Stadium Updates (All Clubs)

**Neish** · 05/12/2013, 1:10 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Nothing like a "your stadium is ****ter than ours" to while away the four-month off-season.

Sure everyone knows Finn Park is the best, its got the gold old fashioned rustic charm. Sorry I mean rusty charm

**legendz** · 06/12/2013, 5:38 PM

An astro pitch to meet FIFA international standard is to be put in place in Mounthawk stadium. Kerry soccer is raising the majority of the money required. They're looking for €50 from 2000 people to help with the project. They were disappointed not to receive any help from the national lottery. About 20 teams use the pitches in Mounthawk. With the astro pitch expected to be in place by the middle of next year, it's expected that Kerry will enter a team into the U19 league for '14-'15.

**gufc2000** · 06/12/2013, 7:41 PM

Originally Posted by legendz

An astro pitch to meet FIFA international standard is to be put in place in Mounthawk stadium. Kerry soccer is raising the majority of the money required. They're looking for €50 from 2000 people to help with the project. They were disappointed not to receive any help from the national lottery. About 20 teams use the pitches in Mounthawk. With the astro pitch expected to be in place by the middle of next year, it's expected that Kerry will enter a team into the U19 league for '14-'15.

Is that expected to be a team representative of Kerry as in Kerry FC or Tralee Dynamos?

**legendz** · 06/12/2013, 9:17 PM

A team representative of Kerry, probably Kerry League like a few years ago.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/12/2013, 11:40 AM

Limerick OSC stuck up some details of its meeting with the LEDP on Facebook today (Is it OK to copy/paste those?). Basic gist is that the LEDP's budget is for getting the stadium going ASAP and has nothing in budget for anything else (like bar, shop etc) and envisions mobile catering as a substitute, and Thomond as option for major games. Purely from OSC minutes, LEDP sounded a little dismissive of complaints.

Edit: Also has details of meeting with club. Club's line is that MF will be approached on a business model and will be improved as required, but want to have a more permanent presence.

**bluewhitearmy** · 07/12/2013, 1:19 PM

Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter

Limerick OSC stuck up some details of its meeting with the LEDP on Facebook today (Is it OK to copy/paste those?). Basic gist is that the LEDP's budget is for getting the stadium going ASAP and has nothing in budget for anything else (like bar, shop etc) and envisions mobile catering as a substitute, and Thomond as option for major games. Purely from OSC minutes, LEDP sounded a little dismissive of complaints.

Edit: Also has details of meeting with club. Club's line is that MF will be approached on a business model and will be improved as required, but want to have a more permanent presence.

If they mean that say we were challenging for Europe and someone with good away support was coming then we would move to Thomond that is ridiculously stupid. LEDP don't seem to have a clue what they are doing tbh.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 07/12/2013, 1:54 PM

Yeah, I thought that was strange phrasing to use (and it is what OSC says "major games"). The point was made that Limerick FC could well take a loss renting Thomond in such an event. I'm not sure the LEDP care too much.

**SwanVsDalton** · 13/12/2013, 10:55 AM

Reports today that the Brandywell is set to overhauled next Summer thanks to £5 million of funding.

The Derry Journal say the Glentoran (Old) Stand will be replaced with a 3,000 seater stand, the pitch will go 4G, the Southend (New) Stand will be refurbished and, radically, the Greyhound track removed altogether and moved over to the Showgrounds next door (where it'll be part of a new sports facility with 3G pitches).

The how, when, what and why are scarce. And all this is going to be done for £5m apparently? Highly skeptical about that. Hope there's some rapid clarity on the plan.

**White Horse** · 13/12/2013, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton

the pitch will go 4G.

3G, 4G, 5G...

People will still call it a plastic pitch and bitch about the ball not bouncing right. Bad players will complain about it when they fail to control the ball.

**Dodge** · 13/12/2013, 11:26 AM

Most astro pitches don't get any criticism at all.

Just Oriel, because it's awful.

**Ezeikial** · 13/12/2013, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Most astro pitches don't get any criticism at all.
.

Even with your history of ludicrous claims, that one is remarkable

Originally Posted by Dodge

Just Oriel, because it's awful.

Ah now it makes some sense. (I guess it is called hyperbole) - its to try to make your dislike of that pitch sound reasonable and considered?

**White Horse** · 13/12/2013, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Most astro pitches don't get any criticism at all.

Just Oriel, because it's awful.

Let me get this straight.

Oriel Park is a FIFA 2-Star Certified Star FieldTurf pitch. It has regularly passed tests to see if it meets the standards required to qualify as a FIFA 2-star pitch.

However, even though it meets the same objectively laid criteria, it is "awful" whereas other pitches (that meet the same criteria) are not.

Your post is one of the most stupid I've read on this site.

**Dodge** · 13/12/2013, 12:30 PM

Pats get beat by Cliftonville twice on Astro. Not a single complaint

However there has been loads of complaints from a variety of players and clubs, most of whom have a good record in Oriel. Pats included.

I've played on Oriel and it's an awful surface. You two are happy enough with it, so what's the issue with others thinking otherwise?

Loads of grass pitches here are poor too. It doesn't negate the fact that Dundalk's is awful

**Charlie Darwin** · 13/12/2013, 1:54 PM

Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton

Reports today that the Brandywell is set to overhauled next Summer thanks to £5 million of funding.

The Derry Journal say the Glentoran (Old) Stand will be replaced with a 3,000 seater stand, the pitch will go 4G, the Southend (New) Stand will be refurbished and, radically, the Greyhound track removed altogether and moved over to the Showgrounds next door (where it'll be part of a new sports facility with 3G pitches).

The how, when, what and why are scarce. And all this is going to be done for £5m apparently? Highly skeptical about that. Hope there's some rapid clarity on the plan.

Will the pitch be on a slope, as is the Derry tradition?

Originally Posted by White Horse

Let me get this straight.

Oriel Park is a FIFA 2-Star Certified Star FieldTurf pitch. It has regularly passed tests to see if it meets the standards required to qualify as a FIFA 2-star pitch.

However, even though it meets the same objectively laid criteria, it is "awful" whereas other pitches (that meet the same criteria) are not.

Your post is one of the most stupid I've read on this site.

There are lots of grass pitches in the league that meet the "criteria" and are still awful. Answer me this, why do the players in the league who actually play on it consistently vote Oriel the worst pitch to play on?

**NeverFeltBetter** · 13/12/2013, 2:12 PM

Limerick FC has a statement up about the Market's Field today: http://www.limerickfc.ie/limerick-fc...field-progress

Key bit:

The initial phase of development is planned to allow The Markets Field to meet the Football Association of Ireland’s Licensing requirements. This will allow Airtricity League Premier Division competition to take place in the stadium and we now look forward to working with LEDP and continuing conversations to ensure that Limerick FC can call the stadium their home in the coming years.

As Limerick FC grow as a club and The Markets Field becomes an integral part of our city’s sporting fabric once again, the club look forward to investigating, in partnership with the LEDP, further phases of the stadium development in the future.

Limerick FC will continue to play our home matches in Thomond Park which will allow the LEDP the requisite time to fully complete the planned development to build The Markets Field into a stadium that epitomises the spirit of Limerick sport.

**SwanVsDalton** · 13/12/2013, 2:19 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Will the pitch be on a slope, as is the Derry tradition?

Hope so, it wouldn't be the same otherwise. The pitch should rotate at half-time so Derry are always facing down it. Giving how fanciful the finance of this project already is, I'd say that would only cost an extra, oh, couple of hundred quid.

**Ezeikial** · 13/12/2013, 2:51 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Pats get beat by Cliftonville twice on Astro. Not a single complaint

Is this meant to support your nonsensical earlier claim? So you are unaware of any Pats player or official or supporter being critical of the Cliftonville "astro" and you can translate it to this?

Originally Posted by Dodge
Most astro pitches don't get any criticism at all.

Artificial pitches - including 3G, 4G and Astro (your should really try to educate yourself about the differences)- consistently attract negative comment.

Some of them are really funny, like Lee McCulloch of Rangers after he missed a penalty

“My contact with the penalty against Falkirk was terrible because I was scared of slipping, I didn’t like the artificial pitch.

Originally Posted by Dodge

You two are happy enough with it, so what's the issue with others thinking otherwise?

I didn't say I was happy with the pitch.......I said your comments were ludicrous

**White Horse** · 13/12/2013, 3:01 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

There are lots of grass pitches in the league that meet the "criteria" and are still awful. Answer me this, why do the players in the league who actually play on it consistently vote Oriel the worst pitch to play on?

That is their opinion and they may be right. By the way, are grass pitches tested each year? I didn't think so.

However, this is not relevent to my post.

I was pointing out the nonsense of saying that Oriel Park is worse than other artificial surfaces given that all artificial surfaces undergo the same tests and Oriel Park passes each time.

They are either all fine or all crap.