Salford Red Devils' prospective investor insists the club can become a force as plans to purchase the AJ Bell Stadium continue to take place. Local businessman Sebastian Gerrard, a boyhood Reds fan, is currently in discussions with Salford Council with regards to purchasing the stadium, despite a rival bid made up of Sale Sharks and Class of 92-owned Salford City FC.
Cash-strapped Salford had been considering a move to Moor Lane, the current home of the city's football club co-owned by Gary Neville. That would have seen the League 2 club move base to the AJ Bell, which is twice the size of their current home. But Gerrard now hopes to secure the Super League club's future at their current home as part of wider plans to make the Devils a Super League powerhouse.
"Our objective is to basically keep the stadium in use for the community," he said. "We want Salford to keep playing here, we'd like to bring Swinton Lions and a host of other community events and concerts to the facility.
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"My family has been quite heavily involved locally for a long time, they were involved in Swinton back in the 70s when they were one of the biggest clubs. I've been busy for a few years but I want to get involved now and there would be no better club for me than Salford. My family has a long history with the sport and I want to do some good.
"It's early days, we're in discussions but I've got a view of either taking over or getting quite heavily involved in the club and that's in a few different ways.
"Part of that is putting some money in and buying the stadium and not only that, but to become more sustainable. I've no interest in meddling with the team or on-field kind of stuff, the management structure is great and they are doing absolutely brilliant, the only place they're struggling is the financial side and that's where I can help."
Talks remain ongoing regarding the purchase of the ground but Gerrard insists moving to Moor Lane is not a viable option for the club. "In my view, if they go down to Moor Lane, that could be the death of the club.
"It's OK saying improvements are subject to planning but we know how difficult that process is after the football club attempted to do it, it was all over the press, If it didn't happen the ground wouldn't meet Super League standards, they'd be forced out and that would be the end of the club.
"The atmosphere at the games, especially at the AJ Bell, is electric. You get the community clubs going and it's a powerful experience to have people like that. Swinton were once the best club in the country, they used to win everything. But they moved to Altrincham and lost two-thirds of the fanbase overnight which is heartbreaking. This is a proud club with 150 years of history that just needs a bit of help to secure its future in my mind.
"The stadium itself just needs capital and some improvements, the stadium can survive if it hosts events and the supporters keep showing up. And if Swinton come here we can help rebuild the club a bit and restore the old rivalry between the two clubs. There's plenty of work to get through before this is all a reality but it's something I'd love to do."
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