England: Yorkshire give Leeds a chance (21 Jan 1998)

21 January 1998

Yorkshire give Leeds a chance

By William Gray

YORKSHIRE yesterday agreed to give Headingley a chance to serve the county as a Test and first-class venue for the 21st century.

The club have long been hoping to move from Leeds to a new site at Durkar, near Wakefield, which they believed would ensure a healthy future for international and championship cricket in Yorkshire.

However, they have been locked in argument with Headingley's owners - the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Co Ltd - who want to redevelop the existing ground and have refused to waive Yorkshire's lease on the venue, which still has more than 80 years to run.

In a joint statement, though, from Yorkshire and Leeds CF&A, both parties have now committed themselves to first attempting to secure planning permission and grant funding for the redevelopment of Headingley before plans for an alternative venue go any further.

The future of Yorkshire at Headingley therefore depends on the co-operation of local authority planners and of funding agencies.

If Headingley does prove feasible as the continuing home of Yorkshire cricket, the club and Leeds CF&A, headed by chairman Paul Caddick, intend to remain in partnership there in a complex that will also host Leeds Rhinos rugby league club.

But, if either planning permission or funding is not forthcoming, it is expected Caddick will release Yorkshire from their lease and allow them to press ahead at Durkar, where all conditions appropriate to redevelopment are already thought to be in place.

Yorkshire, though, have stressed they cannot afford to waste any time in establishing a modern venue, either at Headingley or in Wakefield, because they fear they could be left behind in a competitive marketplace.

Colin Croxall, a Wakefield council spokesman, reiterated that the Durkar site is still very much available to Yorkshire and added that he believes it represents a "golden opportunity" for the club.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)