Rugby league to have new HQ at Etihad
NATIONAL CENTRE WILL GIVE THE SPORT AN ‘ICONIC HOME’ AT SPORTING CAMPUS
A NEW national rugby league centre is set to be built at Manchester City’s Etihad Campus.
The Rugby Football League’s headquarters will relocate from Leeds to the campus.
The governing body said the move – described as ‘transformational’ for the sport – would provide rugby league with an ‘iconic new home in a renowned sporting city’ and offer ‘world-class facilities’ for every level of the game, from grassroots to the senior England teams.
The Rugby Football League would be a tenant within the next phase of the Etihad Campus development, which will see the facility expand as a sporting centre of excellence together with a leisure and entertainment district.
Bosses approved the proposal from Manchester council and the City Football Group last month.
Chairman of the Rugby Football League, Brian Barwick, said: “The move to the Etihad Campus is a genuinely exciting prospect and underlines the governing body’s ambition to develop rugby league across the spectrum of the sport. We want rugby league to be a sport that future generations want to take part in and everyone has the chance to be involved with.”
Final plans for the headquarters are still being developed.
The governing body’s interim chief executive, Ralph Rimmer, said the move would be ‘transformational’ for the spot on and off the field.
“The world-class facilities that will be made available to every level of the England set-up, from youth through to senior men’s and women’s, will mean that our international squads will have access to some of the best training, recovery and onfield sporting facilities available anywhere in the world,” he said.
All Rugby Football League staff will relocate before the start of the Rugby League World Cup in 2021.
The Etihad Campus is already home to British Cycling and English squash, as well as Premier League champions-elect Manchester City.
Council leader Sir Richard Leese hailed ‘another major boost for the city.’ He said: “It perfectly complements our vision for the Etihad Campus as a globally competitive sport and leisure cluster which will continue to act as a powerful catalyst for the ongoing regeneration of east Manchester and underlines its status as a sporting epicentre.”