigh, Widnes and Halifax have done a lot more so far than the bigger clubs.

I understand it takes a lot of effort and time but these three most of the time being out of super league have been able to do it.

Warrington who a few years ago were a smaller club than now have also been able to do it. Leeds have been able to extend their ground to get it upto standard. Bradford have done the same (although it is a bit crap). Hull KR are very close to building a new stand and yet have only been in super league 3 years.

But all the clubs mentioned have either a sugar daddy to back it or have a supportive council, what happens if you have neither?

Then it's your fault, because the Wigan fan says so

Don't give me that. With good plans any council will be supportive both financially and in any other way they can.

Hard to see Sheffield drawing 8,000+ which should be our aim for any new team.

Tell Wakefield council that, wont give either club a thing, and neither club will share because they both have their own land for stadiums (one already has had ground works done on it mind).

I don't think anyone thinks they can make it to super league.

I would say 5,000 is the target for a club below super league, I think that would justify a place.