The announcement was made at the stadium today (Thursday, July 18), with Oldham Athletic CEO Darren Royle saying an agreement had been reached.
It means that the ground will host both Latics and Roughyeds games for at least the next 10 years, as well as other community events such as matches between schools and local clubs.
Bill Quinn, chairman of Oldham RLFC, said: “It’s probably one of the most important things for the future of this rugby club.
“To grow the club and to reach our goals, without the Rothwells and without Boundary Park, it’s almost impossible.”
According to Mr. Royle, the stable ownership of both teams made the transaction possible, calling it “a huge agreement” that would aid in the clubs’ growth both commercially and athletically.
Luke Rothwell, director at Oldham Athletic, said: “We want people to have a positive image of this site, and this is the start.
“The thing about this place, the opportunities are frightening, and there’s more opportunities coming all the time.”
Mr Rothwell said that the clubs want people coming to Boundary Park for different reasons, including both sporting and social events.
Both Mr Rothwell and Mr Quinn insisted that there is a lot of trust and an aligned vision between the respective owners of the two clubs.
Mr Quinn said: “We’re always willing to talk to each other and to understand each other’s situations.
“There will be challenges, and we’ve already had challenges.
“The most important thing is, as Oldhamers, we have the same vision for Oldham, the same vision for the pitch, the same vision for business.”
The goal is all part of the development and new plans in and around the stadium, which the owners are calling “SportsTown.” Mr. Quinn said that both clubs are looking beyond just the next few seasons, but the long-term impact they can have on the stadium and the clubs. Mr. Quinn spoke about potential future success for the clubs: “We’d like to think from a rugby and a football point of view, we had a hand in that and it started here in SportsTown.” Both ownerships have expressed their hope that the move will allow Boundary Park to be used by the wider community, including for children’s sports events as well as off-field social events.
“If we can do that, whether it’s getting the Roughyeds into the Super League, whether it’s the Latics moving up the divisions in football, I think to do those things, that really would be a legacy and would be something you could look back on and say ‘look what we did together, look what we achieved’.
As Oldham Athletic continue to gear up for the upcoming season, the Roughyeds will take to Boundary Park’s field on Sunday, July 21, against Keighley Cougars.
The ground will also be used as the venue for the Manchester Remembers charity match on Sunday, July 28.
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