As I touched upon in an earlier post, the Shay has never worked for Fax so a ground change would indeed be splendid.

The Shay is a tidy stadium, but maybe being in the town centre doesn't help with limited street parking which may put folk off. Taking Headingley as an outskirts stadium example, I always found it easy to park even with 5 figure crowds. Of course it will be a massive challenge, but I can only see a bright future with a compact RL stadium on the skirts we can call our own.

Who’s paying for it?
Where would it be located?
Would the council give planning permission for it to happen and have one of their members income streams disappear from the Shay? No they wouldn’t.
Looking back it would have been better updating thrum Hall

We need the Shay and it's size if we ever meet the IMG suckup criteria.Moving is pie in the sky and unrealistic,far more pressing problems at present with the presentation on the field.

Maybe similar to what Wakey are doing with a mortgage from the Council. I'm not sure how much rent Fax are paying, I think it was £40k pa a few seasons ago, which of course is just dead money.



We're talking about the council here (another reason to get away). I'm sure they would love to get rid of this white elephant, and sell it for housing development making a tidy sum as well as generating even bigger income streams from the resulting additional council tax. Where would Halifax Town end up? Who knows, probably end up on some local park.

The two clubs should worth together for the benefit of each other,but attitudes like that and from the football forum prevent this.I love the Shay and would hate to be housed in a resticted subbuteo stadium-5 miles out of Town,like last Sunday...

It's a sad state of affairs when the clubs in a town don't have mutual respect among their fans. But can you name a single town where there isn't some perverse jealousy / dislike? Bradford are sneery, Wigan are, Hull are, Fax are. The one and only shining light is Leeds where people in the city are proud of their clubs no matter what.

Leeds has an elevated opinion of itself, but in this regard the rest of us are light years behind.

Hold on! Who's turning this into a RL v Soccer slanging match? Certainly not me. My reference to Town ending up in a local park was nothing to do with me WANTING them to end up in a local park, just that knowing the council they'd cash in on the Shay and let the soccer lot fend for themselves.

I agree, and I believe the biggest stumbling block for the two clubs working together in recent times has been the FCHT owner. Regardless, I dont think the 'dislike' between the two clubs supporters is as big as some make out. Yes, there are some on both sides who really have a problem with the other club, but I think most accept that we have to live together and want to see both teams flourish and prosper.

As for Tony Fax's comment about the rent. £40k is peanuts when you consider what it covers. The ground staff, stadium management, maintenance of the facilities, utilities, etc. Obviously both clubs are restricted on the matchday income (through the bars, food stalls, etc), but I dont think the deal is particularly bad.

What I would like to see is the Council have a bit more ambition; invest in the stadium to make it more self sustainable and potentially get to a stage where the two clubs either pay less rent or have greater opportunities of increasing their income. The south annexe could/should have been better utilised by now instead of being left to rust. Is all the office space in the East Stand being fully utilisied?

As Bubba says, the two teams can't work together while the current owners are in charge of Town. I mean they wouldn't even back us in trying to get the rents lower which would have been to their benefit and the previous board had reached out to them multiple times and only got hit with a brick wall. The fact is both teams need each other and have the council a bit over a barrel with regards to the ground but it needs them both to be on the same page which is a mile off at the moment.

Or thinking well outside the box, you could have a "sporting club Halifax" model. I've always thought the Bulls and Park Avenue could easily be two sides of the same club. Why don't the Town owners like you?

In 1998 when Asda bought Thrum Hall the £800k was meant to be invested in Shay but was kept by fax board to pay off their loans and debts is how it eminated if that is the truth.....

Im not sure the Town owners hold an opinion about HRLFC either way. They certainly arent tied up in the history of Fax moving to the Shay as they have only been around 15 years (previously a director at Bradford City and life long City fan). They just dont talk to anyone...the supporters, the council, Fax, etc.

It's all very well saying the clubs "need" each other, but we've been waiting 20 years for Town to be co-operative and the council to be pro-active. Maybe we can sit on our hands for another 20 years for the above to happen, but don't hold your breath. Hence why I think it's best to move on and be self sufficient.

A tough task, I know, but we cannot carry on like this. Even Barrow who are having a poor season consistently get over 2,000. I understand they charge £15 admission which probably helps. Whether Fax would gamble on reducing the entrance charge and hoping for a more than proportionate rise in attendance is exactly that .... a gamble which could backfire. Seemed to work at Batley when they got nearly 3k for the visit of York after reducing their admission to a tenner. Will be interesting to see what the crowd will be at Batley this Sunday as they continue to charge just a tenner.

Get on Google Maps and take a look at Calderdale and see if you could find anywhere for a new stadium. Dont forget that Planning would be a nightmare taking into consideration things such as car parking, public transport, etc. Our Borough is naturally hilly, so whilst you might find some open space, it probably wouldnt be suitable.

Both teams are stuck with the Shay. It by no means perfect but it ticks a lot of boxes. Close to the town centre, on a main route into/out of town, walking distance from the train station and has decent facilities. I certainly know from a football point of view, that away fans love their away day at the Shay.

That's why I suggested developing existing grounds such as Ovenden RU (never been there, just guessing it's developable). Don't agree with your view that being a town centre stadium is an advantage ... on the contrary it tends to put folk off as car parking is a nightmare as the Council has made sure the centre is a no go area. Like to think away RL fans enjoy their away day at the Shay .... that's if we had any!

Just think as a Fax breakaway a bit like Brexit. Not popular with many but better in the long run as we'll grow stronger through independence and not have to depend on unreliable partners. It's all about having confidence and self belief.