This morning, as the sun rises,
there will be many rugby fans across the country that are thinking about the
events that unfolded yesterday. It was quite the day in the history of the game
in indeed in the history of Wasps Rugby Club. It has never been a secret that
High Wycombe and Adams Park wasn’t the forever home of the Club so the
confirmation of the move yesterday didn't come from nowhere.
During the course of the Wednesday, we
were delivered with the facts regarding the precarious nature of Wasps in terms
of its financial situation, both now and during the course of the time that
Derek Richardson has owned the club. Did
many realise how truly close Wasps came to going into administration and
therefore ceasing to be a Club? I expect not, however in fact there were only a small number
of minutes between Wasps falling out of existence and Derek saving the club. Over the
past 18 months Derek has absorbed almost £10million of the Club’s losses and
currently Wasps are losing approximately £3 million every year, a financially
impossible model to sustain. Now in October 2014 Derek is saving the club once again through providing future
stability and ensuring that Wasps remain at the heart of English Rugby
for years and years to come. Thanks to
the movement and ownership of such a facility like the Ricoh Arena, profitability
is on the horizon and with that comes stability, strength and a financial pot
that is akin to the ambition and desire of all working at, involved with and supporting Wasps.
Yesterday when the relocation
decision broke emotions ran high; of course they did that is only natural,
however now the facts are out in the open and the true picture has been
revealed; it is a picture that
many of us, me included, weren’t fully privy to and will change many opinions across the country. The comprehensive manner in
which Wasps are assisting their fans to digest this move is to be hugely
praised; it shows the wholehearted commitment of all individuals that work at
the club to ensure that fans are provided with the right information, and
the right opportunities to help them continue to support the side that they
love. Free transport to and from the Ricoh for the rest of the season, along with upgraded season tickets and of course a brand spanking new 32,000 seater stadium, just think of the atmosphere that is possible.
An emotional time it may be however personally I whole-heartedly support the
bravery of the decision and the manner in which the club has been saved, for
the thought of Wasps Rugby ceasing to be, in any form, is one that shakes me to
my very core.
