[quote="Bangitintrnet"]

However in terms of negotiation we do have other options, and that is important.

The WRU will have a price at which they will allow Newport County to play at Rodney Parade. That is simple supply and demand economics. My view, which could be wrong is that the rent they would want to renew our license will be out of our price range.If I am right there will be no negotiation.

However if I am wrong what are the other options? Spytty Park. A wind tunnel with an athletics track on the outskirts of town. A main stand which is only two thirds of the pitch long. A popular bank which is falling down and at one end of the pitch a terrace so far away that you can't see the game and at the other end no terrace at all. Sharing with Forest Green or Hereford?

I genuinely hope you are right and I am wrong.

whoareya wrote:

newgroundrodney wrote:

whoareya wrote:

Kevin Ward is a trustee of Newport Live, set up to operate the Council's leisure facilities on a not for profit basis. That includes the Newport Stadium.

http://www.newportlive.co.uk/about/trustee-profiles

I think it safe to say that the Club is fully aware of the requirements to use the stadium in the future.

This still doesn't tell me whether we've approached The Council / Newport Live to determine whether or not Spytty Park is in fact AVAILABLE to us to return to as a playing venue, should we need it. As I said, we're assuming Spytty is there as a crash mat, but is that in fact the case, or are we just assuming it is?

Well ask him then, or do as I did - send a Freedom Of Information request to the council and ask them.

You've expressed concern about transport to and from Spytty before - how about getting s bus there and a taxi back to the station?

Whenever stadium issues are discussed, the options polarize very quickly, for many it's RP or a new stadium, but they say they won't go back to Spytty.

Pathetic.

We have little leverage at RP, just as other tenants have little leverage over their landlords.

But then the demands for a new stadium and the council should help to, or entirely fund it.

THEY'VE GOT SPYTTY AND THE SPORT VILLAGE AND THE VELODROME - THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BUILD ANOTHER ONE!!!

Well they should.

[quote="Stan A. Einstein"][quote="Bangitintrnet"]

However in terms of negotiation we do have other options, and that is important.

The WRU will have a price at which they will allow Newport County to play at Rodney Parade. That is simple supply and demand economics. My view, which could be wrong is that the rent they would want to renew our license will be out of our price range.If I am right there will be no negotiation.

However if I am wrong what are the other options? Spytty Park. A wind tunnel with an athletics track on the outskirts of town. A main stand which is only two thirds of the pitch long. A popular bank which is falling down and at one end of the pitch a terrace so far away that you can't see the game and at the other end no terrace at all. Sharing with Forest Green or Hereford?

I genuinely hope you are right and I am wrong.[/quote

The ground has only been redeveloped on two sides, the Bisley and North Terrace. The next side is the south terrace which is where football away support is situated. It is less used by the Dragons. There is a new bar at this end, Rodney's, and they have demolished the hospitality boxes ready for redevelopment.
They have also put lighting around the cabbage patch which is odd as the Dragons train at Ystrad Mynach these days. If a hotel is built, it wouldn't supprise me if the footprint is relatively small, backing onto the north terrace, and leaving the grass untouched.

Any hotel development consent will be linked to further development of Rodney Parade, as the previous cabbage patch development consent has established.

It is said that the money that County pay to use Rodney Parade doesn't stem the losses that the ground makes. David Buttress indicated that it would help massively if we shared the costs of the staff, but our operation is much smaller/cheaper so why should we? It might creak a bit with big matches, but our ticketing and admin and shop all seem to be a least as good, if not better, for less cost.

So you have to ask the question why were we allowed in, if we're not wanted? It seems that the ground and hospitality is too expensive for just one team to pay for (NRFC just pay a token sum).
The Dragons simply play too few games, to make it viable. If our rental is too expensive we won't be able to afford it long term and that will be a problem for the Dragons.

Swansea City are reduceing costs, but if the rent the Ospreys pay is put up too much, they will be forced to move to the Scarlet's. That won't help Swansea one bit.

Owning Rodney Parade was no incentive when the Region was open to investment. The WRU were reluctant purchaser's, and if they can off load it, to a consortium they will IMO.

Bangitintrnet wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

Bangitintrnet wrote:
However in terms of negotiation we do have other options, and that is important.

The WRU will have a price at which they will allow Newport County to play at Rodney Parade. That is simple supply and demand economics. My view, which could be wrong is that the rent they would want to renew our license will be out of our price range.If I am right there will be no negotiation.

However if I am wrong what are the other options? Spytty Park. A wind tunnel with an athletics track on the outskirts of town. A main stand which is only two thirds of the pitch long. A popular bank which is falling down and at one end of the pitch a terrace so far away that you can't see the game and at the other end no terrace at all. Sharing with Forest Green or Hereford?

I genuinely hope you are right and I am wrong.[/quote

The ground has only been redeveloped on two sides, the Bisley and North Terrace. The next side is the south terrace which is where football away support is situated. It is less used by the Dragons. There is a new bar at this end, Rodney's, and they have demolished the hospitality boxes ready for redevelopment.
They have also put lighting around the cabbage patch which is odd as the Dragons train at Ystrad Mynach these days. If a hotel is built, it wouldn't supprise me if the footprint is relatively small, backing onto the north terrace, and leaving the grass untouched.

Any hotel development consent will be linked to further development of Rodney Parade, as the previous cabbage patch development consent has established.

It is said that the money that County pay to use Rodney Parade doesn't stem the losses that the ground makes. David Buttress indicated that it would help massively if we shared the costs of the staff, but our operation is much smaller/cheaper so why should we? It might creak a bit with big matches, but our ticketing and admin and shop all seem to be a least as good, if not better, for less cost.

So you have to ask the question why were we allowed in, if we're not wanted? It seems that the ground and hospitality is too expensive for just one team to pay for (NRFC just pay a token sum).
The Dragons simply play too few games, to make it viable. If our rental is too expensive we won't be able to afford it long term and that will be a problem for the Dragons.

Swansea City are reduceing costs, but if the rent the Ospreys pay is put up too much, they will be forced to move to the Scarlet's. That won't help Swansea one bit.

Owning Rodney Parade was no incentive when the Region was open to investment. The WRU were reluctant purchaser's, and if they can off load it, to a consortium they will IMO.

Find myself agreeing with most of that. One small point, I believe the dragons do use the cabbage for training as well as ystrad mynach.

Bangitintrnet wrote:Owning Rodney Parade was no incentive when the Region was open to investment. The WRU were reluctant purchaser's, and if they can off load it, to a consortium they will IMO.

Sorry to jump at your comment again but would this be the best case for us and Newport RFC?

If they paid £2.85m for the whole site, how much is the stadium worth? If us and NRFC offered say £2m, the WRU would get 5 acres of prime city centre land for £850k with no commitment to spending money developing the stadium, they could tour the Dragons around the region with no concern of primacy of fixtures, they could playing some games at RP now and then whilst earning money for the playing squad of the Dragons whether they stay here or move north.

Sounds plausible, probably not :D

Papski wrote:

Bangitintrnet wrote:Owning Rodney Parade was no incentive when the Region was open to investment. The WRU were reluctant purchaser's, and if they can off load it, to a consortium they will IMO.

Sorry to jump at your comment again but would this be the best case for us and Newport RFC?

If they paid £2.85m for the whole site, how much is the stadium worth? If us and NRFC offered say £2m, the WRU would get 5 acres of prime city centre land for £850k with no commitment to spending money developing the stadium, they could tour the Dragons around the region with no concern of primacy of fixtures, they could playing some games at RP now and then whilst earning money for the playing squad of the Dragons whether they stay here or move north.

Sounds plausible, probably not :D

If it was as easy as that to get around the linked planning maybe Newport Rugby or the WRU would have done that before now.

In fairness the WRU are losing money on the Dragons despite the 6 Million they give them.
There will come a point where they will want them to stand on their own two feet.

Bangitintrnet wrote:

Papski wrote:

Bangitintrnet wrote:Owning Rodney Parade was no incentive when the Region was open to investment. The WRU were reluctant purchaser's, and if they can off load it, to a consortium they will IMO.

Sorry to jump at your comment again but would this be the best case for us and Newport RFC?

If they paid £2.85m for the whole site, how much is the stadium worth? If us and NRFC offered say £2m, the WRU would get 5 acres of prime city centre land for £850k with no commitment to spending money developing the stadium, they could tour the Dragons around the region with no concern of primacy of fixtures, they could playing some games at RP now and then whilst earning money for the playing squad of the Dragons whether they stay here or move north.

Sounds plausible, probably not :D

If it was as easy as that to get around the linked planning maybe Newport Rugby or the WRU would have done that before now.

In fairness the WRU are losing money on the Dragons despite the 6 Million they give them.
There will come a point where they will want them to stand on their own two feet.

Whilst this is maybe somewhat academic from a County point of view that Mr Buttress in the Dragons recent open meeting publically ridiculed the notion that the Dragons receive anywhere near £6 million in funding from the WRU and also stated that the Ospreys receive £2 million a year more than them, and the Scarlets £2 & half million more?

Bangitintrnet wrote:If it was as easy as that to get around the linked planning maybe Newport Rugby or the WRU would have done that before now.

No doubt. No doubt.

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/ ... ey_Parade/

Nearly 10 years since this statement from Friends of Newport Rugby and no sign of any development. Nearly 2 years of WRU rule and 16 months of Mr Buttress' time in charge and the other night he said he hasn't spent one minute on this. Someone could of made the money from this project since 2009, and spent it by now, so something is not easy about it. But something strikes me as the cheque will always be in the post with this, my personal gut feeling.

If we owned the RP site for the last 10 years, would we have had more of a chance of attracting developers than the rugby? Could this be a selling point of the Hybrid Model?

What is the purpose of the linked planning? If it is to safeguard the stadium for future use then surely it would be safer in our (County/Newport RFC) hands today than potentially no teams playing there in 4 years time, which at the moment is as just as likely as anything else. So i'd hope, between all parties, an arrangement where sport keeps a permanent home in Newport, the WRU still make their money and the council look like geniuses'.

Again all hypothetical, but are we involved in these conversations? Are there conversations?

Bangitintrnet wrote:In fairness the WRU are losing money on the Dragons despite the 6 Million they give them.
There will come a point where they will want them to stand on their own two feet.

If they started conversations tomorrow, how long would it take for some profits to make it to their playing squad? In the meantime Amos is off to Cardiff. Who will follow? It wouldn't fill me with confidence as a Dragons fan to part with my ticket money for the next say.. 3/4 years.

As already stated, everything up to an announcement is hearsay and hypothetical .....I just hope we have all bases covered in the near future!

Papski wrote:

Bangitintrnet wrote:If it was as easy as that to get around the linked planning maybe Newport Rugby or the WRU would have done that before now.

No doubt. No doubt.

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/ ... ey_Parade/

Nearly 10 years since this statement from Friends of Newport Rugby and no sign of any development. Nearly 2 years of WRU rule and 16 months of Mr Buttress' time in charge and the other night he said he hasn't spent one minute on this. Someone could of made the money from this project since 2009, and spent it by now, so something is not easy about it. But something strikes me as the cheque will always be in the post with this, my personal gut feeling.

If we owned the RP site for the last 10 years, would we have had more of a chance of attracting developers than the rugby? Could this be a selling point of the Hybrid Model?

What is the purpose of the linked planning? If it is to safeguard the stadium for future use then surely it would be safer in our (County/Newport RFC) hands today than potentially no teams playing there in 4 years time, which at the moment is as just as likely as anything else. So i'd hope, between all parties, an arrangement where sport keeps a permanent home in Newport, the WRU still make their money and the council look like geniuses'.

Again all hypothetical, but are we involved in these conversations? Are there conversations?

Bangitintrnet wrote:In fairness the WRU are losing money on the Dragons despite the 6 Million they give them.
There will come a point where they will want them to stand on their own two feet.

If they started conversations tomorrow, how long would it take for some profits to make it to their playing squad? In the meantime Amos is off to Cardiff. Who will follow? It wouldn't fill me with confidence as a Dragons fan to part with my ticket money for the next say.. 3/4 years.

Excellent post highlighting the numerous factors in play. Also good to read the FoNR Argus interview.

I'm not sure anyone can answer your questions yet, but I'm sure the Council will have a key role in it as they clearly have had already.

mike wilks wrote:As already stated, everything up to an announcement is hearsay and hypothetical .....I just hope we have all bases covered in the near future!

Mike,
Whilst I don't agree that opinions are hearsay, although I take your point and by their very nature they are hypothetical. People voice what they think will or may happen, they may be or may not be correct.

One thing we do know is that our future at Rodney Parade is being decided, and we have no say in the outcome.

That is not the fault of the present board of directors as this problem has been 30 years in the making. Where I am concerned at the way things might work out is that there seems to be no engagement with supporters as to how we deal with the fact that at present we are four years away from not having a stadium in which to play.

That might change for the better, but there seems to be no plan of what to do if it doesn't.

Bangitintrnet wrote:Excellent post highlighting the numerous factors in play. Also good to read the FoNR Argus interview.

I'm not sure anyone can answer your questions yet, but I'm sure the Council will have a key role in it as they clearly have had already.

The FoNR bit hasn't aged well at all.

What has matured well is the story of the Cricket at RP. http://www.newportcricketclub.co.uk/index.php?page=70 and they were members of the Athletic Club!

What I would like to see is the sporting public of Newport, and clubs, get out in front of this potentially happening again. We need to be proactive around this and not reactive. Even if a positive plan is in place behind the scenes would a Friends of Newport Sport, don't wanna say petition but some show of unity, benefit us all? Ironically, some kind of Athletics Club.

Papski wrote:

Bangitintrnet wrote:Excellent post highlighting the numerous factors in play. Also good to read the FoNR Argus interview.

I'm not sure anyone can answer your questions yet, but I'm sure the Council will have a key role in it as they clearly have had already.

The FoNR bit hasn't aged well at all.

What has matured well is the story of the Cricket at RP. http://www.newportcricketclub.co.uk/index.php?page=70 and they were members of the Athletic Club!

What I would like to see is the sporting public of Newport, and clubs, get out in front of this potentially happening again. We need to be proactive around this and not reactive. Even if a positive plan is in place behind the scenes would a Friends of Newport Sport, don't wanna say petition but some show of unity, benefit us all? Ironically, some kind of Athletics Club.

Friend's of Rodney Parade? It would need Council input as the driver, is that likely?

Bangitintrnet wrote:Friend's of Rodney Parade? It would need Council input as the driver, is that likely?

Is it a chicken or the egg scenario? Do we start the campaign in spirit, then take it to the council with x amount of backers or do we follow their lead if they are willing to take it on from scratch, if they are interested at all? Maybe NRFC/Dragons fans are not interested. Maybe County fans aren't interested.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/ ... h-16020429

Mr Boddy said: "When Coventry City Council sold the Ricoh Arena to Wasps in 2014, they made an unconditional, timeless, minuted promise to the city that Coventry City's future would not be jeopardised by the sale." - Maybe it won't help in the slightest.

34 days left at the Ricoh of their 4 year deal. I bet that flew by. How would we vote as a club if the question of expulsion of Coventry City FC from the league comes up?

I can't see our board letting it get this far.

Superb posts and archive work from Papski - so sad and also so reminiscent reading through the fight to keep cricket at the site - you can be sure that we will have the same headlines about history with NRFC in the not too distant future and probably us - unfortunately this city council have a terrible track record of saving anything of importance ranging from the once strong university to now our sporting clubs - I’m aftaid we are all correct in that this is going to have to be something we sort ourselves if the club are to survive but I don’t think we’ll end up on Parade.