100%. Agree with the 3g pitch idea being the worst poss idea. We all saw to night the state of the" champions" Pitch. Awful drab dreadful. But will anyone ever listen to us the fans ????
I doubt it !,,,,We want what's best for our City ,our club ,and ESP our team. But no one listens. if we don't buy season tickets of course ,we get the blame for poor results but ask for something like a decent ,lovely pitch and it's all cloth ears. Look at tonights TV coverageDerry board. Show it at a Council meeting and let all see the unholy mess it is.
But I'm p....ing into the wind I know How do we get people to really care
eugenio wrote:100%. Agree with the 3g pitch idea being the worst poss idea. We all saw to night the state of the" champions" Pitch. Awful drab dreadful. But will anyone ever listen to us the fans ????
I doubt it !,,,,We want what's best for our City ,our club ,and ESP our team. But no one listens. if we don't buy season tickets of course ,we get the blame for poor results but ask for something like a decent ,lovely pitch and it's all cloth ears. Look at tonights TV coverageDerry board. Show it at a Council meeting and let all see the unholy mess it is.
But I'm p....ing into the wind I know How do we get people to really care
So right Eugenio, and the more people that talk about it the more it is brought to the attention of the decision makers. We should not have to always accept second best and accept the crumbs. Give the plastic to Windsor or whoever else will take it. WE DON'T WANT IT CAROL. Put into Casement Park, the Multi Million pound Stadium that nobody wants.
Got to remember folks that dundalk pitch is 11 years old which in synthetic pitch world is well past its sell buy date, artificial pitch technology has moved on hugely in those 11 years so i trust the one that will be laid at the brandywell will be a million times better than oriel park's.
That is the first time I've seen dundalks pitch and it is off putting as the ball continually bobbles, bounces unnaturally which gives to those who play on it regularly an advantage.
If genuine Derry supporters want a natural pitch then plan for a move away from the brandywell and council control who are the best rate hikers around.
If you want to see what the latest pitches are like check iut games in Norway and Sweden. Hammarby play on one thaat was laid last year in tele2 arena.
What sort of maintenance does a synthetic pitch require to keep it to standard of a good grass pitch. The council has regularly nipped ground maintenance as a means of save now pay tomorrow. The standard of preparation sanctioned by the council of the brandywell has been obvious the last few seasons. It is probably been chanced as they measure the fan count and overall reaction that they can get away with.
Fan power! You just have to look back when the team was hosting PSG that the council shoved in 300 seats to soften the fans and hope the club wouldn't progress in the competition. You are being bombarded by leaflets for the coming election, so use your vote especially if you haven't voted before or don't normally bother, to get potential MLAs and Councillors to commit rather than fluff the brandywell issue. Don't be put off by hand shaking personalities mustered to collect your vote for a crucial election for their parties shortly.
You have seen Councillors or party reps pictured posing beside a drain or a piece of waste ground in the hope you'll remember them for something when you vote. They only represent you when they do what you want not what they ideologically want.
Dazzy wrote:If you want to see what the latest pitches are like check iut games in Norway and Sweden. Hammarby play on one thaat was laid last year in tele2 arena.
That modern artificial surface looks amazing, people need to stop using dundalks 11 year old antique pitch as a template for what we will be getting next season. As for maintenance the council seem to do a good job maintaining the 3g pitches we have in the town, leafair and st columbs park 3g are always kept in good condition.
Artificial grass seems to be the direction football is travelling in I'm afraid. You can use it in the Champions League, lots of leagues around Europe, the FA Cup now, and it's only a matter of time before the English Football League allow it.
In 100 years time people will look back and think it mad that games used to get called off due to a sodden natural pitch, or be shocked at the state of the grass from footage of old games. The direction of travel for world football is towards more and more artificial grass, and the technology behind it is improving all the time.
stevebradley wrote:Artificial grass seems to be the direction football is travelling in I'm afraid. You can use it in the Champions League, lots of leagues around Europe, the FA Cup now, and it's only a matter of time before the English Football League allow it.
In 100 years time people will look back and think it mad that games used to get called off due to a sodden natural pitch, or be shocked at the state of the grass from footage of old games. The direction of travel for world football is towards more and more artificial grass, and the technology behind it is improving all the time.
Cant disagree with any of that Steve.
My only worry with the 3g\4g pitch is the fact they should be replaced every 7-10 years.
Can you imagine the state the pitch will be in before we can get it changed
If it was replaced on a regularly bases as recommended, then it should get in the state
that Dundalks pitch is in, and would keep up with the latest technology on artifiacial pitches.
It seems to be easier to get public funding for astro pitches as it allows public bodies to claim that they are funding something that can be used by the whole community. I heard an SDLP councillor on the radio say that the Brandywell redevelopment would now allow people like him to play on the pitch. The other selling point usually trotted out is that these pitches make money.
I would be doubtful about the level of demand for such a facility particularly when the pitch is available to rent now anyway and also when there a number of other facilities in the city.
I'm also doubtful about just how much money will be made once all expenses are taken into account.
Sligos main pitch is grass and they have an astro beside it. It would be better in my opinion if the Showgrounds was the astro pitch as I believe that the new redevelopment will include a grass pitch for there.
Last edited by rodgers on Mon Apr 04, 2016 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'm hearing from someone close to the re-development (nobody associated with club, council, city etc) that main contractor SHOULD be appointed within in next few weeks as bidding closes on Wednesday & sorry to disappoint you guys but looks like the 4g pitch is going ahead
rodgers wrote:It seems to be easier to get public funding for astro pitches as it allows public bodies to claim that they are funding something that can be used by the whole community. I heard an SDLP councillor on the radio say that the Brandywell redevelopment would now allow people like him to play on the pitch. The other selling point usually trotted out is that these pitches make money.
I would be doubtful about the level of demand for such a facility particularly when the pitch is available to rent now anyway and also when there a number of other facilities in the city.
I'm also doubtful about just how much money will be made once all expenses are taken into account.
Sligos main pitch is grass and they have an astro beside it. It would be better in my opinion if the Showgrounds was the astro pitch as I believe that the new redevelopment will include a grass pitch for there.
From what i am lead to believe, it works great for the people that own the ground (Oriel Park) that Dundalk plays on. Its a constant cash flow, and very busy
rodgers wrote:It seems to be easier to get public funding for astro pitches as it allows public bodies to claim that they are funding something that can be used by the whole community. I heard an SDLP councillor on the radio say that the Brandywell redevelopment would now allow people like him to play on the pitch. The other selling point usually trotted out is that these pitches make money.
I would be doubtful about the level of demand for such a facility particularly when the pitch is available to rent now anyway and also when there a number of other facilities in the city.
I'm also doubtful about just how much money will be made once all expenses are taken into account.
Sligos main pitch is grass and they have an astro beside it. It would be better in my opinion if the Showgrounds was the astro pitch as I believe that the new redevelopment will include a grass pitch for there.
From what i am lead to believe, it works great for the people that own the ground (Oriel Park) that Dundalk plays on. Its a constant cash flow, and very busy
There are a few cases of well-supported non-league clubs in England with artificial pitches (e.g. Maidstone United) who believe that it increases their attendances .
The theory is that the club becomes a hub for local football and a place where people get used to going to regularly and gain an affinity with. As a result, turning up on a Saturday to watch a game isn't such an unusual thing to do.
The biggest benefit clubs get from hiring out an artificial pitch is often the bar receipts. I don't know if there's a public bar in the plans, but if there is I assume the facility would be managed by the council and they'd get the income rather than DCFC ?
Was there not a covenant or something when the honourable the Irish society handed the ground over to the council that no alcohol was to be sold on the premises.
shauna wrote:Was there not a covenant or something when the honourable the Irish society handed the ground over to the council that no alcohol was to be sold on the premises.
I don't think it was an HIS thing - I think it was a Council rule (?).
No alcohol at the Brandywell has been the theory for a while, though did the previous pre-crash Brandywell Properties proposal not have corporate bar facilities in it ?
shauna wrote:Hopefully if its a council rule it can be changed and the club will be able to sell alcohol in the new stand and bring in some much needed revenue.
That would depend who's running the bar though.
If it's a council-owned facility that we effectively rent for approx. 25 nights a year, we wouldn't be running any bar there. We might be able to negotiate a share of the income, but that would probably be at best.
Derry probably has one of the cheapest land prices in the UK and Ireland btw. Yet here we are shackling ourselves to the council for a stadium where we may not get the income from any bar, which may or may not be built anyway as the council seems to have an old policy against bars. How did we get ourselves stuck in such a helpless situation ?
shauna wrote:Hopefully if its a council rule it can be changed and the club will be able to sell alcohol in the new stand and bring in some much needed revenue.
That would depend who's running the bar though.
If it's a council-owned facility that we effectively rent for approx. 25 nights a year, we wouldn't be running any bar there. We might be able to negotiate a share of the income, but that would probably be at best.
Derry probably has one of the cheapest land prices in the UK and Ireland btw. Yet here we are shackling ourselves to the council for a stadium where we may not get the income from any bar, which may or may not be built anyway as the council seems to have an old policy against bars. How did we get ourselves stuck in such a helpless situation ?
Going back to 1920s there have been so many missed chances in owning our own stadium.
The Club at the time dithered over Celtic Park in 1920s......GAA stepped in ahead of us and got it.
If you have read Frank Curran's book on History of Derry City, there were other opportunities missed during the 1950s.
Move on to 1980s when the Club had cash coming out of its ears and I believe bought land just past Templemore Sports Complex - I stand corrected on the details of this - but the Club were forced to sell the land in the mid 1990s because of another financial crisis.
I think our destiny on our stadium was decided decades and decades ago which leaves us stuck at the Brandywell.
How do we get people to really care
