Twickenham’s status as the home of England rugby is under threat after licensing restrictions lost the prestigious venue an opportunity to host lucrative Beyonce concerts.
Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney has hinted at ditching the Allianz Stadium in southwest London in favour of Milton Keynes or Birmingham if they are not permitted to host more major non-rugby events.
The RFU is allowed to host three non-rugby events a year with a limited capacity of 55,000. The governing body has pressed Richmond borough council to increase this to 15 events for audiences of up to 82,000.
However, should Richmond not bow to these requests, Mr Sweeney has insisted that relocation from Twickenham could very much be on the table.
“There are plenty of places that would like to have us. Birmingham, Milton Keynes would love to have us there,” Mr Sweeney said on the Business of Sport podcast.
“Part of the renovation from 2027 means we are in discussions with Richmond borough council to stage more non-rugby events. For us it is three [events] and we are only allowed one on a Friday.
“We have had The Rolling Stones. We could have had Beyonce but she wanted three nights and we are only allowed two nights consecutively.
“We are saying: ‘If we are going to invest £600m into the Allianz – and we have a study which shows how much economic value it contributes to the borough – you are going to have to work with us in terms of an increase in the number of events we can stage in order to monetise the stadium.’”
Twickenham is only seven months into a 13-year £130m naming rights deal with Allianz, but plans for a £600m redevelopment would reportedly not be viable if the ground doesn’t diversify its event programme.
The RFU is eager to take Twickenham in the direction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which capitalised on the home of rugby’s unavailability to snap up Beyonce, housing her Cowboy Carter Tour for six nights in the summer.
Spurs’ state-of-the-art ground, which also regularly hosts NFL games, is licensed for 30 non-football events every year.
However Mr Sweeney’s power in English rugby may not last long enough for him to explore a change in scenery as he faces a vote of no confidence next Thursday.
The chief executive has been the subject of a grassroots revolt after executive pay at the RFU was exposed, which saw performance-related bonuses take Mr Sweeney’s annual income to more than £1m.
The pay controversy has led to those in the grassroots game to feel disenfranchised and express grievances over the leadership. Mr Sweeney says he is committed to governance reform but the unease has already seen chair Tom Ilube resign.
