https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47368262

Looks as if the writing is well and truly on the wall.
I think we have a very serious problems looming on the not too distant horizon.

allontheamber wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47368262

Looks as if the writing is well and truly on the wall.
I think we have a very serious problems looming on the not too distant horizon.

What did I tell you all. Now is time for some sort of Committee or a group of people to get together and start some sort of fundraising. Because sooner or later The WRU will want to sale Rodney Parade before or just after 2023. As you already know as long as they give Newport County enough notice of their intentions to sell Rodney Parade. Newport County will not have a leg to stand on. So now is the time for the Club to start planning for the future. Open meeting I think would be a start in the right direction.

Thus really is old news, it's bèen in the pipeline for some time now, I thought everyone knew about it

allontheamber wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47368262

Looks as if the writing is well and truly on the wall.
I think we have a very serious problems looming on the not too distant horizon.

You may of course be correct, but I wouldn't take it for granted just yet; unless there will be guarentees of long term large scale investment into the proposed North Wales region which has no large scale supporter or player base compared to the Gwent region. Such proposals have been muted many times over the last 20 years.
p.s. should have said external and not solely WRU investment

OLDCROMWELLIAN wrote:

allontheamber wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47368262

Looks as if the writing is well and truly on the wall.
I think we have a very serious problems looming on the not too distant horizon.

You may of course be correct, but I wouldn't take it for granted just yet; unless there will be guarentees of long term large scale investment into the proposed North Wales region which has no large scale supporter or player base compared to the Gwent region. Such proposals have been muted many times over the last 20 years.
p.s. should have said external and not solely WRU investment

The interesting part is the drip feed of information. Friday there was a possibility of the Ospreys folding or Merging with The Blues. Then it was confirmed that that wouldn't happen. Then it was confirmed that 4 regions would continue for at least another year. And today that a north Wales region could be starting next year, but only 3 in the south. As this is all to do with players contacts, the WRU are basically saying to each Region, don't sign players for more than 1 year.

Reading between the lines the Dragons merging with Blues is still the obvious move, but the WRU may also have to take control of the Blues before it happens. If they choose to share home games between Cardiff and Newport, RP will have less rugby games and therefore ground maintenance will be more expensive per game. The obvious thing then is to offload RP, but with a long lease for the new combined region, but on a usage basis.

According to wikipedia there are 7 stadiums with larger capacity than Rodney Parade, see under
1. Principality Stadium, Cardiff 74'500.
2. Cardiff City Stadium, 33'316.
3. Liberty Stadium, Swansea 21'088.
4. Swalec Stadium, Cardiff. 15'643.
5. Racecourse Ground. Wrexham 15'500
6. Parc y Scarlets Llanelli 14'870
7. Cardiff Arms Park 14'500.
8.Rodney Parade Newport 11'676
Another instance of the City of Newport being made to look small....Oh but we DO have the Celtic Manor, but I wonder where the
North regional rugby team will be housed----- possibly The new region could be called "The Stallions" to play at The Racecourse Ground.. Come on the Port ! Bob Bassett

The capacity given for RP at 11,600 is the capacity before the Bisley Stand was built. The capacity is now more like 9,000 than 11,000.

G Guest wrote:The capacity given for RP at 11,600 is the capacity before the Bisley Stand was built. The capacity is now more like 9,000 than 11,000.

Can't be far off 9000.
Look at the Man City game attendance: Add 100 for the netting (which would not be needed for rugby), add the 150 behind the dugouts, then deduct the extra seating we added just for Man City and we're at around 9,000, that's with every available seat taken, and full terracing.

Seems like the ospreys are in dire financial trouble and they are the side the wru want to get rid of and relocate in gogland as a pro feeder club along with the drags, those fine rugbyites on gwlad read it as a 2+2 situation 2 fully funded sides in the east and west being the turks in the west and Cardiff in the east with rgc and the drags as part funded feeder clubs, apparently they have to keep 4 pro sides for now because of their tv agreement, what happens when that agreement runs out is anybody's guess I think I know where I would put my money.....they would fold the drags and sell rp which would leave us in the shite unless of course the bod are negotiating now for a place for us to play in the future.

The Newport wrote:

allontheamber wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47368262

Looks as if the writing is well and truly on the wall.
I think we have a very serious problems looming on the not too distant horizon.

What did I tell you all. Now is time for some sort of Committee or a group of people to get together and start some sort of fundraising. Because sooner or later The WRU will want to sale Rodney Parade before or just after 2023. As you already know as long as they give Newport County enough notice of their intentions to sell Rodney Parade. Newport County will not have a leg to stand on. So now is the time for the Club to start planning for the future. Open meeting I think would be a start in the right direction.

I disagree. The time to take action was when County first moved to Rodney Parade. This situation was totally predictable. The WRU were never going to be happy pouring monies into a region that is consistently failing in every respect other than producing promising young players. And a region in North Wales could generate sufficient external revenue that they could be less reliant on the WRU than some of the South Wales regions have been.

I don't understand this desire for a North Wales rugby region. The area has no real rugby tradition. RGC play at an athletics stadium not unlike Spytty for which a capacity of 6,000 is claimed but boosts a record attendance of fewer than 3,000. They will never compete with the likes of the Irish provinces. Compared with them Gwent has much better facilities, a larger population and will normally draw larger crowds.

g.guest----Read the text on BBC 1......................Bob Bassett

G Guest wrote:I don't understand this desire for a North Wales rugby region. The area has no real rugby tradition. RGC play at an athletics stadium not unlike Spytty for which a capacity of 6,000 is claimed but boosts a record attendance of fewer than 3,000. They will never compete with the likes of the Irish provinces. Compared with them Gwent has much better facilities, a larger population and will normally draw larger crowds.

I agree with all of this, Not forgetting the Dragons are still providing players for the national team (4 in the 23 for the England game) and their under 18's have just completed the clean sweep of the regional competition for their age group.
Sadly, however, money usually has the final say in professional sport, which is why i suspect large scale investments may be in the offing if a North Wales region is set up. One of their major problems will be in attracting players there of course, with only 1 semi-professional team in the area and their age grade teams inevitably finishing bottom of the pile.

G Guest wrote:I don't understand this desire for a North Wales rugby region. The area has no real rugby tradition. RGC play at an athletics stadium not unlike Spytty for which a capacity of 6,000 is claimed but boosts a record attendance of fewer than 3,000. They will never compete with the likes of the Irish provinces. Compared with them Gwent has much better facilities, a larger population and will normally draw larger crowds.

I see that Cardiff Athletic Club are looking to fold The Blues over unpaid rent. Their ground agreement runs out in 2020.

The "spat" between the CAC and Blues has been dragging on for years (with the Blues wanted a very long lease so they can upgrade the ground. And this rent issue is at least a year or more old.

Who knows... it might end up as the Blue Dragons at RP!