Football fans beg council not to sell stadium

Football supporters asking a local council not to sell their club's stadium have begun a petition aimed at prompting a meeting with officials.

The Shay, home to football club FC Halifax Town and rugby league side Halifax Panthers, was put up for sale a year ago by Calderdale Council as part of savings plans.

Following that news, it was announced that Ken Davy, owner of the Huddersfield Giants rugby league side, was interested in a sale which the authority is due to discuss on 17 March.

FC Halifax Town fans said the petition's aim was to "show the strength of support within the community for the council to retain ownership rather than sell the freehold to a private company".

Sport has been played at The Shay for more than a century, but Calderdale Council said last year its sale would save £161,000 from 2025/26.

Mr Davy said he wanted the Giants to play there while a new stadium for his side was being built, and then to offer ownership of The Shay back to FC Halifax Town and the Panthers.

If successful, Mr Davy promised to bring the ground up to Super League standards with a new pitch by providing interest-free loans himself and using grant funding.

But FC Halifax Town supporters said they wanted the council to retain the freehold, meaning the Huddersfield Giants would only be allowed to play at The Shay as tenants without Mr Davy owning the land.

The football fans also proposed that an independent, not-for-profit trust took over ownership of the stadium instead - a proposal which would also be on the table at the Calderdale Council's meeting in March.

At least 2,000 signatures are needed for the petition to prompt a full council debate on the issue, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, but it is not known how many people have signed so far.

The pitch at The Shay has already had drainage issues, with FC Halifax Town playing some matches last season over the county border in Lancashire.

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