England rugby team could leave Twickenham and move to Milton Keynes because the RFU’s revenue in the capital has been impacted by licence restrictions. The RFU were keen to host a series of Beyonce concerts this summer but are only allowed to use Twickenham for three non-rugby events every year.
Milton Keynes was developed in the 1960s as the UK government generated new towns in the south east in an attempt to alleviate housing congestion in London. It is located around 55 miles from the capital but has previously been labelled ‘one of the worst places to live in the UK.’ It has also been branded ‘boring.’
According to The Times, the RFU are pushing the local council to allow Twickenham to host 15 non-rugby events per year. And chiefs want events to cater for 82,000 people instead of the current 55,000 audience.
Twickenham missed out on the opportunity to host Beyonce, with the pop sensation opting to take her show to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium instead.
And the RFU believe their £600million plan to redevelop Twickenham, which is sponsored by Allianz, is only financially viable if the stadium’s licence is changed to allow the venue to stage more major events.
“There are plenty of places that would like to have us. Birmingham, Milton Keynes would love to have us there,” RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney told the Business of Sport podcast.
“Part of the renovation from 2027 means we are in discussions with Richmond borough council to stage more non-rugby events. For us it is three [events] and we are only allowed one on a Friday.
“We have had The Rolling Stones. We could have had Beyonce, but she wanted three nights and we are only allowed two nights consecutively.
“We are saying, ‘If we are going to invest £600m into the Allianz – and we have a study which shows how much economic value it contributes to the borough – you are going to have to work with us in terms of an increase in the number of events we can stage in order to monetise the stadium.’”
Milton Keynes currently houses Stadium MK, a 30,530-seat stadium that is home to League Two football club Milton Keynes Dons.
But the Buckinghamshire city has been slammed in the past, with a 2023 survey by iLiveHere deeming it to be one of the 50 worst places to live.
In 2024, Milton Keynes was then described as the most boring in the UK during a discussion on Reddit.