I don't know when this was written, but according to the RFL's licencing page
New stadiums or redevelopments of existing stadiums will only be taken into account if the RFL is satisfied that the stadium will be open or the redevelopment finished by the start of the 2012 season


Now if I remember correctly certain clubs were only awarded a licence on the back of getting a new stadium. As the licence application process swings into action again, the same clubs appear to be repeating the lines they said last time and clambering around at the last minute trying to convince everyone that their stadium is just around the corner. According to the RFL, however, even if one club was laying their last bricks and another was still a million miles away they will both fail if they were not ready to host competitive games for the 2012 season.

Are Wakey, Cas and Salford all now doomed to fail in their licence applications? Personally I think that the RFL will pretty much ignore this rule and they will grant licences to 2 out of 3 clubs, even if their stadiums will not be ready for 2012. Can anyone see the RFL kicking out 2 or even all 3 due to stadia that doesn't meet their criteria?

Haven't all the clubs who got the warning about their grounds either started or in the process of starting the building of their new grounds?

stadiums are only 1 part, not the be all and end all of an application, if they all fail to meet the stadium standards then the club who as performed worst in the other areas will get the boot

As far as I am aware the grounds have to be ready for the start of the 2012 season or they wont be counted.

If the RFL do the same as last time , they will only judge stadia that has actually been used , ie , matches actually played in them at the time of the licensing decision

But what happens if none of the 3 (Cas, Wakey and Salford) don't have their stadium up and running? In the past the RFL have refused clubs entry into SL as their stadium does not meet certain minimum standards. If stadia that are half built or just in planning stage don't count, add that to the stipulation from the RFL that these clubs MUST have stadia next time round - how could any of said club be awarded a licence.

I suppose the question comes down to what happens if the RFL only recieve say 12 licence applications that 'pass' their criteria. Is there a danger that the RFL could reduce the number teams in SL, or are the RFL prepared to go back on their previous promises about kicking teams out if they didn't get their stadia sorted? If the RFL do go back on their word then, the promises that are made when licences are awarded i.e. do this or else, don't count for very much do they? Instead of it being "do this or you're out" its more of a case of "do this or you'll be out - only if there are other clubs ready to take your place"

Does anyone expect any non SL or Championship applicants?

They're are about 6 clubs in the waiting line to take the place of the Certain Clubs who don't have a ground thats up to scratch.

More a case of " sort it or you will be at risk of losing your licence , depending on which other clubs with the same problem have sorted theirs "

The criteria and everything surrounding it are just a facade to cover the blatant fact that they will admit whoever they want to.

The harsh truth is that there are no clubs outside of SL who deserve to be in it and there are several in SL who don't deserve to be.

You can't spell Saddened without "sad end".

Millions of sperm and you were the quickest. What a ing waste.

didn't they say the same thing in 2008

The RFL have said 1 club (at least) will go. For all 3 clubs mentioned above to have brand new stadiums in place for the first game of 2012, the builders will need to be in place pretty quickly.......because it would be a fiasco if one of them were to be the unlucky club......told in July 2011 with half a sports stadium built and the fat bills that will go with it....I suspect that if clubs have foundations dug, girders in place and 500 or so blokes in hard hats running around by April, then the RFL will find it very hard to kick them out.
That leaves Quins RL, who are the b;stard love child of Murdoch and Lewis....no chance of them going.....and any other club who has a sub-standard stadium. Of these......( Bradford & HKR) only one are also failing to tick the "cut back on overseas players" box, seem to be having trouble with debts.......as well having another MID TABLE club in SL right on their doorstep......
Joking aside, if all 3 get the builders in sharpish then the RFL will either need to look at adding 1 more team to SL or not letting anyone else in.........either way, it's a problem of their own making.

no the number of team is fixed

its not about meeting minimum criteria for SL clubs

its basically working out who is the worst SL club (excluding the expansion teams) and replacing them with the best championship team

clearly the team going in is widnes

the 3 likely clubs for relegation are salford, cas and wakey

salford shouldve started construction by then whilst cas and wakey wont have so basically wakey would go because cas are a better club

widnes certainly should be in SL

when it comes to what a SL club looks like, widnes are it.

When it comes to looking what ' Super league ' looks like , not many would be in it

The likelihood is that all the clubs having new stadia built will be at different stages of their projects at the beginning of 2012. It is unrealistic to think that they would all be ready by then, but some might.

To avoid any repeat of the events following the last round of licences, the RFL have appointed consultants (Savilles) who are actively assessing the progress of each club towards the new stadia. Their report, which will confirm which are the most viable and deliverable projects, will be used to judge the applications of the SL clubs involved.

With respect to all the clubs involved, it would be churlish to reject their efforts to construct projects ranging from £11m to £20-odd million for the sake of a couple of months or so - providing the consultants are satisfied that the progress is real and in line with what has been promised.