Rugby League: Sponsor reaffirms commitment to Sheffield Eagles

The Eagles came perilously close to extinction as their sponsor almost walked away last year, following delays in negotiating with the local council.

Months have passed with no confirmation a deal has been struck, but the unnamed individual has moved to ease any fears over his commitment, whilst the Eagles confirm they have stabilised sufficiently to run the club during the impasse.

“We are committed to building a home for Sheffield Eagles and developing a Centre of Excellence for both code of Rugby,” the sponsor said. “We want to see a co-ordinated strategy for developing rugby in the Sheffield region and having highest level of rugby in the City at the new stadium in 2018.

“We believe working with Sheffield City Council, and the renewable energy projects, we have we can have sustainable investment into both codes of rugby, which the Sheffield region has been wanting for many years.”

While it is taking longer than expected to get an agreement over the line, the Eagles’ previous desperation for a quick resolution have eased. After successfully navigating red tape to move the club back to part-time, the Eagles have also seen significant savings from their temporary move to Wakefield.

No longer saddled with the costs to hire and maintain facilities at Bawtry Road, they have stabilised sufficiently to satisfy the requirements of the RFL.

“We had a rocky end to 2016 and the uncertainty at the club has been there for all to see,” Aston told The Star. “Investors leaving the club, sponsors threatening to walk away because of lack of support. What I can confirm today is that we have that support, and Sheffield Eagles are very much alive and kicking.”

From today we can confirm that this club will go into the 2017 season, and be competitive on and off the field.

“The RFL need to make sure going forward that we are sustainable. They have had their reservations, but all those fears have been wiped away. I am delighted that Chris Noble MBE has taken the mantle of being the Chairman of the club, our previous Chairman gave him 100% backing, and why wouldn’t you. He has a passion to take this club on and that has given us some stability.”