Sports village would be ‘best thing’ for Hull City since new stadium, says key figure

The MKM Stadium site’s development is the subject of much discussion

Liam Rosenior says it’s vital the people of Hull get behind Hull City‘s grand plans to redevelop the area around the MKM Stadium, as talks continue with Hull City council. The Tigers have lofty ambitions to revive the West Park area which would see them create a sports village around the 20-year-old stadium housing both the first team and academy teams, currently split over two separate sites at Cottingham and Bishop Burton.

Talks have also yielded a desire for a smaller capacity arena to be built within the grounds that could accommodate Hull FC and other sports with it becoming a focal point of the community for both men’s and women’s sports.

Acun Ilicali’s grand vision remains firmly in its infancy as talks continue with both the council and other stakeholders over possible designs and the rather thorny subject of the Walton Street car park.

While the finer points of any development are yet to be agreed upon, Tigers head coach Rosenior believes the project would be the single biggest sign of progress since the club moved from Boothferry Park to the KC Stadium as it was in 2002.

“I think it would be the best thing that happened to this football club since the stadium was built. By far, it will be the biggest thing,” Rosenior tells Hull Live.

“Long after I’m here, you want a legacy for the football club, the community and the city. When I see Jacob Greaves play, I see Jarrod Bowen come through and I remember when we signed Jarrod from Hereford when I was a player here, when you see Keane (Lewis-Potter) come through, to have that link with the local community and you see young lads from Hull that want to play for their club and see that there is a pathway, to see that there are facilities that will help them on their path.

“We want to sign the best players to get us into the Premier League, and they see that we’ve got the best facilities and training ground possible, that’s cutting edge and on a par with other teams.”