Salford Tories delay council’s stadium buy 

A pair of councillors are demanding more scrutiny over the authority’s decision to acquire the AJ Bell Stadium, saying the benefits of buying the ground are outweighed by the risks. 

Salford City Council Mayor Paul Dennett signed off a decision to take full control of the stadium – either by way of a land acquisition or by purchasing Peel L&P’s shares in the City of Salford Community Stadium Ltd – in July. 

However, Conservative councillors Robin Garrido and Darren Ward have called in the decision, citing a raft of concerns about the deal, which has been rumbling on for some time.  

These worries, submitted in a letter to the city council, include: 

• Worries that the income the stadium would generate would not be sufficient to justify the cost of the acquisition 
• A lack of public scrutiny over the decision due to some elements of the original report being private 
• A lack of information provided on third-party bids that “may have achieved the same objectives and reduced the risk to the council”. 

The councillors claim that “the benefits of purchasing/owning the stadium cannot be considered proportionate to the projected [financial] results of the stadium itself”. 

Read the full letter outlining the councillor’s concerns. 

Salford City Council’s growth and prosperity scrutiny panel will meet next week to decide whether to go ahead with the acquisition, bat the issue back to the mayor for a second look, or refer it to a meeting of full council for a final decision. 

As well as taking full control of the sports venue, the city council has also agreed to provide a £350,000 “rescue support” loan to Salford Red Devils, which plays its home games there.  

One of Garrido and Ward’s concerns about the viability of the acquisition was around the Red Devils’ past struggles to pay its rent. 

The club has previously stated that the terms of its existing lease, which expires this December, are unsustainable. 

Salford City Council’s intention to acquire the stadium means the rugby league side would stay put and sign an extended lease of up to five years. 

As well as providing the aforementioned loan, the city council has tasked the rugby league club with developing a “compelling business and restructuring plan” to help it become financially sustainable. 

Any Salford Red Devils lease would contain a break clause “linked to the ability for the club or the city council to terminate the lease if it became clear that Red Devils was unable to meet its financial commitments”, according to a cabinet report published earlier this year. 

The proposed purchase of the 12,000-capacity stadium, built in 2011, is aimed at delivering “demonstrable and ongoing social value” and securing the city council’s long-term interests in any future redevelopment and regeneration of the adjacent development land. 

“While the operational costs of the stadium are broadly covered by income, operational activity has not generated the capacity to repay outstanding debt,” the report states. 

Debt on the stadium currently stands at £37m. 

The Red Devils currently shares the ground with rugby union side Sale Sharks, which bid to buy the stadium in partnership with football club Salford City FC last year. The city council and Peel declined the bid, Sale Sharks confirmed late last year.  

That deal could have seen Salford City relocate from its ground at Moor Lane in Kersal to the AJ Bell, with the Red Devils going in the opposite direction.