Stadium Updates (All Clubs)

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Originally Posted by brendy_éire

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...tadium-3923579

Interesting article here. Taking along the FAI to a meeting with the council, and implying that the club may help with the costs of switching the pitch back to grass.

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Per Philip O'Doherty:
"However, in terms of European football there's a move away from it. Some of the European leagues have banned it totally. Premier League matches in Holland for example. Indeed, from 2025 Eredivisie clubs are obliged to play on natural grass."

Its not just the top divisons which have this requirement for grass. In England, all EFL teams also have to have it. Which meant that when eg Sutton Utd and Harrogate Town got promoted to Lge Two from the National League (5th tier), they had to rip out their plastic pitch at a cost of £500k+ (though substantial grants were available).

Meanwhile, Gary Hamilton, Glenavon manager, was talking about this recently. He said kids are now growing up (in NI, at any rate), who've hardly ever played on grass, even his own kids! And the Man Utd scout for NI mentioned that they are at a real disadvantage when they go across the water compared with the locals, who are used to grass (presumably in the Academies?).

Also, many kids can't afford to buy studded boots for grass pitches in addition to the trainers they use for plastic.

Sligo announce a planning application for extensive redevelopment of The Showgrounds:

https://www.sligorovers.com/planning...s-development/

Great to see that excellent Club planning an upgrade.
No hanging around waiting for Councils to bail them out.

Fair play to them. Really impressive plans. Let's hope it actually happens.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Also, many kids can't afford to buy studded boots for grass pitches in addition to the trainers they use for plastic.

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This is surely not an issue, I play regularly on 3/4g plastic pitches and have never seen anyone wearing trainers. If they did in this country considering our weather they make as well wear two banana skins instead.

Plenty of football boots if not most are fit for dual purpose of grass and plastic.

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Originally Posted by oldfan

Great to see that excellent Club planning an upgrade.
No hanging around waiting for Councils to bail them out.

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When you see a positive development as a good excuse to say something negative...
They'll still need public funding.

It's a fantastic plan, the ground is in a great location with plenty of space. If it happens it'll be gorgeous with the backdrop. Hopefully the era of neglected football facilities is coming to an end. The public attitude does seem to have shifted a bit.

I think there is a better chance of Sligo's new plans coming to fruition than the long and drawn out plans of other clubs. ?

Give the fans a terrace you cowards

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Originally Posted by DCWA

This is surely not an issue, I play regularly on 3/4g plastic pitches and have never seen anyone wearing trainers. If they did in this country considering our weather they make as well wear two banana skins instead.

Plenty of football boots if not most are fit for dual purpose of grass and plastic.

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It's valid enough. Kids are all wearing small moulded studs or blades now. Those sort of boots are rubbish on soft grass pitches. I went in to buy myself a pair of 6 stud boots recently in Letterkenny and found it incredibly difficult to find any sort of variety in them. It's almost entirely all moulded studs and blades in shops.

More and more plastic pitches are popping up, and I'm in the camp that they should be banned for games, whatever about a training facility, they're not good for your body to play on.

Kerry FC have announced that more seats will be installed at Mounthawk Park very soon.

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Originally Posted by oldfan

Great to see that excellent Club planning an upgrade.
No hanging around waiting for Councils to bail them out.

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I'd love to see the expected costs involved. Bohs were to upgrade and rebuild with circa 10,000 capacity for €30 million and are now getting completely new stadium with capacity circa 7,800 for €40 million. Sligo hope to upgrade and rebuild capacity in excess of 6,800 for ???

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

It's valid enough. Kids are all wearing small moulded studs or blades now. Those sort of boots are rubbish on soft grass pitches. I went in to buy myself a pair of 6 stud boots recently in Letterkenny and found it incredibly difficult to find any sort of variety in them. It's almost entirely all moulded studs and blades in shops.

More and more plastic pitches are popping up, and I'm in the camp that they should be banned for games, whatever about a training facility, they're not good for your body to play on.

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Don’t buy that at all. Very easy to get plastic studded or “bladed” multi surface boots.

I agree on banning plastic pitches altogether apart from for recreational use.

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Originally Posted by Partizan

Kerry FC have announced that more seats will be installed at Mounthawk Park very soon.

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I might be wrong, but I believe it's just replacements for the existing seats.

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Originally Posted by DCWA

Don’t buy that at all. Very easy to get plastic studded or “bladed” multi surface boots.

I agree on banning plastic pitches altogether apart from for recreational use.

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Next time you're playing on a soft grass pitch, get back to me with how the multi-stud or blade boots work out for you.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Next time you're playing on a soft grass pitch, get back to me with how the multi-stud or blade boots work out for you.

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Well I play Saturday morning without any issue have had the same pair of adidas predator esque style plastic blades for about 2 years they cost me £45 in JD and do the job rightly for that and for 5s/7s/astro league during the week. I don’t think I have wore metal studs in probably 10 years actually.

I am nowhere near a good enough footballer to worry about my boots too much but what I would say is most of the boots I see these days are multi surface and can’t imagine any problem at all. Any parent who has their child running round in 3/4 different sets of boots for different surfaces is off their head it is not a reasonable criticism of youths playing on plastic pitches (there are no doubt others).

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

I might be wrong, but I believe it's just replacements for the existing seats.

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Yes - the initial capacity between seating and terrace will be 1,150, but very much with room for expansion later if there's sufficient local demand to do so.

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Originally Posted by DCWA

Well I play Saturday morning without any issue have had the same pair of adidas predator esque style plastic blades for about 2 years they cost me £45 in JD and do the job rightly for that and for 5s/7s/astro league during the week. I don’t think I have wore metal studs in probably 10 years actually.

I am nowhere near a good enough footballer to worry about my boots too much but what I would say is most of the boots I see these days are multi surface and can’t imagine any problem at all. Any parent who has their child running round in 3/4 different sets of boots for different surfaces is off their head it is not a reasonable criticism of youths playing on plastic pitches (there are no doubt others).

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I played against Letterkenny Rovers two weeks ago in Leckview park. There was hardly a player on the pitch able to stay on their feet wearing moulded studs or blades.

I use blades all year round without issue. I'm very slow now and take an age to turn so runners would probably do? I wear the astro runners on artificial surfaces. Agree with ye that those surfaces shouldn't be allowed

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Originally Posted by DCWA

Any parent who has their child running round in 3/4 different sets of boots for different surfaces is off their head it is not a reasonable criticism of youths playing on plastic pitches (there are no doubt others).

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My playing days are well behind me, so I'm only going by what Hamilton was saying and he was emphatic.

Perhaps he was referring to Academy-level youngsters, who need every advantage they can get if they're to have a chance of making it?

P.S. Shouldn't have said "trainers", meant blades.

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Originally Posted by Mr A

Give the fans a terrace you cowards

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I've been in Safe Standing in England i.e. capable of being converted back to seating for European games etc and it's excellent - best of both worlds, as it were.

Not sure why SRFC aren't putting in at least one SS area (if only for home fans?) to accommodate that, for assuming they aren't selling out every game, they could maybe persuade a few extra to attend if the SS area was a couple of Euro cheaper?

Anyhow, the plans certainly look very impressive and are putting a lot of other clubs to shame.

Yeah maybe don't use those initials, LOL

Congratulations to Sligo. If all it goes to plan like the pictures, with the backdrop that another poster referred to, it'll look more like Molde's ground. Good luck to them. Notwuthstanding the fact that stadium renovations in Ireland happen at the pace of a geological timescale, Sligo above all other clubs deserve all the best with this. They have done an amazing job down there as it is, considering what the place looked like around 20 years ago.

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Originally Posted by culloty82

Yes - the initial capacity between seating and terrace will be 1,150, but very much with room for expansion later if there's sufficient local demand to do so.

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If Kerry do get a run together plus a sizeable travelling away support from Limerick and Waterford, that could be on the cards. I was looking at Mounthawk and there is room to expand right next to the main stand with temporary seating. You also have to factor in an attractive Cup tie against Cork or say Rovers.

1,150 should be a reasonable objective for their first season in the league. First game will easily get that, you'd expect. Hopefully they get a decent response for season tickets too.

Looking forward to getting down to Tralee. It's a nice town for a few pints.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

1,150 should be a reasonable objective for their first season in the league.

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Not trying to knock Kerry in the slightest but feel the ground could be an issue, if not a mess this season.

It's a narrow road to the ground, there's one entrance gate (at present) that passes the dressing rooms and it's a bit of a walk from those dressing rooms to the pitch. The stand holds ~200 (?), only about ¾ of the ground is accessible and I don't know how segregation will work either.

To be fair, the place wasn't designed as an LOI ground but still.

First Division stadia by seating capacity:
Bishopsgate 4,977
Eamonn Deacy Park 3,300
Carlisle Grounds 3,200
Waterford RSC 3,035
Athlone Town Stadium 2,024
Markets Field 1,710
St Colman's Park 1,350
Ferrycarrig Park 609 (temporary)
Mounthawk Park 500
Finn Park 351

If Kerry FC gain a dependable support base, a full length stand and a stand behind one of the goals would be the standout ground improvements.
Kerry GAA are seeking €72m for work on Fitzgerald's Stadium.

Wouln't it be great to see those grounds full on a regular basis.

Wasn't sure of the appropriate thread for this, but Sligo have banned a number of "fans" who recently caused aggro during the St Pats game:

https://www.sligorovers.com/update-supporter-behaviour/

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Originally Posted by culloty82

Wasn't sure of the appropriate thread for this, but Sligo have banned a number of "fans" who recently caused aggro during the St Pats game:

https://www.sligorovers.com/update-supporter-behaviour/

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Good to see

The league table on their website could do with an update....looks like the Admin threw his hat at it when the FAI gave Dundalk those 3 points

Big Phil et al talking temporary stand behind one of the goals. As demand for season tickets expected to outstrip supply when then they go on general sale.

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...r-2023-3936824

At this point, even if the Mark Farren Stand was finished the Brandy still wouldn't meet the club's ambitions. Nothing will be resolved, or much movement, anytime soon, but expect this to get messy

Was at Finn Harps AGM on sunday night they gave a update on the new stadium project

Up to late may/early June 2022 all was progressing smoothly then out of the blue government just stopped taking the clubs calls or responding to letters/emails, until September when they came back in contact with a big list of new demands for the club to progress the project. The club currently working their way though those demand and a cautiously optimistic to have actual physical work at the site by March/April 2023

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Originally Posted by Neish

Was at Finn Harps AGM on sunday night they gave a update on the new stadium project

Up to late may/early June 2022 all was progressing smoothly then out of the blue government just stopped taking the clubs calls or responding to letters/emails, until September when they came back in contact with a big list of new demands for the club to progress the project. The club currently working their way though those demand and a cautiously optimistic to have actual physical work at the site by March/April 2023

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Think you're confusing a few stories there.

March 1st diggers on site at new stadium.

The other part is to do with Finn Park.

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...dywell-3941303

Article about the capacity at the Brandywell.

The FAI are seeking €1 billion euro in infrastructural investment from the Government over the next decade (€100m * 10) to improve LoI stadia:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-41025596.html

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-41027933.html

Not LOI but Cork GAA have managed to spend 100 million on a ground where there's no seats or roof at both ends, bonkers!

We can scoff, but it's their third stadium (by capacity, Semple being slightly bigger), comparable in capacity with Landsdowne, and they own it outright. I attended a conference held at the conference centre built into it. I wish the FAI were that incompetent.

Brandywell pitch will need replaced this time next year.
https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...ns-fai-3993468

It's a decent income for the council by having the plastic, but you'd imagine grass would be option they'll go for. If they wanted, they could also put a plastic pitch into the showgrounds, which is currently grass, so would still have the income source.

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Originally Posted by brendy_éire

Brandywell pitch will need replaced this time next year.
https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...ns-fai-3993468

It's a decent income for the council by having the plastic, but you'd imagine grass would be option they'll go for. If they wanted, they could also put a plastic pitch into the showgrounds, which is currently grass, so would still have the income source.

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Micro plastics becoming an issue as well from Allweather’s government /FAI grants are to be looked at any maybe withdrawn

The EU is due to ban microplastics, such as those used to infill artificial pitches within the next year or two. The alternatives are much more expensive, so it's likely that as a lot of pitches reach end of life they may have to revert to grass.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-41033855.html

*I realise the Derry article does mention this but there's a bit more in the Examiner article.

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Originally Posted by passinginterest

The EU is due to ban microplastics, such as those used to infill artificial pitches within the next year or two. The alternatives are much more expensive, so it's likely that as a lot of pitches reach end of life they may have to revert to grass.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-41033855.html

*I realise the Derry article does mention this but there's a bit more in the Examiner article.

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Surely the benefits and cost savings of all-weather pitches mean that they'll revert to non-plastic alternatives instead for the crumbs ?