I don't know if Swansea still plan to expand from the current 21,000 if - it looks more and more like when - they get relegated, but that seems more than enough for their natural level. And rugby crowds at The Liberty already look sparse.

The problem with Rodney Parade is that we do not own it. If it is developed the major beneficiaries will be Newport Gwent Dragons. It may well be that the relationship between County and the rugby has improved dramatically but that being so does not alter that fact that it is still a master servant relationship nor does it guarantee that the future relationship will remain cordial.

If we can make common cause with the rugby. That is if we can buy our share in the stadium. Or if Newport City Council take responsibility for the stadium and use it as a facility for both of the football clubs of different codes in Newport then the development of Rodney Parade is probably the best way of getting a stadium fit for a town of Newport' s size in the 21st century.

Looks like the Dragons have plans for sure (Thursday's Argus), let's hope they involve us, or at least keep us in mind at a minimum! let's see, either way looks the stadium might be getting some upgrades...

"RODNEY Parade will play a key role in the further development of Newport as an attractive place to visit, the Dragons chairman David Buttress said at yesterday’s summit.

Mr Buttress, who took up the role last September, said a number of changes were in the pipeline both within the Dragons and at Rodney Parade, and he hoped Newport and the region as a whole would benefit."

Stan A. Einstein wrote:The problem with Rodney Parade is that we do not own it. If it is developed the major beneficiaries will be Newport Gwent Dragons. It may well be that the relationship between County and the rugby has improved dramatically but that being so does not alter that fact that it is still a master servant relationship nor does it guarantee that the future relationship will remain cordial.

If we can make common cause with the rugby. That is if we can buy our share in the stadium. Or if Newport City Council take responsibility for the stadium and use it as a facility for both of the football clubs of different codes in Newport then the development of Rodney Parade is probably the best way of getting a stadium fit for a town of Newport' s size in the 21st century.

You've changed your tune on the "development of Rodney Parade" , Stan ???

Not knocking your wish for our own stadium , but it ain't gonna happen in our lifetime

And in case you haven't noticed , the "major beneficiary" wouldn't be "Newport Gwent Dragons" because .... 1 : They don't exist as Newport Gwent Dragons ! And 2 : The WRU own Rodney Parade ???

The only beneficiary should be the WHOLE of Newport . To develop a City Centre sports venue , with a brand new shopping centre within 5 minutes walk , and a train station even closer .

Just saying , like

Surely if the Dragons get half decent, then the demand for their tickets will be in the region of 15,000. The Irish teams already get 20k+ to their games. If they were in the European groups regularly and making the final stages of these then, 15k+ is a formality.

They still have to embrace "the region" yet though, but the initial group of signings is positive for them.

If County maintain their recent development and if we ever hit Tier 3 again, then we can expect 5-7K average, peaking up to 12-14K for any big games.

I think the only straight up possibility is to develop the school end into some sort of simple block stand. We can still reclaim some of the pitch at that end if required. What is the current capacity of that end - less than a 1,000 I'm guessing. In theory a new stand could add 4,000 to the capacity fairly easily - would a single new stand there cost 5 million??? I have no idea to be honest, but I can't see it.

It's obviously going to be cheaper in the long run that building from scratch, but while we have a home, there's no reason not to investigate.

The NCFC Hippy wrote:Looks like the Dragons have plans for sure (Thursday's Argus), let's hope they involve us, or at least keep us in mind at a minimum! let's see, either way looks the stadium might be getting some upgrades...

"RODNEY Parade will play a key role in the further development of Newport as an attractive place to visit, the Dragons chairman David Buttress said at yesterday’s summit.

Mr Buttress, who took up the role last September, said a number of changes were in the pipeline both within the Dragons and at Rodney Parade, and he hoped Newport and the region as a whole would benefit."

According to the Argus live report, at 9:31 Mr Buttress also said

Rodney Parade should bring together different sports, says there’s no point in keeping them separate.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:
And an opinion I'd agree with. Now the question is can we persuade Gwent Dragons to make common cause with us, get the city council on board and actually do it.

Read this weownourclub and look up the date I posted it.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:The problem with Rodney Parade is that we do not own it. If it is developed the major beneficiaries will be Newport Gwent Dragons. It may well be that the relationship between County and the rugby has improved dramatically but that being so does not alter that fact that it is still a master servant relationship nor does it guarantee that the future relationship will remain cordial.

If we can make common cause with the rugby. That is if we can buy our share in the stadium. Or if Newport City Council take responsibility for the stadium and use it as a facility for both of the football clubs of different codes in Newport then the development of Rodney Parade is probably the best way of getting a stadium fit for a town of Newport' s size in the 21st century.

An even better one from three years and one day ago.

I rest my case.

I still think that even if Newport Council splashed out £10 million and owned RP , the main issue would be how many games of the various teams would use the playing surface .
We know the rugby will continue to play with standing water and if it were not for the pandemic there would be many more games on it by now .
Would the council pay out £1 million every three years to relay the pitch ?
Would they pay out millions to improve the infrastructure of RP ?
It is unfortunate that 2 x rugby teams , 1x Newport county plus various additional games ( to generate cash by whoever owned the stadium) will not give you a decent playing surface come Boxing Day .
You can lay the best grass in the world but with the South Wales climate and the number and type of games played on it , by Boxing Day it will be threadbare!
I was reading that Pittsburgh Steelers relaid the grass for the play off game last weekend with 8 games played on it this season —more than a £1 million.
Money is no problem for them but for us and Dragons and NRFC it is impossible.
It is sad that a solution to maintain the RP playing surface is so difficult, no matter how much each team loves each other . There is no real standard for calling a game off due to adverse weather conditions—-each sport looks at it very differently.
Ground sharing is so much of a problem —-and many of us will blame the grass , or lack of it , If we fail to get promoted this year .
What will make it so different next year ?and the year after . It is so strange that the pandemic has helped the playing surface this year ——but not in the eyes of the players and supporters.

Pirates wrote:I still think that even if Newport Council splashed out £10 million and owned RP , the main issue would be how many games of the various teams would use the playing surface .
We know the rugby will continue to play with standing water and if it were not for the pandemic there would be many more games on it by now .
Would the council pay out £1 million every three years to relay the pitch ?
Would they pay out millions to improve the infrastructure of RP ?
It is unfortunate that 2 x rugby teams , 1x Newport county plus various additional games ( to generate cash by whoever owned the stadium) will not give you a decent playing surface come Boxing Day .
You can lay the best grass in the world but with the South Wales climate and the number and type of games played on it , by Boxing Day it will be threadbare!
I was reading that Pittsburgh Steelers relaid the grass for the play off game last weekend with 8 games played on it this season —more than a £1 million.
Money is no problem for them but for us and Dragons and NRFC it is impossible.
It is sad that a solution to maintain the RP playing surface is so difficult, no matter how much each team loves each other . There is no real standard for calling a game off due to adverse weather conditions—-each sport looks at it very differently.
Ground sharing is so much of a problem —-and many of us will blame the grass , or lack of it , If we fail to get promoted this year .
What will make it so different next year ?and the year after . It is so strange that the pandemic has helped the playing surface this year ——but not in the eyes of the players and supporters.

Listen to what David Buttress said in the podcast. I just hope the directors of Newport County have the gumption to properly engage with the man. Listen to the entire podcast. I did, twice. I just hope giant egos don't get in the way.

NearlyDead wrote:

The NCFC Hippy wrote:Looks like the Dragons have plans for sure (Thursday's Argus), let's hope they involve us, or at least keep us in mind at a minimum! let's see, either way looks the stadium might be getting some upgrades...

"RODNEY Parade will play a key role in the further development of Newport as an attractive place to visit, the Dragons chairman David Buttress said at yesterday’s summit.

Mr Buttress, who took up the role last September, said a number of changes were in the pipeline both within the Dragons and at Rodney Parade, and he hoped Newport and the region as a whole would benefit."

According to the Argus live report, at 9:31 Mr Buttress also said

Rodney Parade should bring together different sports, says there’s no point in keeping them separate.

Squash, tennis, bowls? Listen to the podcast in it's entirety. There can be no excuse for the directors of Newport County not to talk to David Buttress. I'm sure his dad will correct me if I'm wrong but it seemed to me David was saying 'I'm open to listening to any suggestions which will promote our city'.

And if those with charge of our club don't take up this offer then their egos will never be forgiven.

Corpaboy wrote: You've changed your tune on the "development of Rodney Parade" , Stan ???

Are you deliberately trying to make yourself look stupid?

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:The problem with Rodney Parade is that we do not own it. If it is developed the major beneficiaries will be Newport Gwent Dragons. It may well be that the relationship between County and the rugby has improved dramatically but that being so does not alter that fact that it is still a master servant relationship nor does it guarantee that the future relationship will remain cordial.

If we can make common cause with the rugby. That is if we can buy our share in the stadium. Or if Newport City Council take responsibility for the stadium and use it as a facility for both of the football clubs of different codes in Newport then the development of Rodney Parade is probably the best way of getting a stadium fit for a town of Newport' s size in the 21st century.

An even better one from three years and one day ago.

I rest my case.

Corpaboy. Just for you.