York Knights rugby and skateboarding sessions popular in Foxwood

Activities for younger people held at the Foxwood Park over the Easter break have proved to be popular The event was organised by teh York Knights Rugby Foundation and was sponsored by the local Ward Committees.

Counciillors Sheena Jackson and Andrew Waller welcome the skateboard park to Foxwood

Westfield Councillor Sheena Jackson and Dringhouses counterpart Stephen Fenton join in the rugby session on the Foxwood Park

York Council paid out over £1/2 million for Knights training and match-day facilities

A response on a Freedom of Information web site has revealed that the York Council has paid £400,000 to St John’s University.

In return the University  agreed to allow the Knights Rugby team to train, and play its second string fixtures, at the new Haxby Road sports ground.

£200,000 was paid out last year, despite an impasse developing during which the Knights were barred from using the facility.

They eventually gained access only 6 weeks ago.

A second installment of £200,000 has been paid during the current financial year.

It is unclear whether the payments will also facilitate access by York residents to the Haxby Road facilities.

Four weeks ago St Johns University announced that it was withdrawing from participation in the Community Stadium project at Monks Cross

The new information also reveals that payments of £42,168 were made in 2014/15 and £64,000 so far this year to allow the Knights to play their first team fixtures at Bootham Crescent.

No such fixtures have yet been played at the venue with the Knights following a largely nomadic existence for most of their current season, before eventually ending up at Heworth.

If they win their next fixture against Swinton, they might have a home tie in the playoffs… raising again the possibility of a move to Bootham Crescent.

Clubs hiring an average football stadium might expect to pay around £30,000 a year in rent. The figures for Bootham Crescent, therefore, look relatively high – although it would have to cover the cost of changing the layout from football to rugby, not to mention the issue of off the field income.

The expenditure of £506,168 is part of a total of £3.9 million spent so far by the Council on the Community Stadium project. The £3.9 million also includes around £1 million spent on improving athletics facilities at the University of York.

Most of the money has come from a “Section 106” payment made by the developers of the John Lewis store site at Monks Cross.

Knights costs

York Community Stadium builder confirmed.

Completion date slips to “Autumn 2016”

An article in “Construction Enquirer” has claimed that the new Community Stadium will be built by ISG.  

Community Stadium Nov 2014

ISG is a Yorkshire based company.

The article claims that the stadium will be completed in “Autumn 2016”.

That conflicts with the July 2016 occupation date previously publicised by the York Council and means that the football club may not be able to move home until the 2017/18 season.

The delays will come as no surprise to the many commentators who have queried the 15 month construction timetable.

The scheme has yet to get planning permission while the future of the Knights Rugby team is under question following a very public disagreement between a senior Council official and the Knights chairman.

The Enquirer article reads;

ISG has been confirmed as the preferred construction partner for the £41m York Community Stadium and Leisure Complex scheme.

ISG will be part of the successful consortium bid by Greenwich Leisure Ltd to build a new home stadium for York’s professional football and rugby teams including leisure, retail, office and community facilities.

The new 8,000 all-seater stadium will include hospitality and conferencing facilities, a new 25m six-lane swimming pool, fitness and active play facilities and a community hub.

Work is expected to start on site this summer with completion scheduled for autumn 2016.

ISG is believed to have beaten rivals Carillion and Barr to the deal.

Danny Murray, ISG’s Northern regional managing director, said: “Our involvement in the York Community Stadium project extends back to 2012 and we have worked closely with GLL and our consortium partners to bring the vision for this keynote regional leisure scheme to reality.

“ISG has exceptionally strong leisure sector credentials, delivering iconic sporting venues like the Olympic Velodrome and the National Football Development Centre in Newport, and we are looking forward to working with our consortium partners to create superb new facilities for York.”

 

 

Now senior York Council official declares war on York Knights Rugby Club

The acting head of the York Councils Environmental Services Department has tonight issued a statement containing an astonishing attack on the owner of the York Knights RLFC

York KnightsIn a media release from Sarah Tanburn – who was appointed by the now defunct Alexander regime to supervise the adoption of their “Big City” Local Plan and drive through major projects – says that the Council  “no longer has the necessary confidence in the working relationship with Mr Guildford or trust in his good faith to enable negotiations with him on the Community Stadium development“.

She effectively says that the Club must now make their own arrangements with third part facility owners.

The change in pollcy is entirely contrary to the ethos of the community stadium project which, since agreement was reached in 2010, was always intended to provide a home for both football and rugby clubs.

While accepting that legal issues between the Club and the Council were resolved in December, the Council now seems to have rejected an opportunity to get round a table and thrash out a deal.

it is unclear what involvement key Labour politicians (Cllrs Williams and Crisp) had in authorising the public attack, but it is likely to inflame the already shaky view that rugby fans have of the Council leadership.

John Guildford has made clear publicly that his main concern, about the deal offered by the Council, was that – contrary to the agreed planning permission – it did not guarantee that the Club could play games at Bootham Crescent until the new stadium opened.

It looks like any opportunity for the Knights to play at the Community Stadium will now rest on the results of the Council elections in May. The Liberal Democrats – who devised the stadium plan 5 years ago – remain committed to involving both sporting codes at the stadium.

There is now a major question mark about Labours attitude.