2 issues that grate like helll for championship clubs here, 1st Those 2 clubs have got fit for purpose stadiums while having millions less out of the game from sky than Cas, 2nd every man and his dog new years ago glasshoughton was never going to happen it has been spun along by Dickie Wright. So i would say yes those 2 clubs are more worthy of a franchise

But i shouldnt worry they havent the back bone to evict anyone from super league, then they wonder why people like me who used to follow GB everywhere, hope they get stuffed every game they play, they are a super league team or sorry England are, and it is an invitation, elitest non competitive league that has nothing to do with me. This game is slowly dieing

If I were in charge:



[uPhase 1:[/u

Demolish Railway end, move it back further onto the land behind it the club owns, extend the pitch to be full length, build a cheap all seater stand with a roof & concourse there.



[uPhase 2:[/u

Extend the Princess Street stand down towards the new Railway end so it runs the full length of the pitch (with a longer pitch it would stop at about the 10m line), put a new roof on it to freshen it up a bit.



[uPhase 3:[/u

Re-roof the WRE, add more bars into it.



[uPhase 4:[/u

Move the main stand back towards the turnstiles and make the 2 standing parts at either side of it into part of the seating area, add all the cooperate facilities etc into it. Concourse underneath it, obviously.



This would be achieved over a period of time with the aid of grants & sponsors.

I think the priority is redeveloping the main stand first. The other areas aren't much of a necessity because they're standing areas.



The main stand is integral because it incorporates corporate guests, changing rooms, gym, offices etc (not forgetting fit for purpose toilets). As a club, if this was a viable option then it would be worth doing the main stand up purely for the hospitality reasons. The cash that this would generate alone would significantly dwarf what we already have and so would increase revenue streams in the interim.



People seem to be skirting over the fact that we would only resort to this if the new stadium didn't come off.

Doing the main stand would cost the most so starting somewhere else would be better to get the ground up to scratch as quickly as possible.



The pitch also needs making full size..amongst many other problems so the new stadium really needs to happen.

What is it about you guys and Sky money? It's completely irrelevant when trying to run on a salary cap of £1.65m. Do you think we have lots of spare cash lying around? It's a nonsensical comment.



Glasshoughton is still very much in the frame. Not one person at the club could change the circumstances that we're in. Not one (unless he had £17m burning a hole in his pocket, which he wanted to offload).



Licences aren't given on those factors. They're given on numerous criteria, of which Castleford dwarf not only the Championship clubs but also fellow SL clubs in too.

It would cost the most but it would also appease the RFL and improve the business plan immediately. Don't you believe it's imperative to get the big work done first and then do the 'touching up' so to speak later.



The other stands wouldn't do anything for the business (which is what we need).



We meet dimensions for pitch. It needs to be 88m from goal-line to goal-line - ours is 92. Width from touchline to touchline - 55m, ours is 68m.



In-goal area no less than 6m and no more than 11m. Ours is 8.

But if the pitch got extended so it was 100m long and had 8m in goal areas, you get bigger side stands - which includes the main stand, more room = more boxes etc so more money.



Quick note: how much room is there (if any) to extend the Princess street stand/make it all seater with a concourse?

The research undertaken for new stadium indicated there was less interest for boxes and people preferred a pre-match meal in a restaurant before taking a nice comfy seat in the main stand.

Licences were introduced to remove the pressure of relegation so there was no need to spend up to the cap or buy so many overrated aussies, you could of spent on improving facilities but didnt. Some of those clubs in the championship have worked wonders on the pittance they have recieved, take Batley for instance built 2 stands on mediocre crowds. Some super league clubs have criminally squandered millions and have nothing to show for it

Which we have done neither.



We've lived within our means.

And own our ground unlike many others whom have sold their silver,