Super League rugby club Salford Reds "run the risk of going into administration" following Salford City Council’s "shock decision" not to provide the club with a vital £750,000 ($1.2M) bailout loan, according to Neil Barker of the MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS. The "hammer financial blow" also means the Reds’ future is now in serious doubt with Salford facing a "desperate race" against time to find new investment ahead of the '13 season. The club "could now fold as a professional club." Now it is "back to the drawing board" for long-serving Chair John Wilkinson who made the "controversial move" from the Reds’ outdated Willows ground to the new 12,000 capacity Salford City Stadium at Barton. However, the stadium has "failed to attract anything like the number of spectators expected, and it was this switch that is at the forefront of the club’s current desperate plight." Super League bosses are still expecting the team to start the new season, but they know the council’s decision not to offer financial help and support is a "crippling blow to the club." A Super League spokesperson said, "We will be monitoring the Salford situation closely" (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, 12/12).
