pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:33 am

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 10:05 am For those of you who wish to believe that the WRU need Newport County as much as Newport County need the WRU you may want to ponder the following questions.

If Newport County were to have their own stadium, Jim's EuroMillions finally came up, would the WRU survive?

If the WRU ended their agreement to share Rodney Parade, would Newport County survive as a League club?

Stating the obvious - no football club can survive if they don’t have a pitch to play on. We currently play at RP, long may it remain so.

All the arguments have been done and dusted regarding stadium ownership. What is irrefutable is that we need a place to play. Over the past few years the club (I believe) has grown. Attendances have gone up thank goodness. Promotion has not followed, yet, but hopefully in the near future etc….

I worry that if we are not able to play at RP for whatever reason, then any growth we have attained will undoubtedly be snatched away from us and we will have to start all over again. I don’t believe that we will fold but we will have to start playing somewhere else. That, for me is a nightmare scenario. I am too old to start again, don’t think I have fully recovered from the last one. I wonder how many people of my age and older would feel the same.

What is also irrefutable is that, if the news is true, then the WRU are not doing it for altruistic reasons. They will be doing it for financial reasons. It will be good for them. The fact that it will also be good for the County and good for the City is a by product that they will be able to promote.

I am sure that behind the scenes that officials are working hard on a solution and as Exile has explained, the news may be put out in the coming months. Tfft. Wish it was sooner. Our season appears to be filtering out unfortunately. We appear to be well grounded, pun intended. We seem to have a good front and back room room team, no rumours of the club officials falling out etc so we await the good news with anticipation. The time for the announcement can’t come soon enough. Cmon the County.

George Street-Bridge wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:39 am

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:16 am Not reading the views of others and/or dismissing others as nobodies is extremely rude on your part.

Which, of course, I haven't done.

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 9:17 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 8:38 am

Exile 1976 wrote: April 20th, 2022, 7:36 am Agreement is signed. Will be announced before new season starts.

Got to push you on this one mate. Your sources are normally very good and this is brilliant to hear. Why is it I wonder why they don’t get the good news out there straight away. Any ideas? There will be lots of us who will be chomping at the bit for good news here. There is no long term future for the club if we don’t have a place to play. That could and will be our best signing pre season. Timing is crap but, hey ho.

WRU/Dragons NEED us as tenants - there is a bit of posturing and back and forth but we have the whip hand - we have 2 stadiums in the Newport/Greater Newport area nearby which could with a few tweaks be made to league 2 standard so we have some leverage and a back up (if Sutton can do it we can) of course we all want to stay at RP and work with it owners to improve it (cover the north bank?), etc but no real danger of us being kicked out

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 12:08 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 9:17 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 8:38 am

Exile 1976 wrote: April 20th, 2022, 7:36 am Agreement is signed. Will be announced before new season starts.

Got to push you on this one mate. Your sources are normally very good and this is brilliant to hear. Why is it I wonder why they don’t get the good news out there straight away. Any ideas? There will be lots of us who will be chomping at the bit for good news here. There is no long term future for the club if we don’t have a place to play. That could and will be our best signing pre season. Timing is crap but, hey ho.

WRU/Dragons NEED us as tenants - there is a bit of posturing and back and forth but we have the whip hand - we have 2 stadiums in the Newport/Greater Newport area nearby which could with a few tweaks be made to league 2 standard so we have some leverage and a back up (if Sutton can do it we can) of course we all want to stay at RP and work with it owners to improve it (cover the north bank?), etc but no real danger of us being kicked out

SP what's the other ground

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 1:41 pm

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 12:08 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 9:17 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 8:38 am

Exile 1976 wrote: April 20th, 2022, 7:36 am Agreement is signed. Will be announced before new season starts.

Got to push you on this one mate. Your sources are normally very good and this is brilliant to hear. Why is it I wonder why they don’t get the good news out there straight away. Any ideas? There will be lots of us who will be chomping at the bit for good news here. There is no long term future for the club if we don’t have a place to play. That could and will be our best signing pre season. Timing is crap but, hey ho.

WRU/Dragons NEED us as tenants - there is a bit of posturing and back and forth but we have the whip hand - we have 2 stadiums in the Newport/Greater Newport area nearby which could with a few tweaks be made to league 2 standard so we have some leverage and a back up (if Sutton can do it we can) of course we all want to stay at RP and work with it owners to improve it (cover the north bank?), etc but no real danger of us being kicked out

SP what's the other ground

Cwmbran Stadium could be brought up to league standard fairly easily I'd imagine (few temp stands, etc) walking distance of station, good transport links, etc - NOT a serious or recommended option but an option nonetheless - Newport stadium would be the obvious and easiest choice but of course RP is our home ground now and no issues on lease so its all moot

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:44 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:33 am

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 10:05 am For those of you who wish to believe that the WRU need Newport County as much as Newport County need the WRU you may want to ponder the following questions.

If Newport County were to have their own stadium, Jim's EuroMillions finally came up, would the WRU survive?

If the WRU ended their agreement to share Rodney Parade, would Newport County survive as a League club?

Stating the obvious - no football club can survive if they don’t have a pitch to play on. We currently play at RP, long may it remain so.

All the arguments have been done and dusted regarding stadium ownership. What is irrefutable is that we need a place to play. Over the past few years the club (I believe) has grown. Attendances have gone up thank goodness. Promotion has not followed, yet, but hopefully in the near future etc….

I worry that if we are not able to play at RP for whatever reason, then any growth we have attained will undoubtedly be snatched away from us and we will have to start all over again. I don’t believe that we will fold but we will have to start playing somewhere else. That, for me is a nightmare scenario. I am too old to start again, don’t think I have fully recovered from the last one. I wonder how many people of my age and older would feel the same.

What is also irrefutable is that, if the news is true, then the WRU are not doing it for altruistic reasons. They will be doing it for financial reasons. It will be good for them. The fact that it will also be good for the County and good for the City is a by product that they will be able to promote.

I am sure that behind the scenes that officials are working hard on a solution and as Exile has explained, the news may be put out in the coming months. Tfft. Wish it was sooner. Our season appears to be filtering out unfortunately. We appear to be well grounded, pun intended. We seem to have a good front and back room room team, no rumours of the club officials falling out etc so we await the good news with anticipation. The time for the announcement can’t come soon enough. Cmon the County.

Morning Mike,

Clearly we have to play somewhere. And let's be honest Rodney Parade is the only suitable stadium. I don't blame the incumbent board any more than the rest of us. But we need to face a difficult truth because since 1988 we have failed to grasp the problem, and as we have to play at Rodney Parade we have to accept that the WRU have us by the balls.

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 1:45 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 1:41 pm

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 12:08 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 9:17 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 8:38 am

Exile 1976 wrote: April 20th, 2022, 7:36 am Agreement is signed. Will be announced before new season starts.

Got to push you on this one mate. Your sources are normally very good and this is brilliant to hear. Why is it I wonder why they don’t get the good news out there straight away. Any ideas? There will be lots of us who will be chomping at the bit for good news here. There is no long term future for the club if we don’t have a place to play. That could and will be our best signing pre season. Timing is crap but, hey ho.

WRU/Dragons NEED us as tenants - there is a bit of posturing and back and forth but we have the whip hand - we have 2 stadiums in the Newport/Greater Newport area nearby which could with a few tweaks be made to league 2 standard so we have some leverage and a back up (if Sutton can do it we can) of course we all want to stay at RP and work with it owners to improve it (cover the north bank?), etc but no real danger of us being kicked out

SP what's the other ground

Cwmbran Stadium could be brought up to league standard fairly easily I'd imagine (few temp stands, etc) walking distance of station, good transport links, etc - NOT a serious or recommended option but an option nonetheless - Newport stadium would be the obvious and easiest choice but of course RP is our home ground now and no issues on lease so its all moot

Cwmbran the stand is condemned and the pitch is plastic so that's out

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 2:02 pm

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:44 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:33 am

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 10:05 am For those of you who wish to believe that the WRU need Newport County as much as Newport County need the WRU you may want to ponder the following questions.

If Newport County were to have their own stadium, Jim's EuroMillions finally came up, would the WRU survive?

If the WRU ended their agreement to share Rodney Parade, would Newport County survive as a League club?

Stating the obvious - no football club can survive if they don’t have a pitch to play on. We currently play at RP, long may it remain so.

All the arguments have been done and dusted regarding stadium ownership. What is irrefutable is that we need a place to play. Over the past few years the club (I believe) has grown. Attendances have gone up thank goodness. Promotion has not followed, yet, but hopefully in the near future etc….

I worry that if we are not able to play at RP for whatever reason, then any growth we have attained will undoubtedly be snatched away from us and we will have to start all over again. I don’t believe that we will fold but we will have to start playing somewhere else. That, for me is a nightmare scenario. I am too old to start again, don’t think I have fully recovered from the last one. I wonder how many people of my age and older would feel the same.

What is also irrefutable is that, if the news is true, then the WRU are not doing it for altruistic reasons. They will be doing it for financial reasons. It will be good for them. The fact that it will also be good for the County and good for the City is a by product that they will be able to promote.

I am sure that behind the scenes that officials are working hard on a solution and as Exile has explained, the news may be put out in the coming months. Tfft. Wish it was sooner. Our season appears to be filtering out unfortunately. We appear to be well grounded, pun intended. We seem to have a good front and back room room team, no rumours of the club officials falling out etc so we await the good news with anticipation. The time for the announcement can’t come soon enough. Cmon the County.

Morning Mike,

Clearly we have to play somewhere. And let's be honest Rodney Parade is the only suitable stadium. I don't blame the incumbent board any more than the rest of us. But we need to face a difficult truth because since 1988 we have failed to grasp the problem, and as we have to play at Rodney Parade we have to accept that the WRU have us by the balls.

Afternoon Brendan. I agree with the first part of your post but not necessarily the second. Make no mistake, the WRU do need us there.

What we do agree on is that RP is the most obvious of choices, a no brainier. It does need modernising of course but that can be done. I know that you do not like the idea of a tenant/partnership and we have discussed this a few times. However, beggars cannot be choosers. I believe that we have a stronger hand than you may think. I have no evidence for this, just my belief that this is the best option.

We know nothing publicly of timescales where any decision involving the future of RP has been made. In the past Exile 1976 has made a few predictions about the club and he seems to know what is going on. I think it is probably true. No need to go into his ‘sources’ etc but I just do not understand why, if you have good news, news that will effect the club for the foreseeable future, you do not share it. In these days of spin and positive PR, surely the club and the WRU would be chomping at the bit to get the positive news out there. It is not just the club that will be putting the news out there. We will have PR from the WRU, Newport Council, Supporters groups and local politicians all vying to get a word in. Very odd.

Blackandamber wrote: April 20th, 2022, 2:21 pm

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 1:45 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 1:41 pm

UPTHEPORT wrote: April 20th, 2022, 12:08 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 9:17 am

pembsexile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 8:38 am

Exile 1976 wrote: April 20th, 2022, 7:36 am Agreement is signed. Will be announced before new season starts.

Got to push you on this one mate. Your sources are normally very good and this is brilliant to hear. Why is it I wonder why they don’t get the good news out there straight away. Any ideas? There will be lots of us who will be chomping at the bit for good news here. There is no long term future for the club if we don’t have a place to play. That could and will be our best signing pre season. Timing is crap but, hey ho.

WRU/Dragons NEED us as tenants - there is a bit of posturing and back and forth but we have the whip hand - we have 2 stadiums in the Newport/Greater Newport area nearby which could with a few tweaks be made to league 2 standard so we have some leverage and a back up (if Sutton can do it we can) of course we all want to stay at RP and work with it owners to improve it (cover the north bank?), etc but no real danger of us being kicked out

SP what's the other ground

Cwmbran Stadium could be brought up to league standard fairly easily I'd imagine (few temp stands, etc) walking distance of station, good transport links, etc - NOT a serious or recommended option but an option nonetheless - Newport stadium would be the obvious and easiest choice but of course RP is our home ground now and no issues on lease so its all moot

Cwmbran the stand is condemned and the pitch is plastic so that's out

The stand at Cwmbran stadium has been closed since 2008 because the barrier / railings at the front of it failed safety tests. Torfaen council refused to pay £110,000 to get it fixed. Part of the 3G pitch was apparently set on fire last Saturday.

faerun exile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 6:32 pm Not sure of the numbers £££ involved but would think that WRU would recoup the loss of rent from us by hiring out RP should the pitch be plastic, much like Cardiff Arms Park. Less groundsmen required etc etc. Newport RFC return from Spytty etc etc.

lowandhard wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:38 pm

faerun exile wrote: April 20th, 2022, 6:32 pm Not sure of the numbers £££ involved but would think that WRU would recoup the loss of rent from us by hiring out RP should the pitch be plastic, much like Cardiff Arms Park. Less groundsmen required etc etc. Newport RFC return from Spytty etc etc.

Which may show that the relationship of County with WRU/RP is very much better than it historically was and is mutually beneficial. Otherwise what’s in it for them? They owe us nothing.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 11:05 am

CathedralCounty wrote: April 20th, 2022, 10:25 am

Stan A. Einstein wrote: April 20th, 2022, 10:05 am For those of you who wish to believe that the WRU need Newport County as much as Newport County need the WRU you may want to ponder the following questions.

If Newport County were to have their own stadium, Jim's EuroMillions finally came up, would the WRU survive?

If the WRU ended their agreement to share Rodney Parade, would Newport County survive as a League club?

I don't have either the figures or the way the groundshare agreement works nor how the WRU/Dragons/Rodney Parade Ltd [or whatever name it has] split the loot BUT we are a big contributor in both finance and exposure for WRU/Dragons/Rodney Parade Ltd and they do NOT want to lose us - would the WRU go bust without NCFC? - no - would the WRU lose the equivalent of funding for several community programmes or youth teams or whatever if we got our own stadium? - yes it would be a blow for them, it quite simply makes sense for both parties to groundshare and is a model widely used in the English rugby premiership/Rugby league, etc

I agree insomuch as it makes perfect sense for two football teams to share a stadium. My difficulty is that it is not a partnership. After 11 years at Rodney Parade I don't know how much Newport County have paid towards the upkeep and care of Rodney Parade but the truth is that we own not a single blade of grass.

Any future development of Rodney Parade be it hotels, university accommodation, concerts or firework displays will see every penny of profit go to the WRU. I fully accept that people will say well we are not responsible for repairs. But the same principle applies to home ownership. Is there one person who owns their own home who wishes that they had remained a tenant? I fully accept some people will say if we own our own stadium we might be the target of financial manoeuvres. Don't strive to own your own property as you might get robbed is a somewhat desperate argument.

And as for it being a fans club. Newport County have been at Rodney Parade for a decade. It's our club, we are told, it's our money, we are told. Before any of us can judge I believe we should be told how much County have forked out to the rugby since we moved to Rodney Parade. And with respect to the future, how much we will be expected to spend over the term of the next license agreement.

And to be clear, since 1988 this has been a problem that we have all neglected. We all share the blame.