Grounds That Would Benefit Going Plastic

[An Absolute Imposter]

3 hours ago, Arthurlie1981 said:

So where does the money come from to go Astro for those clubs. Holm Park, Peasy & Kirkie were done with Council funding, Cumnock was done by turning it into a multi sports complex, Benburb & Renfrew by selling their massive bit of land. 
 

Clubs like Dalry who don’t own their ground are at the whim of the council. There will be limited or no council funding for the foreseeable with some council needing to find £10’s million shortfall for their budgets. 
 

I have no issues with Astro but we need to be realistic about how it in the short term. 

I started this topic as a bit tongue in cheek, but there is a serious side to it.

Using Dalry as an example I can speak about, with following Threave in Div 3 last year; Dalry were in with an outside chance of promotion but because of the amount of home games that had been postponed, they were playing catch up. Pretty sure they played 3 games a week more than once. How did that effect them; any answer is pure conjecture of course.

With games getting postponed so early in season; what impact does it have on a club like Dalry's revenue.

I am not an advocate of artificial across the board, but if pitches like Dalry, Darvel and so on are struggling to cope other avenues need to be looked at.

Fully aware how unsupportive councils can be to local sports clubs. Is the new Kirkie Arena the future for some, in that KRR are accepted as main tenants with Rossvale being a sub tenant.

But, clubs just carrying on with the same old, same old is not an option for their future sustainability.

If a pitch can be kept grass and drainage/maintenance implemented cost effectively, that would be the preferred option.

In Dalry's case with its location next to the burn and other local builds magnifying their issue that may not be an option.

Do we want the scenario were clubs are forced to go under because their playing surface becomes unusable.

I know some will scorn at that but with the increasing water saturation fields that used to be dry are almost constantly under water. See it a lot driving around Galloway and conversing with the farming folk.

[An Absolute Imposter]

11 hours ago, jimbaxters said:

Trolling thread this 

How can you accuse me of all people of trolling.

Merely a bit of .

[An Absolute Imposter]

Maybe time to close this topic.

Getting way too serious, and can see an argument incoming with someone getting cancelled.

Can't have that on my conscience.

[the nearly man]

Beith have very few games postponed at home so the suggestion of switching I thought was for clubs struggling at times to get games on, I take it there’s a dislike of Bellsdale which is a personal preference because of the slope as is my preference for a grass pitch over Astro.

[Arthurlie1981]

3 hours ago, An Absolute Imposter said:

 

Fully aware how unsupportive councils can be to local sports clubs. Is the new Kirkie Arena the future for some, in that KRR are accepted as main tenants with Rossvale being a sub tenant.

But, clubs just carrying on with the same old, same old is not an option for their future sustainability.

If a pitch can be kept grass and drainage/maintenance implemented cost effectively, that would be the preferred option.

In Dalry's case with its location next to the burn and other local builds magnifying their issue that may not be an option.

Do we want the scenario were clubs are forced to go under because their playing surface becomes unusable.

I know some will scorn at that but with the increasing water saturation fields that used to be dry are almost constantly under water. See it a lot driving around Galloway and conversing with the farming folk.

Again, and I cannot speak to specifics, the council had funding set aside to build the stadium and in an area where there was a need. I doubt other council's will have the funding any time soon and may not see the need. 

I know the situation at Dalry pretty well as I know coaches and players there. Went and saw them 3 or 4 times and a couple of those were at the Ian Cashmore stadium in Kilwinning to guarantee the game was on. 

[Sortmeout]

I don’t think it’s a terrible shout for Dalry (or others) to consider going to the artificial surfaces.  Dalry have had issues with their drainage since I lived there over 15 years ago and probably for a bit of time before then.

In a pie in the sky world they (or others) could hopefully do this without moving grounds due to the history clubs have with their current ground.

How much roughly does it cost to install an artificial surface even at the minimum required level? I’m assuming it’s well into 6 figures for installation plus upkeep which rules it out as an option for most without government grants etc. It would be interesting to guesstimate how much Dalrys pitch has cost them (repairs, rearranged games, hiring other grounds, swapping fixtures away from home) across a 10 year period and then comparing that to whatever the cost is.

Unfortunately I doubt any club could walk into a bank and say “can we borrow £100k+” and get a positive answer.

 

I’m not an advocate for artificial surfaces despite my own team having one and even a reasonably poor grass pitch is better than the level of artificial that we currently have. However it is preferable to an absolutely terrible grass park or of course no park at all if the game is postponed.

Edited August 25 by Sortmeout

[Mighty Good]

On 24/08/2024 at 17:37, Parkranger said:

Calling it 'plastic' is incredible stupid and 1980s. 

AstroTurf, also known as artificial grass or synthetic turf, is made from multiple layers of plastic materials: 

 

• Top layer

  Fibers made from nylon, polypropylene, or polyethylene that look like grass blades. These fibers are attached to a backing material. 

   
• Infill

  The spaces between the blades are filled with an infill material, usually recycled tire crumb rubber or sand. 

   
• Padding

  The infill sits on layers of padding material that are coated with acrylic and other chemicals, like latex or polyurethane. 

[Parkranger]

1 hour ago, Mighty Good said:

AstroTurf, also known as artificial grass or synthetic turf, is made from multiple layers of plastic materials: 

 

• Top layer

  Fibers made from nylon, polypropylene, or polyethylene that look like grass blades. These fibers are attached to a backing material. 

   
• Infill

  The spaces between the blades are filled with an infill material, usually recycled tire crumb rubber or sand. 

   
• Padding

  The infill sits on layers of padding material that are coated with acrylic and other chemicals, like latex or polyurethane. 

That's not plastic 

[Big Davy Boy]

if beith installed astro theyd need to redevelop their whole stadium as only the pitch would be flat 

[Cmon the Hill]

Lochburn. The clue is definitely in the title: a compound name with both words indicating water.

Old maps show the ground are surrounded on three sides by what was called, oddly, the Possil Burn. The burn has gone, but not the water.

Not saying where the club could get the money from, but in principle, yes.

It was boggy in places on Saturday and the rainy season/winter hasn't started yet. I seem to remember a few seasons back, a game called off in the first week of August.

[FairWeatherFan]

36 minutes ago, Cmon the Hill said:

Lochburn. The clue is definitely in the title: a compound name with both words indicating water.

Old maps show the ground are surrounded on three sides by what was called, oddly, the Possil Burn. The burn has gone, but not the water.

Not saying where the club could get the money from, but in principle, yes.

It was boggy in places on Saturday and the rainy season/winter hasn't started yet. I seem to remember a few seasons back, a game called off in the first week of August.

Considering the amount of use its had over the years from other clubs. I'm surprised its not something that has already happened.

[Cmon the Hill]

Perfect place - apart from the surface!- for a neutral venue.

Parking can be a bit sh1te, right enough.

[Mighty Good]

4 hours ago, Parkranger said:

That's not plastic 

Aye right.

Great how the government want to reduce plastic in food industry etc but where does all the astro turf go after 10 years or so, landfill Im betting. Plastic pitches should be banned UK wide, crap football aside, just for the environmental impact

[leaguereformer]

19 minutes ago, Mighty Good said:

Aye right.

Great how the government want to reduce plastic in food industry etc but where does all the astro turf go after 10 years or so, landfill Im betting. Plastic pitches should be banned UK wide, crap football aside, just for the environmental impact

Factor in the pollution as well to the water stream from the rubber crumb SBR, I know you now get cork infill however there isn't a pitch in Scottish leagues with that. 

 

The environmental impact of plastic pitches is massive and I am surprised government action has not been taken. 

[Eadie is God]

2 hours ago, leaguereformer said:

Factor in the pollution as well to the water stream from the rubber crumb SBR, I know you now get cork infill however there isn't a pitch in Scottish leagues with that. 

 

The environmental impact of plastic pitches is massive and I am surprised government action has not been taken. 

With the current housing shortage any club that has a ground sitting doing nothing for weeks on end is a waste of land use and that land should be built on.

Especially if the club is only watched by a handful of people.

[leaguereformer]

4 minutes ago, Eadie is God said:

With the current housing shortage any club that has a ground sitting doing nothing for weeks on end is a waste of land use and that land should be built on.

Especially if the club is only watched by a handful of people.

Clearly know nothing about housing market, 91% of the population live in 2% of the land, land in Scotland is not at a shortage. 

 

You could then argue how many of the population of your clubs town support the team each home game as a percentage being generous I have put it at 2.3%?

 

I would say the clubs with a handful of fans may have a higher percentage than your team. 

[Stag Nation]

2 hours ago, leaguereformer said:

Factor in the pollution as well to the water stream from the rubber crumb SBR, I know you now get cork infill however there isn't a pitch in Scottish leagues with that. 

 

The environmental impact of plastic pitches is massive and I am surprised government action has not been taken. 

How about the environmental impact of maintaining a grass pitch?

[Eadie is God]

4 minutes ago, leaguereformer said:

Clearly know nothing about housing market, 91% of the population live in 2% of the land, land in Scotland is not at a shortage. 

 

You could then argue how many of the population of your clubs town support the team each home game as a percentage being generous I have put it at 2.3%?

 

I would say the clubs with a handful of fans may have a higher percentage than your team. 

Any club called Clydebank shouldn’t be allowed to play football let alone win games.

It’s just not fair! 

I hate them so much because someone from Clydebank once shat in my kettle.

Edited August 26 by Eadie is God

[leaguereformer]

Just now, Stag Nation said:

How about the environmental impact of maintaining a grass pitch?

If you are maintaining a plastic pitch properly you'd still need to mechanically brush the pitch 3 times per week. So no difference in fuel use. You also need to regularly replenish the rubber crumb which have escaped into the water system. 

[leaguereformer]

2 minutes ago, Eadie is God said:

Any club called Clydebank shouldn’t be allowed to play football let alone win games.

It’s just not fair! 

I hate them so much because someone from Clydebank once shat in my kettle.

Clearly admitting your argument was poor and may have back fired.