Wakefield have a long and proud history at Belle Vue

Wakefield Wildcats have unveiled plans for a new 12,000 capacity stadium.

The Yorkshire club were last year awarded a licence to play in Super League until 2011 but need a new ground or risk missing out next time.

Wakefield have been at Belle Vue since 1878 but the ground does not meet current Super League licence criteria.

The new stadium will be close to junction 30 of the M62 and chairman Ted Richardson said: "This is very exciting for rugby in the district."

Wakefield hope the stadium will be used by the whole community, with a local college and university considering locating a sports science department on the site.

606: DEBATE There isn't a club that deserves a new stadium more than Wakefield CasTigerOwen

The development will be undertaken by Yorkcourt Properties and a community trust. It will be chaired by former Rugby Football League chairman Sir Rodney Walker.

Richardson added: "There have been a number of false dawns, we are confident that this is a deliverable plan and should safeguard the future of the club for many, many years to come.

"We are under enormous pressure to be playing in a stadium which lives up to the world-class rugby league being played in Super League."

Super League and West Yorkshire rivals Castleford also have plans to move to a modern new stadium.

Clubs had to apply for the three-year licence that were awarded in July 2008 for a three-season period starting from 2009.

The criteria for the licence included the quality of a club's stadium and a capacity of at least 12,000.

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