RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney says England may still move from Allianz Stadium over licensing restrictions with the stadium that have stopped them from Beyonce concerts.
As previously reported, the RFU has a £663m plan to revamp the ground, called Twickenham prior to its rebranding last year, that has been England’s home since it was built in 1909.
But speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Sweeney says that investment can’t be justified if the license restrictions don’t change.
As it stands the licence allows Allianz Stadium to host three non-rugby events per year, no more than two consecutively and only one of those can be on a Friday, all with a restricted capacity of 55,000.
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A greenfield site in Birmingham previously came under consideration to become the new home of English rugby until the RFU decided to remain at Twickenham.
“We’ve had the Rolling Stones, and we could have had Beyonce, but she wanted three nights, and we’re only allowed two nights consecutively,” Sweeney said.
“We’re having a conversation with Richmond Borough, saying look if we’re going invest £600m into the Allianz and that’s going to bring x amount of revenue…If we’re going do that, you’re going to have to work with us in terms of an increase of the number of events we can stage in order to monetise the stadium.
Sweeney was speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, referencing licensing restrictions which saw the stadium miss out on Beyonce concerts
“And there’s plenty of places that would love to have us there. Birmingham, Milton Keynes would love to have us there.
“It would be a tough call for us, it would be very difficult. I don’t know how we would justify the investment in the stadium if we can’t get an increase in the event licenses.”
Sweeney’s appearance on the podcast comes ahead of a vote of no confidence in him, at a special general meeting next Thursday.
The RFU was looking at possible alternatives to renovating Allianz Stadium in March last year, with the option of buying a 50 per cent share in Wembley from the Football Association discussed before being discounted.
It has since emerged relocating to the Midlands was also examined before it was concluded that renovating England’s ground in south-west London was the right choice for commercial reasons.
Sweeney previously said: “We looked at a range of different options. There was the merger with Wembley, which was a conversation, and there was a move somewhere else to a greenfield site which might have had better access for the whole of the country. It was in the Birmingham area and they were quite keen to work with us.
“All of the numbers at the end of the day led to remaining at Twickenham and redeveloping the stadium here. That was partly to do with the hospitality market in London from a commercial point of view.
“Plus there was the traditional piece, which couldn’t be discounted, in terms of the home of rugby being based in Twickenham.”
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