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Eagles take stadium battle to Parliament
SHEFFIELD Eagles' hopes of moving to their own purpose-built stadium have won backing from two of the city's MPs.
A delegation of Eagles officials and players met former Sports Minister Richard Caborn and Clive Betts at the Houses of Parliament.
On the agenda was the Eagles' hopes of moving to a new stadium that could be built on the Sheffield-Rotherham border.
The Eagles have had discussions with Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Borough Council about their hopes to create a centre of excellence for both codes of the game in South Yorkshire.
A possible site is land on Bawtry Road, Tinsley, near the Sheffield United Cricket Ground.
Eagles coach and chief executive Mark Aston stressed that planning is in the early stages.
"We want a centre of excellence for the development of rugby in South Yorkshire," he said. "A centre that would give young people the chance to be the best they can."
Any stadium would have an 8,000 to 10,000 capacity and be linked to training facilities purpose-built for rugby, he said.
Aston added: "We are looking at the feasibility of developing a rugby centre for both league and union. This is still in the early stages but we were well received by the MPs during our visit to Parliament."
It raises the possibility of a ground-share arrangement with Rotherham Titans RUFC.
The Eagles have been at Don Valley Stadium since 1990 but the vast bowl, with 20,000 seats and a running track cutting off the pitch from the fans, lacks the atmosphere rugby needs.
Moving to a new purpose-built stadium would give the club a huge boost.
Aston said: "There's been a massive growth in the game in schools and at amateur-club level but we need a centre of excellence - that's what we hope long term we can create."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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