HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS could face an uncertain stadium future as Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle aims to take over control of the John Smith’s.
Currently, there are three-way negotiations over the future of Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL), which is owned by Kirklees Council (40%), Huddersfield Town (40%) and Huddersfield Giants (20%).
The council warned in March 2021 that KSDL was on the brink of going bust and talks over the future of the stadium have since failed to produce any agreement, but Nagle is eager to step in and ‘modernise’ the John Smith’s – meaning the football club would have an 80% share of the KSDL.
“I think that we’ve had some very constructive meetings with the council on if we make a transition, what would that look like,” Nagle said on BBC Radio Leeds.
“Because you may know right now, there are three parties that have an interest in the stadium and the council wants to step back, and we want to be able to step in and really modernise the stadium.
“We want to update the stadium. We want to make it a better place on the pitch where the players can play and in the changing rooms.
“But the reality of it is overall, I think that just the surroundings where we’ve got acreage, there’s land potentially to be developed, whether that comes in something related to our club or also maybe some other form of entertainment.
“There’s just a lot of opportunities on the table that we would discuss regarding the stadium.”
If the council stepped back, would Nagle be willing to work with Huddersfield owner Ken Davy?
“Well we work with the Giants. I think the Giants, they have their vision for the future as well. I think they would like to have their own stadium.
“We’ll work Ken Davy and others to try to figure out what they may want to do. I’ve had a chance to meet Ken a couple of times. I think he’s a delightful guy and he was once the owner of our club. But I think that we can figure out a path where we all can create a win-win-win.
“I don’t have a timeframe. Would I like it by the end of the year? I would. It does include a lot of planning because we want to update the facilities and as you look around the league and have broader ideas, you just need to modernise things. I can see it and feel it. The fans want it and deserve it.
“I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later so we can invest in the infrastructure.”
“I really see our stadium as a community asset. It’s something really for our region, for Huddersfield. And it can really be the epicentre right now because there’s so much activity that goes on here.
“But I really believe that the facilities need to be improved, whether I do it or whether three parties do it.
“The council has indicated that they want to step back and that means there are two parties left. We would have controlling interest.
“We would have to work out with the Giants what it is that they need, whether they want to be a tenant or whether they want to be an owner long-term. That’s something that we would have to negotiate collectively.”
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