The Cardiff Blues?

letics track, would could be redeveloped to provide a new 15,000-seater rugby stadium.

Hensol There are already excellent sport training facilities and pitches, used by both the WRU, the Blues and Cardiff City at the Vale Resort at Hensol in the Vale of Glamorgan. So, it could make sense to have a playing stadium located there too. But while close to the M4, from a public transport perspective it is not the easiest of place to get to. Nantgarw There is plenty of development land at Nantgarw around the main campus of the University of South Wales and Coleg y Cymoedd, where there is already top-class sporting facilities.

Politically, it could be a very smart move too in a bid to generate a new support base in the Valleys for the Blues – although perhaps under a new name in recognition of the location.

And electrification of the Valley Lines could see a new Metro stop at Nantgarw, which would make it far easier for fans from Cardiff to get to any new stadium with the promise of turn-up-and-go services.

The Blues could seek to develop a new ground in a joint venture with the university and college, as well as building other retail and leisure developments around it. And there are plenty of land opportunities for a new stadium in Pontypridd too.

Staying at the Arms Park The current relationship between the Blues and Cardiff Athletic Club is not in a good place. But there is no reason why both parties cannot get around the table again to thrash out a new longterm lease deal.

But the reality is, based on the current offer of £8m to the athletic club on the securing of planning consent for the redevelopment of the Arms Park, would there be enough developer profit to satisfy the first requirement of a new stadium for the Blues and Cardiff RFC?

A new stadium could cost around £30m, and with planning and design costs and the £8m to Cardiff Athletic Club, that means a scheme would need to generate a margin of at least £40m.

And Cardiff council is unlikely to approve the most profitable form of development around any new stadium, with high-rise residential apartments.

The Arms Park site, and potentially the Holiday Inn adjoining it too, should really form part of a more joined up and bigger regeneration scheme in the centre of Cardiff.

The WRU, under its former chief executive Roger Lewis, had worked up plans for 240,000sq ft of commercial developments on land it owns around the Westgate Street entrance to the Principality Stadium. The scheme was being called Westgate Plaza.

And the footprint of a wider scheme could potentially move across Westgate Street to include the current eyesore multi-storey car park, a property recently acquired by US-owned property investment fund Global Mutual.

But to achieve this a working party would need to be established involving all stakeholders: Cardiff Athletic Club, the Blues, WRU, Cardiff council, property developers and even the Welsh Government, to see if masterplan could be agreed, which provides for a new 15,000-capacity rugby stadium.