welford road pitch size

[mikefro]

can somebody please explain excactly what is wrong with our pitch size.
also why can't it be put right?
or, why wasn't it sorted when the CAT stand and the GOLDSMITH stands were built?
I am absolutely devastated that we will not see any world up games at WR.
-------
SORRY, should have been more specific, what is the size of the WF pitch and what is the minimum size supposed to be.

[MJ Chairman]

It is not wide enough for world cup regs. Yes it could have been made wider when the Cat stand was built but that would have meant moving the posts which would have put the pitch out of line with the Goldsmith stand and the fans that have bought seats and boxes in that stand.

[Grimlish]

I think there's a little more to it MJ

For one or two games the pitch and posts could be moved toward the Cat stand to meet any regulations. Tickets for those games would be sold on that basis so existing ST holders wouldn't be too badly affected. As I understand it the pitch was supposed to move toward the cat stand as and when the whole ground redevelopment took in both the clubhouse and Goldsmith stands.

So, if that isn't enough the issue becomes why was the Cat stand built where it is? There's a good old-fashioned rumour that there was a proposal to turn the pitch through 90degrees (either when the old Members stand or the Crumbie was replaced, presumably by moving into either of the car park/ 'dead' areas behind those stands). The Cat stand does sit further from the pitch than the old Members' stand but not enough to turn the pitch. This option would also be VERY difficult for the purposes of retaining maximum capacity during the redevelopment and making best use of the remaining capacity.

So, IF that's all correct, a different question arises. Why did Tigers apparently believe they could host WC matches? I dont know the answer to that and would be fascinated to know what was said privately to make that seem likely (although the motivation is likely to have been to keep some major stakeholders on board during the bid process).

I think the reason we don't have a game is overall ground capacity. It's about bums on seats and profit IMHO. Without a full-scale redevelopment, which was always unlikely in a poor economic climate, the numbers require using the largest ground available in a heartland of the game. Sadly that's down the road.

I can live with that. It's not a long walk. I have fond memories of some games there - a great atmosphere on at least one occasion courtesy of the Welsh fans, the games Vs Bath, the time half the crowd changed ends at half-time, totally spontaneously. Dupuy's try (??). I'm really glad we have our own ground, our own traditions, our own control of our environment. I'd love to have seen WC rugby at our place. But I'll not cut off my nose to spite my face, by refusing. To go to a WC game just round the corner.

[Off Piste Tiger]

I thought I heard that the problem is that the pitch is too short. World Cup regulations are cat one 100 m and cat 2 is 95m. Welford Road is 91m long.

[mike]

The Pitch is too short in length and width - must be the smallest playing area in the Premiership .I cannot believe that the problem could not have been sorted out ( even a little)during the Cat Stand Dev.

[DickyP]

The pitch is too small for the RWC regulations - it not too small for Rugby Union. This is because Welford Road dates back to when the old dimensions for pitches in the laws (I've still got mine from 1968 in a nicely bound booklet) used to recommend 100 yards long (eg, 91 m), with an 'In Goal' of between 5 to 25 yards. It was only a couple of decades ago that pitches were standardised to 110 yards (approx 98 meters)for internationals.

It would be easy enough to expand the width of WR - there's plenty of space and I'm sure it'll happen if the rest of the work goes ahead to redevelop the ground. The length is another matter entirely as the two ends of the ground are adjacent to two major roads: Welford Road and Aylestone Road (which have narrow enough pavements as it is).

[tjs10]

Also it isn't just the pitch dimensions that were the issue.

The changing rooms aren't suitable for RWC matches. They aren't even big enough to fit the entire Tigers matchday squad into one dressing room (the players currently spread across two connecting rooms per team). RW requirements also need to have a separate room for drug testing. At WR they currently use the referee's room for this during domestic games but RWC requirements state a completely separate room. On top of that the media facilities simply aren't up to RWC standards.

Basically, there are a number of different factors but the club & fans only seem to focus on the pitch dimensions.

A fully developed WR would have been more than capable of hosting games (as the facilities would have been improved & the pitch would have been re-sized) but that would have involved knocking down the Crumbie Terrace & rebuilding it further back (as with the CAT) and extending the pitch towards the clubhouse to give it the necessary length.

The club were well aware of the requirements as the RWC specifications were circulated to all interested venues but they either chose to ignore them or hope that "heritage" would see them make the list rather than spend the necessary cash.

[Isambard]

Thanks Tim. good old tight with money syndrome and conservative approach to the future. Just like not cashing in after RWC 2003 and the golden era of Johnno, Back, ABC, and so many more.

Would it have taken a little imagination to include the dressing rooms in the Cat stand, seeing that they are so inadequate. Yes that would have meant the players coming onto the field from the other side, below the new media facilities incorporated in the Cat as in the Aviva. Then the plank stand could have been rebuilt more easily with the traditional terrace.

The Temptations song comes to mind, "Just my Imagination."

[tommo]

Just face facts. Your antiquated little ground wasnt deemed suitable for the RWC, and sensibly, your Club didn't want to spend millions of pounds, it does not have, to host a few pool games, so a few old Crumblies don't have to watch rugby at a different venue.

[Isambard]

Beware of saints passing compliments.

[RugbyTiger]

Shouldnt all pitches be the same size ???

[Grimlish]

Shouldnt all pitches be the same size ???

Why???

[Skin_and_Muscle]

Shouldnt all pitches be the same size ???

Why???

Absolutely; size and surface idiosyncrasies make away trips that little bit more difficult, and so they should!

[fleabane]

tjs10, I don't know where you get your highly critical views from!

The current pitch is more a parallelogram than a rectangle. A redeveloment of the whole ground would have allowed the "squaring-up" of the pitch, but the unwillingness of the car showroom behind the Crumbie to move elsewhere restricts the ability to widen the pitch to any significant degree.

Current safety regulations require a 5m strip from the stand/barrier to the edge of the playing area/grass. Redevelopment of the Terrace would see it move back towards the land we do not own, and redevelopment of the Crumbie side of the ground would also reduce capacity by 200.

Where would "the necessary cash" come from? What would the ROI be? What do you want - a financially sound club (unlike most of the rest of the Premiership ), which challenges for trophies, or a fully developed ground that hosts 3 or 4 minor country WC games (capacity 30,0000) and ends up in financial difficulties?

"The club were well aware of the requirements as the RWC specifications were circulated to all interested venues but they either chose to ignore them or hope that "heritage" would see them make the list rather than spend the necessary cash."

Maybe you could rephrase your final sentence?

[ads]

This is probably total rubbish, but i think there could be a link between our 'small' pitch and the fact that we don't do that well at twickenham.

It shouldn't matter, as we've got plenty of internationals, but I just can't help thinking that other teams teams know how to play on wider pitches better than we do.

Like I say probably utter rubbish, but just a thought.