The date is 3 October 2015, rugby league’s first Million Pound Game, a day forever etched into the memory of the Wakefield owner, Michael Carter. Two years have passed since he rescued one of the sport’s most famous clubs, but things are not getting any easier.
Wakefield were, as Carter recounts, living “hand-to-mouth” to try to eradicate losses of almost a million pounds a year before his takeover. “We weren’t quite haemorrhaging cash but we needed an abundance of it to survive,” he tells the Observer.
To balance the books in 2014, there was a fire sale of the club’s prized talent. “We sold seven [players] in total which brought in around £250,000. We took a punt on 2014 to try and avoid relegation on a budget and we did, but 2015 was just as bad.”
Carter recalls pacing the corridors of Wakefield’s Belle Vue ground the day of the Million Pound Game with no real idea of what to do next should Trinity be relegated. “That day, that one game, that’s how close Wakefield Trinity were to disappearing,” he says. “There was no alternative other than giving up and going part-time with the funding cuts we’d have had.”
Thankfully, Carter can look back on that day and just about raise a smile. Wakefield beat Bradford 24-16 to preserve their Super League status and while this Sunday may be similar in terms of atmosphere and fanfare, the prize on offer is much more satisfying.
If the first two years of Carter’s reign saw Wakefield living hand-to-mouth, the past 18 months will have felt like a feast. Last year, Carter turned to hometown boy Chris Chester to become the club’s new coach and they made the top eight with ease. This year they are in the hunt to become champions of England.
Victory against St Helens would guarantee a top-four finish before the Super 8s, and the enormity of the match is not lost on owner and staff. “It’d give us an extra home game which could be worth £70-80,000,” he says. “It’ll be enormous. If we make it to the play-offs, that’s another six-figure sum minimum. The implications are massive for a club who live by their means.”
John Kear, the club’s head of rugby, who returned to Wakefield for a second spell at the start of this season to assist Chester, said: “We’ve had to reassess our goals, yes. On Sunday we have a chance to achieve what many, many people thought was unachievable at the start of the season.”
There are still seven more games when the Super 8s begin to secure a play-off place, but Kear is adamant Wakefield 2.0 can last the pace. “Sunday isn’t the end,” he says. “It’s the beginning and the beginning of some real exciting times. That’s how we’re viewing it.”
But one thing is holding this quite admirable club back. For five years Wakefield have battled with a private developer and their local council to become anchor tenants in a community stadium which has failed to materialise. By their own admission, Trinity desperately need to escape a ground which fails to meet RFL standards soon or they could be ejected from Super League.
“It’s the only thing impacting on us,” Carter says. “The extra income and revenue streams would allow us to invest in the first team more, as well as our off-field structures. I hope it can become a reality.” If it does, the sky could be the limit for Wakefield. And if things go their way on Sunday, expect there to be celebrations not too dissimilar to that unforgettable day in 2015, but this time for all the right reasons.
