Sheffield Steelers owner Tony Smith urges caution over potential £4m government ‘bailout’ for Elite League

The Elite League has already postponed its 2020-21 season with government social distancing measures to deal with the coronavirus pandemic preventing fans from attending games, therefore making any kind of campaign financially impossible for the 10 clubs involved.

Earlier today (Thursday) the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced a £300m package to protect the immediate future of ‘major spectator sports’ over the winter period - including ice hockey - who have been impacted by Covid-19.

Despite governing body Ice Hockey UK last month making a submission for financial support on behalf of all levels of the sport - including the EIHL and those overseen by the English Ice Hockey Association - DCMS state that the funding is currently only available to the full-time top tier, should it wish to try and access the £4m on offer.

News that the available support is only intended for the top tier will come as a blow to clubs and organisations lower down, including the second tier NIHL National, which last weekend saw three of its teams, including Sheffield Steelsogs, launch the behind-closed-doors ‘Streaming Series’ which hopes to prove online streaming of games could provide a way forward for the 2020-21 season despite no fans being allowed into rinks.

Like ice hockey, netball and basketball can also access up to £4m in funding support. Unlike ice hockey, both netball and basketball’s share is to be split. Governing body Netball England has been offered £2m, the same amount as the top tier Netball SuperLeague, while Basketball England, the sport’s governing body, can access up to £1m, with British Basketball League clubs, including Women’s British Basketball League clubs, potentially being able to secure £3m.

It is believed most of the support funding will be in the form of loans.

Smith was guarded in his response to today’s news, saying that the long-term sustainability of the EIHL remained the main priority for all 10 clubs, with a need to explore the smallprint of the DCMS announcement before any decision was taken on whether to apply for any help.

“We need to take a look at the finer details of the support package available, and how it should be used, before we can make any further comment about what this means going forward,” said Smith.

“It will be important for us to understand how much of the funding is made up of grants or loans, as that will have a large impact on how we can proceed, together with any additional requirements we need to fulfil from Sport England who will now take control of the funding process.

“As a league, we were quite clear over the summer that we needed fans in arenas or government support in order to play, and in this regard today’s announcement of funding is extremely welcome.

“However, I’d like to ask our fans to let us assess what exactly is available to us, and what possibilities this may or may not open up.

“There is a lot more detail still to come from the DCMS and Sport England that we need to know, and above all it’s important that we consider the sustainability of the entire Elite League both now and over the next few years before we make any final decisions.”

EIHA director Andrew Miller, which oversees the NIHL National, in which Hull Pirates and Leeds Chiefs also compete, as well as administering the grassroots game throughout England, said it was disappointing support would not initially be made available to levels outside the EIHL.

“This is an unprecedented support package for ice hockey and our thanks go to colleagues in DCMS that we have been working with over the last two months in getting us to this point,” said Miller.

“It is an obvious disappointment that the NIHL is not yet included in this support, but we should focus on the positive of receiving significant funding and the door still open for us to discuss what other support our sport needs.”

Elsewhere, rugby union is set to be the biggest beneficiary from the Conservative government funding package, with £135m being made available, while horse racing can apply for up to £40m worth of finaicnail support.

Outside the Premier League and EFL, football – including the National League and women’s football – can apply for £28m, while rugby league can access an additional £12m, in addition the £16m loan scheme agreed earlier this year.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.