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Post by jdl on Jul 19, 2022 14:01:46 GMT
The discussion on friendlies made me wonder if switching to grass would be such a bad thing after all. Bearing in mind Oliver’s comment on the Stones Aged podcast that we’re probably going to have to replace the pitch for next season, anyway, and the fact that the EFL don’t allow 3G*, would this be a good time to switch to grass?
There are, of course, myriad reasons for staying with 3G. Grass is far more expensive to maintain and we would lose our pitch-hire income (and have to find somewhere else to train). But, if we’re going to have to switch to grass anyway one day*, why not do it now and avoid the cost of another 3G pitch?
No doubt there will be lots of opinions on this – one thing we’re never short of! But the things we are short of are facts. For instance:
How much do we make from pitch-hire? (As someone who lives locally, I don’t notice it being used much.)
How much does it cost to put a new 3G pitch down, compared to planting a grass one?
How much extra would it cost to maintain a grass pitch, compared to a 3G one?
How much has grass pitch technology (or what we could afford at our level) improved over the last 10 years?
How many games would actually have been postponed over the last 10 years if we hadn’t had 3G? (Personally, I can’t remember many.)
How much would it cost to train elsewhere?
(*I’m not predicting an early promotion, but we have to take the likelihood into account – after all, if we’re not serious about promotion to the EFL, why are we in the NL?).
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Post by Nick on Jul 19, 2022 14:08:26 GMT
Its not so much about opinions but facts.
With respect, your post was very much about questions without the answers.
If we had all the answers, we may be half way to being able to form an opinion thats worth something.
On the other hand, we could just allow the owners to muddle along (joke).
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Post by Dan on Jul 19, 2022 14:09:35 GMT
I think jdl is bored.
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Post by pwoodstone on Jul 19, 2022 14:19:33 GMT
The whole business model is built in the 3G pitch. The youth, womens and other sides all use the pitch. We train there. It is hired out. All a big saver or money stream. We have made a profit for quite a few years in a row based around this model and it paid for the expansions and will do so again this summer.
It has been asked before and the answer from the club (I think I am right in saying) is that we would lobby the league to accept 3G before voluntarily switching to grass (unless we win promotion beforehand). It does seem an idea that many struggling league sides would or should be looking at. I am sure they will in time and then once some pressure is applied from within, i reckon we will be in business.
The lights are always on down there. It’s a massive asset. I’m pretty sure Sutton had to invest half a million to relay theirs to grass. Not sure kn the upkeep costs.
All very fair questions and I am sure the answers would give us the clear answers to the directions we would choose
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Post by sword65 on Jul 19, 2022 14:26:18 GMT
The whole business model is built in the 3G pitch. The youth, womens and other sides all use the pitch. We train there. It is hired out. All a big saver or money stream. We have made a profit for quite a few years in a row based around this model and it paid for the expansions and will do so again this summer. It has been asked before and the answer from the club (I think I am right in saying) is that we would lobby the league to accept 3G before voluntarily switching to grass (unless we win promotion beforehand). It does seem an idea that many struggling league sides would or should be looking at. I am sure they will in time and then once some pressure is applied from within, i reckon we will be in business. The lights are always on down there. It’s a massive asset. I’m pretty sure Sutton had to invest half a million to relay theirs to grass. Not sure kn the upkeep costs. All very fair questions and I am sure the answers would give us the clear answers to the directions we would choose Replace lobbying the EFL to accept 3G and replace it with banging your head on a brick wall to no avail |
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Post by scooby on Jul 19, 2022 14:49:35 GMT
We are all awaiting 'he who knows' to speak so we can all just agree 👍
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Post by Bernie on Jul 19, 2022 15:35:08 GMT
How many clubs have given up their 4G pitches willingly?
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Post by pwoodstone on Jul 19, 2022 15:45:43 GMT
How many clubs have given up their 4G pitches willingly? Just Sutton and Harrogate i think. |
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Post by pwoodstone on Jul 19, 2022 15:48:26 GMT
The whole business model is built in the 3G pitch. The youth, womens and other sides all use the pitch. We train there. It is hired out. All a big saver or money stream. We have made a profit for quite a few years in a row based around this model and it paid for the expansions and will do so again this summer. It has been asked before and the answer from the club (I think I am right in saying) is that we would lobby the league to accept 3G before voluntarily switching to grass (unless we win promotion beforehand). It does seem an idea that many struggling league sides would or should be looking at. I am sure they will in time and then once some pressure is applied from within, i reckon we will be in business. The lights are always on down there. It’s a massive asset. I’m pretty sure Sutton had to invest half a million to relay theirs to grass. Not sure kn the upkeep costs. All very fair questions and I am sure the answers would give us the clear answers to the directions we would choose Replace lobbying the EFL to accept 3G and replace it with banging your head on a brick wall to no avail Maybe, maybe not. The cost of living increase might sway some clubs struggling with finances. We will see |
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Post by Bernie on Jul 19, 2022 15:52:08 GMT
How many clubs have given up their 4G pitches willingly? Just Sutton and Harrogate i think. So only because they had to. |
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Post by pwoodstone on Jul 19, 2022 16:21:53 GMT
Yeah. It’s a big money maker.
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Post by daveu on Jul 19, 2022 16:28:32 GMT
In the recent podcast Oliver seemed to accept the fact that in the unlikely event we got promoted we would have to switch to grass and find an alternative training venue.
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Post by shamstone on Jul 19, 2022 16:55:21 GMT
We are all awaiting 'he who knows' to speak so we can all just agree 👍 ‘he who knows 1’ or ‘ he who knows 2’ ? |
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Post by holysmokes66 on Jul 19, 2022 17:50:34 GMT
The discussion on friendlies made me wonder if switching to grass would be such a bad thing after all. Bearing in mind Oliver’s comment on the Stones Aged podcast that we’re probably going to have to replace the pitch for next season, anyway, and the fact that the EFL don’t allow 3G*, would this be a good time to switch to grass? There are, of course, myriad reasons for staying with 3G. Grass is far more expensive to maintain and we would lose our pitch-hire income (and have to find somewhere else to train). But, if we’re going to have to switch to grass anyway one day*, why not do it now and avoid the cost of another 3G pitch? No doubt there will be lots of opinions on this – one thing we’re never short of! But the things we are short of are facts. For instance: How much do we make from pitch-hire? (As someone who lives locally, I don’t notice it being used much.)
How much does it cost to put a new 3G pitch down, compared to planting a grass one?
How much extra would it cost to maintain a grass pitch, compared to a 3G one?
How much has grass pitch technology (or what we could afford at our level) improved over the last 10 years?
How many games would actually have been postponed over the last 10 years if we hadn’t had 3G? (Personally, I can’t remember many.)
How much would it cost to train elsewhere?(*I’m not predicting an early promotion, but we have to take the likelihood into account – after all, if we’re not serious about promotion to the EFL, why are we in the NL?). Let's lay down some tarmac. Playground rules. Separate the men from the boys. |
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Post by holysmokes66 on Jul 19, 2022 17:51:29 GMT
The discussion on friendlies made me wonder if switching to grass would be such a bad thing after all. Bearing in mind Oliver’s comment on the Stones Aged podcast that we’re probably going to have to replace the pitch for next season, anyway, and the fact that the EFL don’t allow 3G*, would this be a good time to switch to grass? There are, of course, myriad reasons for staying with 3G. Grass is far more expensive to maintain and we would lose our pitch-hire income (and have to find somewhere else to train). But, if we’re going to have to switch to grass anyway one day*, why not do it now and avoid the cost of another 3G pitch? No doubt there will be lots of opinions on this – one thing we’re never short of! But the things we are short of are facts. For instance: How much do we make from pitch-hire? (As someone who lives locally, I don’t notice it being used much.)
How much does it cost to put a new 3G pitch down, compared to planting a grass one?
How much extra would it cost to maintain a grass pitch, compared to a 3G one?
How much has grass pitch technology (or what we could afford at our level) improved over the last 10 years?
How many games would actually have been postponed over the last 10 years if we hadn’t had 3G? (Personally, I can’t remember many.)
How much would it cost to train elsewhere?(*I’m not predicting an early promotion, but we have to take the likelihood into account – after all, if we’re not serious about promotion to the EFL, why are we in the NL?). Let's lay down some tarmac. Playground rules. Separate the men from the boys. Joe Ellul losing both knee caps if we go for tarmac just FYI, no way he's holding back... |
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