Don`t like the Stadium Pev,have they ever been? Are you sure its the stadium and not the cost to the Salford people they don`t like,and letting another sporting club who have never contributed anything in to the coffers of Salford City move in willy nilly.Just a thought.

We should just merger both clubs and become the Sal(e)ford city red sharks



Sorted!

I'll no doubt get a load of abuse for this but I'm going to try to reintroduce some rational debate by chucking in a few facts, a couple of questions and an opinion.



First the facts:



* Once Red City Developments went belly up, the only way we could achieve a new stadium was by choosing to accept the role of paying tenants, rather than owner occupiers (as we had been at The Willows).

* Once we made that choice we gave up the right to decide who else plays at the stadium and there was a tacit acceptance that, at some point, we'd be sharing the stadium with another sports club (most likely Sale Sharks)

* The fact that we've been awarded our last two Super League licenses is largely down to the promise of a new modern stadium.

* The stadium itself was financed and delivered by Salford City Council in partnership with Peel Holdings.

* the stadium itself is not viable as a business on the strength of Salford City Reds playing 13-15 games per year in front of 5-7,000 gates.

* the necessary improvements to stadium infrastructure and transport links are more likely now that the facility will be in use all year round.



Now some questions:



* would fans of Salford City Reds prefer to see the stadium fail as a business?

* in this eventuality, would the fans of SCR be happy to see the stadium bought from its current owners (the people of Salford) or be closed altogether?

* will the fans of SCR be happy to see vital improvements made to the stadium (including a proper supporters bar) and better transport links or will we be more concerned because "it's only happened because Sale are here."

* will the fans of SCR be pleased to finally see some of the club's history/identity imprinted on the stadium (eg, pictures of legends in the concourses, bars named after past players etc) or will we be more bothered by the fact that Sale - as co-tenants - have got equal representation?

* would the fans of SCR prefer to see the club die a slow death at the Willows or at least have the fighting chance of success in partnership with Sale at the new stadium?



Finally, an opinion:



As a fan of Salford City Reds, I wouldn't have chosen to have another tenant in situ at a time when we've yet to really stamp our own mark at the stadium. However, the fact is that we are now co-tenants and it's incumbent on the club to enter the partnership in a positive manner and ensure that the relationship yields results for Salford City Reds.



Personally, I believe Sale Sharks offers a better fit than some of the other supposed options being banded about (FCUM, MUFC reserves etc), and if the two clubs can treat each other respectfully, with tacit agreement not to poach players/staff and not to do anything that can harm the other club, I actually think that all parties can benefit. I also believe that both sets of fans have the responsibility to be courteous and respectful and that those who aren't do great damage to their respective clubs.



Let's not forget that 12,000 Salfordians packed out the Willows for our final home game last year (the reasons why we've struggled to carry anything like those numbers to the new stadium so far is best left as a topic for another discussion). IMO most of those people (other than the 3000 regulars) were there first and foremost to support 'Salford' itself rather than any specific interest in 'rugby'; we need to find a way to convert that civic pride into bums on seats rather than worry about where and how Sale gets its fans from.



My opinion is that if we are bold, positive and proactive we can turn this situation to our advantage. I also believe that the fact that the people of Salford part-own a fantastic stadium and that the city will hopefully soon host two world class rugby teams, will do wonders for our city's standing and will help put Salford on the map for all the right reasons.



But whatever I or anyone else thinks the fact is that Sale Sharks will be sharing the ground with us and we can either choose to be positive and try to chart a successful route forward or we can curl up into a ball and wait for our club to die.

Entirely logical.

Now wait for the abuse !

an interesting analysis waywardfan, and I'm pretty much in agreement with you, but just one correction.... the rugby club was not "owner occupier" at The Willows - the ground was sold some years back to Watson Godliman Homes, presumably we're quite used to paying rent!!

Very good point. So, in that respect, The Willows was no more 'ours' than Salford City Stadium is.

Wayward fan: too sensible a post, keep giving the facts & maybe with some the penny might drop!



I entirely agree with your post, some need to get real!

Odd isnt it - after a well crafted summary from Wayward Fan the dinosaurs have failed to appear?



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Karlos 13 asked you a SIMPLE question earlier in this debate. "What are the benefits for SCR in this co tenancy". You answered with a pathetic ONE answer without even elaborating, you answered "marketing initiative". So that tells me how inept our board really are and have been for 30 years, we've the same budget relying on Sale's marketing initiative's of pulling rabbit's out of the bag, how deluded are you, unless the club explains the benefits i'm keeping a skeptical mind thankyou. Keep thinking of the positives boys, should keep you busy for a bit.

I could give maybe 20 - no maybe 30 benefits to the club - the opportunities are boundless. However with you lads there is just no point. If I said the sky was blue you would argue that its brown.



We are now in `business` with Sale - fact - between our clubs we now have an opportunity to market year round top flight Rugby - no other club has that luxury (bar Quins).



Whats done is done - they are here - so are we - we now have to be very positive about how we benefit. It could be the makings of the club if we use our resources well.

Hello EB,this dinosaur is here,wrong again,So we are now in business with them now,thats news to me,we would say the sky was brown because it is,i feel sorry for you,i bet the stockport county fans have fallen in love with the sharks to and are heart broke they have left them, IMO,they don`t belong in this stadium,they have not put a penny into its construction,its been part paid for by the people of Salford,Salford City FC,Swinton and any other sporting club from Salford should be there not some out of town entity who have no affinity with our city. Schools from around the City should be made welcome to use it,our local amateur RL and Football finals should played there to,that just might make the people of Salford aware that we play there to.

I do like you EB you do talk a lot of sence



Us fans don't really know what goes on behind closed doors we can only see what we are allowed to see out of these 30 benefits how many are reliant on sale playing ball and basically sharing their resources? From the outside sale look ruthless in every department and us fans including myself are worried they will take take take to benefit themselves.



Saying that I'm struggling to see what we offer to sale in this beautiful relationship unless its more about how we make every pound work and its THEM who need to scale down their spending on promotion and playing staff and they are looking to how we finance our club