https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/55048885
Wakefield have submitted a planning application to develop parts of their Belle Vue home, including construction of a new 2,500-seater East Stand.
Trinity, who purchased the freehold on the site in March 2019, also plan to install a 4G playing surface.
Floodlights will be upgraded and existing terracing in the North Stand will be renovated.
New car parking and dedicated fan zone areas behind the redeveloped East Stand are also included in the plans.
The current stand structure dates back to 1924 with Belle Vue's current capacity around 7,000.
"The new stand will provide first-class 21st century facilities for our spectators, which are well overdue," Trinity chairman John Minards said.
"This phase of our redevelopment plans will provide multi-functional community facilities including conferencing and banqueting space and a café.
"The 4G pitch will also be available for community use as well as providing an all year-round venue for our first and youth teams."
Previously, in 2012, the club was granted outline planning permission to build a new 12,000-capacity stadium on the site of the former Newmarket Silkstone Colliery.
The development, close to junction 30 of the M62, was set to include warehouses, a multi-use games area, a restaurant and 120-bedroom hotel, but funding was never secured to get the project started and Trinity then decided to focus their attention on redeveloping Belle Vue instead.
1924 for the current stand, surely they mean 1824 🙂
Sensible decision to have a 4g pitch as it enables far greater all-year-round community use.
However cynics, like me, wonder if this proposal has anything to do with Wakefield’s concern about their future in the SL, particularly if licensing is going to be on the agenda. After all, it’s not the first time they have proposed schemes to rebuild or relocate.
Cas won't be far behind with another plan.
Including a full sized pitch?
Richie Mathers not got anything to say about this 4G pitch?
Probably the longest running saga in Rugby League. Wakefield have been living on a wish and a promise for as long as I can remember.
Does anyone think these ground improvements will ever materialise? Despite what is currently in the press?
Wakefield Trinity: Stadium revamp approved by city council
Castleford appear to be doing likewise, and the many CGI's that have been shown to the world in general over the last 10 + years will never become a reality.
In the west yorkshire press, it has been reported that Wakefield council have offered Wakefield, Cas and Featherstone £2 million each to spend on ground improvements and in a statement , Cas have said that this is now looking to be their favoured option.
The reality is, however that it will take much more than £ 2 million to make a dent in any serious schedule of improvements and they will still end up with a short pitch surrounded by a wooden stand and poor terraces.
There was me thinking they had a new stadium ready to go in 2008 when they got a license, and 2011....
You've really got to laugh when any of these aforementioned clubs start blabbing about ground improvements. They should call it Project Jackanory. I remember being at The Jungle quite a few years ago and the chairman came on the pitch saying Cas had been given the green light to upgrade the stadium. Maybe the letter to start the work was lost in the post. Belle View is a disgrace and isn't Cas's pitch about 20 metres short of full length ? Anyway, it is what it is.