Kirklees Council is ready to hand over its shares in the John Smith’s Stadium to allow Huddersfield Town to take control.

Long-standing negotiations are about to be concluded after Town owner Kevin Nagle and Huddersfield Giants chief Ken Davy came to a financial agreement.

The stadium company, Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL), is owned by Town (40%), Kirklees Council (40%) and Huddersfield Giants (20%) but the council is now ready to transfer its shareholding to the football club.

As part of the deal, the council will also hand back its lease on the stadium swimming pool and take possession of the nearby gasworks site, which the council has earmarked for its Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor.

READ MORE: How the gasworks site was always make or break for Kirklees Council

However, the council will have to write off substantial loans made to KSDL. It is understood the council has loaned £3.8 million to the stadium company and much of that will be written off to allow the council to walk away.

The council will retain the freehold on the land on which the stadium is built which it says will give it some control over future use.

The council has been ready to do a deal for several months but negotiations between Mr Nagle and Mr Davy have taken time to resolve.

 

 

Mr Davy’s long-term aim is to build a new 8,000-capacity stadium for the Giants elsewhere. He has said he wants to move within three years but there is a lack of suitable sites. Read more about that HERE.

Mr Davy’s preferred location was the gasworks site close to the stadium off St Andrew’s Road but Kirklees Council saw that as a “key strategic regeneration site” and refused to give it up.

The gasworks site – used as a temporary car park – had originally been acquired as part of the ill-fated HD One hotel and leisure scheme. It is understood the council took over loan repayments – and secured the deeds – when KSDL couldn’t meet the payments.

As part of the stadium deal the Giants can stay for as long as they want so it seems the John Smith’s Stadium will continue to be home for the foreseeable future.

Mr Davy has even floated the idea of moving the Giants to The Shay in Halifax which could prove embarrassing to the council if it can’t help the club find a suitable location for a new stadium in Huddersfield.

Huddersfield Giants want to build a new stadium but there’s ‘complications’ over the 4 potential sites

The John Smith’s Stadium is 30 years old this year and back in 2022 the council estimated it needed repairs, maintenance and upgrades amounting to as much as £10 million in the next few years.

This summer Mr Nagle embarked on £2 million-worth of refurbishments and upgrades to the stadium in a clear signal that Town were confident the deal would go through.

The council was determined to free itself from the stadium and Town taking it on was the only viable option.

 

Kirklees Council’s 20-year vision for Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor