By Alan Irving

Published at 11:10, Thursday, 03 May 2012

“THOSE who acted in parochial and political self interest in attempting to leverage the games to showcase in their own backyard should be ashamed that their actions led to the sporting communities of West Cumbria being denied this wonderful opportunity.”

ALTERNATIVE VISION: Cumbria Academy of Sport’s designs for an athletic, community and RL Super League stadium

These were the critical words of Workington Town’s chairman following the loss of the two prestigious RL World Cup games which were scheduled for the doomed Pow Beck stadium.

Allerdale is now putting in a rival bid to host the fixtures at Town’s Derwent Park home. Workington MP Tony Cunningham said: “The least we can do is try to salvage something from all this.”

Meanwhile, the Pow Beck rethink has rekindled the debate over whether Copeland Stadium (now the Cumbria Academy of Sport) at Hensingham would be a better place to play professional RL at Whitehaven or for a Cumbrian Super League side.

Almost three years ago,architects drew up this vision of a super-stadium capable of accommodating 14,000 spectators, with seating for 8,000. The cost was put at £23 million but the superstadium would also incorporate international athletics as well as top class rugby league with a focus on community and county. It would be built to Super League standards for a possible combined Cumbrian side.

Whitehaven rugby league club said then it was not interested in moving from the Recreation Ground as pursuing the Pow Beck venture was the preferred option.

The Academy is run by trustees who were gifted the former Copeland Stadium for £1 by BNFL in 1999.

BNFL had previously put £1 million into its development and Copeland Council another £400,000. Since then Copeland Stadium has developed – with the aid of £1 million – into what Trust chairman Jackie Reid described as providing community sports facilities second to none in the whole county.

Mr Reid said this week that the Trustees would still be willing to talk to the Pow Beck stadium partners if they were interested in a switch.

Allerdale Council leader Alan Smith described the whole saga as ‘a travesty.’

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk