England won’t be leaving from Twickenham after all, as the RFU are optimistic about being allowed to host more non-rugby events – but any bid to use the stadium as a temporary home for Chelsea FC is likely to be vetoed.
Last month, union chief executive Bill Sweeney claimed that the national team could be relocated to an alternative venue in Birmingham or Milton Keynes, amid opposition from Richmond Borough Council to requests for more high-profile concerts and other sports at Twickenham. Now, it appears that the RFU are edging towards a resolution with the local council, following a supportive response from residents who live near the stadium.
That in turn should ward off any prospect of the union and England being forced to move away from their historical base. An enhance hosting agreement will help to fund a massive upgrade project which is expected to cost in excess of £600million.
‘We’re making great progress with that,’ said Sweeney. ‘It was a 30-second comment in a podcast. The question was, “How important is it to have non-rugby events”, and I said something like, “It’s really important because it changes your business model. You need that to justify your investment in that stadium. Other areas recognise that and are very keen to have us there, such as Milton Keynes”.
‘That became a bit of a topic, but we’re making good progress with Richmond. The conversations with them have been positive. They see the value that we bring to the area and understand why we need to have more non-rugby events, when you compare it to Tottenham, to Wembley, the O2 – to make the thing viable.
‘We’ve just completed a survey of local residents. The figure was much bigger than we were expecting, 75 per cent, in terms of, “Do you support the stadium hosting more or a lot of non-rugby events?”. I’m confident it’s going in the right direction.’
England are seemingly set to remain at Twickenham despite Bill Sweeney claiming they could move amid a dispute with Richmond Borough Council
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) appear to be edging towards a resolution with the local council
Chelsea are currently weighing up whether to rebuild their Stamford Bridge home
Pressed on whether it would be unthinkable for England to play all their home games away from Twickenham, Sweeney added: ‘We’ve always said our preference was to remain here, not just for cultural reasons and the history. Hospitality and ticketing are 50 per cent of our revenue and from a geographical point of view, this is a really important part of the country to be in.’
Chelsea Football Club are currently weighing up whether to rebuild Stamford Bridge and this would entail finding an alternative venue in London for home fixtures. Twickenham could fit the bill, but Sweeney’s hunch is that Richmond council would oppose any such scenario.
‘There have been conversations previously about possible Premiership clubs coming here,’ he said. ‘Richmond council, Richmond borough is more concerned about that. In terms of impact on local residents, numbers of fans and so on, they’re a bit more sensitive. It may depend on which club it is.’
But the chief executive acknowledged that, for the national governing body, there could be a major windfall from such an arrangement, adding: ‘It would be a big financial number. I know Richmond borough would definitely have a conversation about that though.’
Meanwhile, Sweeney revealed that Sir Bill Beaumont would continue to serve as interim chairman of the RFU for several months, after helping him defeat a no-confidence motion at a Special General Meeting last month. ‘He obviously had a big influence,’ he said, in tribute to the former England captain’s impact during a nationwide ‘roadshow’.
‘Bill is a unique character in the English game, so having him on the roadshow was definitely a good thing from our perspective. He’s been very clear from the start that it is an interim role so he will transition out. We are going through the process now of recruiting a new chairman so we expect Bill to transition out just before the end of this year.’
