Blues weighing up options as Arms deal is still to be struck
CARDIFF Blues chief executive Richard Holland says time is running out to sign a new lease with landlords Cardiff Athletic Club which would keep them at the Arms Park.
The current deal ends in 2022, with negotiations currently ongoing between the two parties.
Holland, speaking to supporters during an online question and answer session, told fans he wanted a deal.
“It’s unfortunate it’s come down to the final furlong and it should have never have really,” said Holland.
“We have only got until the beginning of next year when the lease gets terminated, so we are in a position where we are in communication with Cardiff Athletic Club to see where that might take us.
“We have got options to us that we are deploying which is best to keep private at this stage.
“We are doing everything we can to secure the future for Cardiff Rugby moving forward.
“It is where we are and our board are on top of things to make sure we can stay at Cardiff Arms Park.
“It’s a live conversation. Our legal teams are looking at it and we can go from there.
“It’s a pretty sad position we find ourselves in that we don’t have an agreement for currently named Cardiff Blues and the RFC. It should not be like this.”
A 25-year lease was agreed on February 1, 1997 which expires early next year.
Cardiff Blues have made no secret of their desire to extend the lease – with chairman Alun Jones telling WalesOnline last year that he was confident of an agreement being reached despite the Covid19 pandemic causing disruptions.
“Time is ticking on and we need to get it done,” he said last September.
“I am totally confident we will find a solution to it. We are working very positively with the Athletic Club on that at the moment. The truth is Covid has got in the way of that. It has made it more difficult for us to get people around a table.
“But the Arms Park is our home. I can’t see that changing. I honestly believe we will have a new lease there. We would like a long lease because it gives us certainty.”
It was reported earlier this year that a short-term three year lease could be agreed upon, in order to give more time for a long-term agreement to be reached due to disruptions caused by Covid-19.
In the notes from the meeting between Cardiff Blues and the CF10 Arms Park Rugby Trust in January, it was recorded that “it was believed that CAC had agreed to offer a 3 year extension to the lease but this was unconfirmed.”