Acun Ilıcalı Says Hull FC Are In Trouble at Mkm Stadium
Acun Ilıcalı said Hull FC’s future at mkm stadium is in trouble after asking supporters whether the rugby club should stay. The Hull City owner raised the issue at a City Fans Forum event on Friday night, where the majority of fans in the room backed the rugby club leaving.
Acun Ilıcalı at Mkm Stadium
“So they are in trouble. So they are in trouble now.” Ilıcalı said after putting the question to the room. He also told fans, “This for me is the most important part of this meeting. The question is how many of you are okay for the rugby club to be here for the future? Can you raise hands? For the rugby club being here. (Around a quarter of the room raised their hands). Okay. How many would prefer them to leave? (The majority of the room raised their hands).”
He then said, “So for the future I have doubts about the rugby side and you showed me today that you (do too).” That leaves Hull FC’s place at the stadium tied not just to lease talks, but to a public display of support from the club owner’s own fans.
Hull FC Lease Talks
Hull FC’s current lease runs out at the end of the 2027 season, and the club is already in talks with the SMC about its future beyond the end of next year. Ilıcalı said he does not think Hull will accept the SMC’s new lease offer and added that the current deal is “far away from being equal” and fair.
He said, “if something is shared between two clubs, it has to be fair,” and also that Hull City had lost money through the stadium share. Hull FC have played at the MKM Stadium since the 2003 season, while the stadium itself is owned by Hull City Council and used by both clubs as tenants.
Pitch And Payment Pressure
The pitch is now part of the argument. Ilıcalı said the state of the surface was a big issue and referred to it being in a sorry state in January, five months after Hull FC last played on it. He added, “I walked 20 times this season on the pitch and the pitches; sometimes in January it was like this, trust me, like this.”
He also said, “I really think that it's effective in our football because our team is playing with more technical players, our identity, our idea is getting high-quality players with the talent and you cannot do anything in the middle of the mud.” A meeting is due to take place soon with Hull FC over the new lease conditions, and the fan vote at Friday night’s forum has already hardened the line around what happens next at mkm stadium.
Andrew Thirkill is part of Hull FC’s ownership group, but the immediate pressure now sits on the terms of the next deal and whether the rugby club can stay on terms Ilıcalı says are fair.
