Dear Shareholder
You may be aware that the board of Newport RFC has provisionally agreed with the WRU that the Union will buy Rodney Parade and continue to run the professional side, to be renamed as simply “Dragons,” from there. Newport RFC will be permitted to play at the ground but the Union will not give any commitment how long that arrangement will last.
A meeting for shareholders and supporters was held with the stated aim of providing information about the deal to enable shareholders to make an informed choice. However, answers to what we believe to be the two most important questions were not available. The first question was the business model for Newport RFC in future, and how it is to develop income streams to enable it to compete in the Welsh Premiership with no ground. The second is how much of the loans put in by the directors is to be written off and how much is to be repaid. FoNR have several times asked for a meeting with the board or the main directors to discuss this point, but have been refused. The proposed deal will see the ground sold to the WRU for what appears to be a fraction of its development value, and the primary aim of this is to keep professional rugby at Rodney Parade, but with little, if any, consideration for the future of Newport RFC. The meeting was told that the proposed deal is "the only way" but FoNR believes that the directors are putting the needs of the regional side ahead of Newport Rugby Football Club and that there may be alternative options which will enable Newport RFC to retain most of the ground. We are promised another meeting to provide information ahead of the calling of an Extraordinary Meeting of shareholders to vote on the deal. FoNR will write to all shareholders again after that meeting and when fuller details of the proposal are revealed. We would ask that when you receive notice of any formal meeting you give us time to write to you again before you make any decision or return any proxy votes for the meeting.
Friends of Newport Rugby Supporters Trust
Kev Jarvis
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