Cancellation of match Hunslet Hawks v. Keighley Cougars
WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Background
Hunslet Hawks operate through a stadium lease given by Leeds City Council. The lease was granted after Hunslet left Elland Road to accommodate requests as a result of the staging of Euro ’96.
The lease was frame worked by senior legal officer Paul Rogerson, who subsequently became Chief Executive of Leeds City Council. Within the terms of the lease certain obligations have to be met, including granting Hunslet definitive 24/7 access to its facilities.
It is our belief that the council are determined to dishonour that agreement. We believe the council in doing so are behaving in a bullying manor via the use of intimidation.
Is this bullying and an act of intimidation?
At approximately 10:30am December 24th 2009, there was a pre-arranged inspection of the South Leeds Stadium pitch. Council officials made reference to the facility outside of the stadium. No one from the club was informed that the stadium had run out of grit. Nobody from the ground staff was present. The council officers wished to call off the match. Following a conversation between Steve Ball and Emma Rosewarne from the Rugby League, it was agreed to have a further inspection on Boxing Day on December 26th 2009, with an RFL referee present.
On December 26th 2009, contrary to the Rogerson Agreement, Hunslet were denied access to the pitch. Shutter barriers had been placed around the stadium to prevent access. Hunslet officials, determined to uphold the access agreement, gained access onto the pitch. Nobody from the council turned up. The match was declared on, subject to the lines being cleared and the snow removed.
Steve Ball informed a council official by telephone that the match was on. The council official subsequently rang him back asking for assistance to clear the ground. This was partly because the stadium had only three spades! This was agreed and via the club website and email system, Alan Stephenson asked for volunteers.
On the day of the match, Hunslet volunteers waited until 10:45am to gain access to the ground, because the shutters were still down. The groundsman and his assistant joined the volunteers in clearing the lines. At 11:00am Steve Ball went looking for the groundsman, as the only individuals clearing the pitch were the volunteers. Despite club requests to clear the pitch using the tractor, the lines only were manually cleared and the match was on. Both Keighley and Hunslet agreed to play. The ground staff never intimated any problem at this time. Volunteers continued to operate outside clearing the snow from around the turnstiles and the car park. There was no grit to assist and nobody from the council offered any assistance.
Unbelievably it was brought to the referee’s attention at 1.20pm that there was ice underneath the snow. The referee asked the groundsman to clear all the snow at 1:25pm. The groundsman informed the referee that there wasn’t enough time, and the match was cancelled.
Questions:
Why wasn’t the tractor used to clear the snow? Why was there only three spades in a stadium complex costing over £40 million? Why were Hunslet continually denied access to the stadium facilities immediately prior to the game? Why didn’t the council obtain more grit before the game? Why did the ground staff not do any more work after midday? Why did the groundsman not highlight his observations to the Hunslet officials at midday, so that they could help him clear the whole pitch? At 1:20pm, why did the groundsstaff not ask for volunteer support in helping clear the pitch, in order to allow Hunslet to put the kick-off time back to 3pm?
It is quite clear to most that there are enormous problems in implementing the Rogerson Agreement. As a consequence, the club will seek compensation from the council and have instructed lawyers to take legal action in supporting the original Rogerson Agreement.
Alan Stephenson - Chief Executive
Hunslet Hawks RL.
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