Countdown is on for Sheffield Eagles' return home

Eagles return to Sheffield after years in exile, and after being forced to play the first four games of the 2018 campaign away from home, to allow time for completion of their new Olympic Legacy Park home.

The OLP has been brought up to code in recent days, with a temporary stand going up this week, but Chief Operating Officer Liam Claffey explained that there is still work to do.

“The seated stand is now in position and on site,” he confirmed to The Star.

“The planning application went in, and we received word from them that we could erect the stand. Subject to any issues with the planning application, we move on from there. We are confident that there will be no issues further down the line.

“We will have a three metre high fence around the edge of the site. That will be completed in the next 24 hours, and will be branded. We have the dugouts, which have been provided by Sheffield United, arriving Wednesday, as well as the scoreboard which was on loan to Sheffield Tigers at Owlerton.”

Full completion on the facility is set for 2019, but an Eagles’ return this season was crucial for the future of the club.

Whilst the club admit there is much work to be done before then, Claffey says they have been encouraged by early sales, and he is hopeful of more than doubling the attendance figure from last season’s hosting of London at Wakefield’s Belle Vue.

“Ticket sales have been good” he confirmed. “Our attendance against London last season was 309. I will be very happy if we double that figure for this weekend.

“The stand is in a much better position to watch the game from what we had at Bawtry Road. We feel the fans will get a much better experience.”