WAKEFIELD TRNITY have joined the list of Rugby League-football ground shares, with Chairman John Minards, who has led the project to redevelop the Be Well Support Stadium, welcoming the arrangement.
Wakefield AFC have agreed an initial three-year deal to relocate from Featherstone Rovers’ Millennium Stadium, starting next season.
The ambitious club currently have a men’s team playing in the Northern Counties East League First Division (level ten on the football pyramid) and a women’s side in the North East Regional League Premier Division (level five).
Both will train and play at Belle Vue, where a new pitch with an artificial underlay to promote turf strength and longevity has been laid.
Formed in 2019 and with the men’s originally based at the Dorothy Hyman Stadium at Cudworth, near Barnsley, Wakefield AFC have played at Featherstone since the 2020-21 season, and last year won promotion as Sheffield County Senior League champions.
“We are really excited to welcome Wakefield AFC to Belle Vue,” said Minards.
“We have had an ongoing dialogue with them for some time and it is great that the current redevelopment (also including a new main stand and upgraded North Terrace) and in particular our state-of-the-art playing surface, now enables community clubs, and Wakefield AFC in particular, to join us.
“There are lots of exciting areas where we can partner with Wakefield AFC going forward and all of us at Wakefield Trinity look forward to working with them.”
Wakefield AFC Chairman Guilherme Decca said: “This gives us a base to further develop our community initiatives, like free youth football, and brings us one step closer to our goal of building an exciting and self-sustainable football club.
“There are also a few great ideas we will be working on with Trinity, which over time will benefit both fanbases and the Wakefield community as a whole.”
Trinity hosted the now-defunct Wakefield FC, originally known as Emley, between 2000 and 2006.
Super League rivals Huddersfield, Hull and Wigan all play at the same grounds as Football League clubs, while Women’s Super League (level one) side Manchester United use Leigh Sports Village.
