Ground

This is my take on the options available to us.
If anybody has any more, please feel free to throw them into the mix:

WMDC provide the stadium trust with enough money for Wakefield Trinity to carry out improvements to Belle Vue
- in the current economic climate, and with WMDC making cuts all over the place, this option is highly unrealistic.

Wakefield Trinity undertake improvements to Belle Vue
- given the ground is not fit for purpose, requires annual investment, depends on time from volunteers to reach a minimum viable level of service, and is failing to meet health and safety obligations (reduced capacity only serves to illustrate this), and is not actually owned by the club (now in the possession of 88m Property Group), it seems illogical that serious investment would be pumped into funding this option.

Wakefield Trinity stay at Belle Vue as tenants and renegotiate rent with its new owners 88m Property Group
- given they have already flattened SuperBowl, it would be surprising at best if 88m were happy to enter into an agreement of this kind. Their motivations can be assumed to be to develop the site and for Wakefield Trinity to leave Belle Vue altogether. Also, the ground is falling to pieces. It's well documented that the upkeep is something the club just can't afford.

WMDC gift land to the Trust on which to build a community stadium
- even if the land existed on which to build a community stadium, it seems impossible to imagine the trust has access to hefty enough routes of funding from which to develop it. In January 2009, Wakefield Council agreed to extend its offer of land assets to the value of £2m to both Wakefield District Community Trust (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) and Castleford Tigers on the understanding that both clubs are in Super League and need to upgrade facilities to meet Rugby Football League criteria. It's unclear whether any of this money is still offered by the Council to either club, and even if all of it were still available (seems unlikely in current financial climate), it still wouldn't be enough to build a stadium. Yes, it would be enough to redevelop Belle Vue, but given that Belle Vue is not an asset of the club, it would be akin to flushing it down the toilet.

WMDC enforce the conditions set following the Public Inquiry
- given WMDC both in Council chambers and the press (print and radio) continue to accept zero responsibility for enforcing any planning conditions set following the outcome of the initial Public Inquiry into the Newmarket Lane site, it seems very unrealistic to assume that any future planning applications won't also contribute zero towards triggering the build of a community stadium on the site.

Wakefield Trinity or the Community Trust take legal action against WMDC and/or Yorkcourt
- both Yorkcourt and WMDC know that there's no money from which to do this and it seems a highly unlikely event. And even if the club or trust win, where does that leave things? Land that the developer owns but refuses to develop?

Yorkcourt build a community stadium at Newmarket Lane
- almost as improbable as WMDC enforcing planning conditions. Given the WMDC planning stance on Newmarket Lane and the previous process for approval of NewCold (passed outside the terms of the original Public Inquiry ruling as a new planning application altogether), this act in itself has seemingly removed Yorkcourt from upholding any responsibility towards delivering a community stadium on the site. They have essentially been absolved from any obligation tying them to the condition of the Newmarket site being an enabling development and the preset trigger percentage is arbitrary.

Yorkcourt provide the stadium trust with enough money for Wakefield Trinity to carry out improvements to Belle Vue
- given they seemingly have no apparent obligation (with the exception of a moral one), tying them to providing the club with anything, this option too seems highly unlikely.

A different developer offers to build and fund a community stadium on a different site in the city
- this option is pure wind in the willows (quite). A cautionary tale of misguided disbelief. A real Hail Mary. Roy of the Rovers stuff. Almost improbable.

Wakefield Trinity leave Belle Vue voluntarily and find a temporary home
- this option seems most likely. Dewsbury has already been well documented as a potential ground-share. Other possible options:
ground-share with Dewsbury
ground-share with Featherstone
ground-share with Castleford
move to Oakwell (used previously)
The concern with this is that 1 even 2 years into this move, which of the other options documented here will have shifted enough to offer anything other than an indefinite tenure at a different home? And that's not to say the temporary to permanent shift isn't necessarily at the same place. Baring in mind it's now 4 years since outline planning permission was awarded for Newmarket Lane and to get to that point took several years more, as things stand, what option are we left with that would make this move anything other than a permanent move out of the City? Even if a covenant does allow the club to move away from Belle Vue in the knowledge that it's still there should a time come to improve it, there's been no meaningful change there for years, what would prompt one now? There doesn't appear to be any viable route to funding improvements while the club is out of the City.

In summary, the club have no meaningful assets with which to work. They've no land on which to build a new stadium, and nothing to use as collateral to fund a build even if they wanted to. They're supported by a Community Trust with no access to the kind of funds from which they too alone could build a new stadium. There's a Council who continue to shy away from any responsibility or planning obligation on the Newmarket site, distance themselves from the development at any given opportunity, and a developer who have absolved all ownership of everything but the land. But all that said, even if WMDC did enforce planning obligations at Newmarket Lane and Yorkcourt did adhere to them, we're still potentially years off reaching a percentage of site build that would even enable community stadium development.

The day we lost ownership of Belle Vue was the day we lost this battle. That was our lifeblood but most importantly our leverage. Of course it wouldn't solve all our problems, but what it would give at the very least is a starting point. We haven't even got that. But from the day we lost it we've been chasing our tails ever since, and continue to do so today. Sadly, there's still only one event truly responsible for this shambolic saga. It wasn't WMDC, Box, Yorkcourt, Mackay, SWAG, Michael Carter or anybody else that caused that event. Fact of the matter is, it was Ted.