Super League: Castleford chief eager to move to new stadium

Castleford chief executive Steve Gill has highlighted the club’s urgent need for a new stadium after their ground at Wheldon Road suffered storm damage on Friday night.

The Tigers were forced to close the Princess Street stand, which has a capacity of nearly 4,000, for Sunday's Andy Lynch testimonial match against Bradford after a retaining wall collapsed, and it will remain closed for their next two pre-season games against Widnes and York.

"We will always spend what we need to make the ground safe but the old girl is creaking and this highlights the need for a new stadium," said Gill.

A planning meeting is to be held in Wakefield on February 6 when councillors will consider an application by developers Lateral Property Group to build the £135m Five Towns Park on land close to junction 32 of the M62.

The proposals include a new 10,000 capacity stadium for Castleford which Gill says would allow the club to generate additional revenue and enable them to compete effectively in Super League.

"Here we use the ground 13 times a year and we're struggling year in, year out," he said. "To keep growing we need a ground that is going to be fully functional 365 days of the year.

"If we can get that, we can be up there with Leeds and Warrington but it's not just a new stadium. There would be a country park, a shopping centre and new highways and it would create 2,000 jobs.

"It's a massive opportunity and, if it is knocked back, I just wonder whether the town would recover. We've been knocked from pillar to post in recent years and we'll lose 2,000 jobs when Kellingley Colliery closes.

"We've been there before with a new stadium and fallen flat on our faces. We've got to keep fighting but I just don't know how much fight the fans have left."

If the developers receive the go-ahead next month, Castleford could be playing in their new stadium in 2017.