Shaw Lane AFC are close to securing a groundshare agreement to play at fellow Barnsley club Athersley Rec's Sheerien Park from next month.
The Ducks are hoping to sign a ten-year lease after having to leave Shaw Lane, where they had previously been groundsharing with Barnsley Rugby Union Club. Rec and Shaw Lane AFC have been in negotiations for weeks and have agreed to a deal in principle.Athersley are holding a board meeting tomorrow morning, to which players and fans have also been invited, to discuss the possible groundshare with the documents ready to sign next week if approved.
If the deal is completed, it is too late for Shaw Lane to be renamed for the 2017/18 season but they are hoping to change their name for the following campaign.
If the deal does not go through, they may have to return to the rugby club for one more season. Rec founder and general manager Pete Goodlad said: "It is an ongoing process but it should be finalised one way or the other in the next few days."We are meeting with our board, players and fans to discuss it on Saturday.
"It's a massive decision for both clubs and we are making sure we think it through properly."
The Ducks and the Penguins have developed a fierce rivalry in recent years but Shaw Lane owner Craig Wood wants a good working relationship. His club would fund improvements to the ground and pay rent to the Penguins.
Wood said: "There is an agreement provisionally in place with Rec, but nothing has been signed yet. I think it would be a great decision for both clubs. There has been a bit of animosity in the past but I have always got on well with Pete and respected Athersley and I can see both clubs doing really well out of the groundshare. Sheerien Park lends itself to improvements more than Shaw Lane did. There is a great playing surface there and good facilities.
"We would take it up to the standard of a National League (formerly Conference) stadium and we would give Rec a significant financial contribution to help with their running costs.
"It would be great to have two of the town's top teams at the same ground so Barnsley people can come down to Sheerien Park every Saturday and most Tuesdays or Wednesdays and see good quality non-league football."
Shaw Lane – Barnsley's highest-placed ever non-league side who have secured five promotions in six years – approached Athersley as soon as they were advised by the rugby club at the end of the 2016/17 season that they would have to leave Shaw Lane.
The idea of a merger between the clubs was rejected instantly but they have been working together to agree a groundshare.Sheerien Park is not currently up to the required standard for the Evo-Stik Premier Division – one tier below the National League North – which the Ducks have have just been promoted into.
If the groundshare goes ahead, Shaw Lane will have to make some changes before the season begins then have been given until March 31 to make others.
Before July 28, the Ducks would have to bring turnstiles, a press box, signage and pitchside boardings from Shaw Lane and install first aid rooms.
Then, by the later deadline of March 31, they would have to bring in the Dan Wilkinson Stand from Shaw Lane – which can be moved but would require planning permission – and create a new carpark for away supporters with a separate entrance to the ground.
Barnsley Council, who own the land but lease it to Rec, have given Athersley permission to sublease to Shaw Lane and Rec's Northern Counties East League have approved the groundshare.
The Evo-Stik League are expected to also approve it once they receive signed copy of the agreement between the clubs.
