DEPUTY City Mayor of Salford, Jack Youd, admits the Council is concerned about the future survival of Salford Red Devils but will not provide financial assistance to the embattled Super League club.
The Red Devils have been engulfed in a financial crisis since November and the situation has not improved since a new consortium took over the club in February. Salford’s players have been paid late for the past two months, the club remains in special measures, under a sustainability cap and its debts are growing.
Youd hopes the new owners transfer their promised investment soon.
“We’re continuing to talk to both the club and its new owners in terms of supporting them in what they see are their aspirations for Salford Red Devils,” he told League Express.
“Where we can support that, we will. But in terms of direct financial assistance, that isn’t possible because legally we’ve used all avenues to do that. There’s a lot of talk of the new owners putting in the investment and the sooner the better.”
In the past Salford Council have provided grants to both the Red Devils and Swinton Lions, but Youd confirmed that won’t be happening in the future with budgets reduced.
“The laws have changed through that period of time,” he said.
“Historically, the Council supported the club a lot financially. That’s not now possible, nor is it something potentially we want to do.
“This is about prioritising public money in the best way possible. New subsidy legislation has come out – we’ve used all those avenues and there isn’t any more public subsidy.”
Youd concedes that the future of the club is a concern.
“All Rugby League teams are all losing money hand over fist, but other owners have deep pockets which they are willing to dip into,” he said.
“It is a concern; it’s an important institution to the city of Salford. It’s over 100 years old, it’s important to a lot of communities and people in Salford, particularly people who have lived in Salford for generations.
“It’s an ongoing worry that the club might continue to not be financially viable. But it’s hard to plan for any of these things because you’ve just got to react to the situation as it changes. I keep in touch with the club on an almost daily basis, in terms of finding out how things are going. And we’ll just have to react as events unfold.
“It’s frustrating for me as a fan. But as deputy mayor, this is the internal business of a private organisation. There are limited ways we can intervene other than being able to give non-financial support and advice.
“There’s nothing that the club has asked of us that we’ve not provided.”
Salford Council bought the Salford Council Community Stadium in 2024. It has been reported that the new owners of the Red Devils are only interested in the stadium and the land around it, not the club itself.
“We acquired the stadium because the joint venture with Peel wasn’t working,” Youd explained.
“The stadium was initially built by the Council for Salford Red Devils to retain their Super League status. The idea was that the club would be able to use the stadium to help its financial stability.
“But there wasn’t enough strategic thinking into how we could use the stadium to support the club, even though it was built to enable Salford Red Devils to survive and thrive.”
Asked if the Council is keen to sell the stadium, Youd said: “It’s not necessarily the [Council’s] position. I don’t think any private buyer would have bought the stadium in its previous guise because the organisational structure of it was such a mess, in terms of the joint venture.
“But for us, it’s what’s best for the community, what’s best for the club, how do we continue to fulfil the original decision that was made.
“So if that’s Council ownership, then it’s Council ownership. If it’s private ownership, then that’s something that we’ll look at, but it would have to meet all the ordinary requirements in local government legislation in terms of realising the best value.
“We’re not going to just sell it off for nowt; it’s got to meet the legislative requirements. It’s not going to fulfil the original decision-making if we sell the stadium and it doesn’t support the club. If that’s not there then we’re not going to do it.
“It is complex… what we want to see is the club being supported, which then supports the community.”
