Tuesday 9 February 2016 17:33, UK
Wakefield chairman Michael Carter says the club is considering buying its Belle Vue home from the Bank of Ireland.
The stadium has been put on the market by the bank, which is looking for offers in the region of £600,000.
Wakefield signed a new lease after winning the Million Pound Game in September, and Carter is confident Belle Vue will remain a rugby league venue in the long term.
But the chairman's preference is for a buyer affiliated to the Super League club, and he is not ruling out making a bid.
"It's something we are considering," Carter said. "It's early days, it literally came out of the blue. I wasn't aware what value the Bank of Ireland were putting on the site until yesterday and we're going to need some time to evaluate what the £600,000 price tag actually means.
"I don't think the £600,000 would potentially put us off too much. We'd like to own the ground ourselves or get the trust to own the ground and there has been talk over the last 24 hours of a supporters-owned ground.
"Hopefully there won't be somebody who comes out of left field and decides he wants to buy the ground with a view to kicking the club out and developing it into housing or something like that. Hopefully common sense will prevail.
"I'm really hopeful that one of the interested parties that ends up buying the freehold will have something to do with either the club or the stadium trust. My fervent hope is that one way or another it will be good news for the club.
"Any prospective buyer has to bear in mind that there is a clause on the ground that says nothing can happen unless there is a stadium fit for Super League within Wakefield so that gives the club some added comfort."
