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£10,000,000 per game !

Non League clubs are for-profit organisations. I don't see any justification for them getting a hand-out from this money for something which they'll make a commercial benefit from. If it will be so popular and so well used then they can take a loan out for it, surely?

I'm not opposed to the idea of more such pitches at real grass-roots level but if it is about supporting a roll-out for clubs in the Pyramid then that should be the responsibility of the FA and Regional FAs as opposed to the Premier League.


I think the difference will be massive both for the parent club and every team using their pitch.

I currently pay for the season around £400 excluding fuel,we have a squad of 16 so over 6k just for us,imagine if a non league team offered better facilities for say 3k they win and my team wins,under 16s they could reduce the cost even further giving hard pressed parents breathing space.

Most non league clubs run by decent people have very little money so the chance of them finding 300k to instal the surface will be way beyond them.
 
No-one's arguing with you on that, which is why the Conference have allowed such a move. My worry is that most conference clubs won't pay for a 3G pitch because they won't be able to make a return on their investment should they get promoted. They just end up with the expense of having to rip up the pitch as replace it with grass.


The conference premier is in reality League 3 with over half of the teams ex FL,the chances of a small club coming through the leagues to actually gain promotion to the FL will Imo be virtually impossible as their ground would need the grading required which the majority of non league will never have the budget to improve their grounds.I understand the FL requirements are at least 1000 seats and 5000 capacity with upgraded lights and extra turnstiles.
 
The conference premier is in reality League 3 with over half of the teams ex FL,the chances of a small club coming through the leagues to actually gain promotion to the FL will Imo be virtually impossible as their ground would need the grading required which the majority of non league will never have the budget to improve their grounds.I understand the FL requirements are at least 1000 seats and 5000 capacity with upgraded lights and extra turnstiles.

But, as you say, half the teams in the conference are ex FL. Anyone of those teams could win promotion. At the moment there simply isn't the incentive for them to change to a 3G pitch and limit their aspirations. Why would, for example, Bristol Rovers put in a 3G pitch if they want to get back into the FL?

Don't get me wrong, I actually think the conference have been sensible in allowing them. I'm just not convinced a conference club would actually do it.

You are correct, they could potentially make it pay for itself, but they won't do it if they want promotion, and with the FL showing no signs of allowing 3G pitches there isn't really the incentive.

The way Borehamwood have done it, as actually pretty good. That said, they have 3 things most other non-league clubs don't have. The first is the space; the second is revenue from Arsenal Ladies who use their pitch, and the third is a pre-season friendly against Arsenal every season.
 
I think in this day and age it is ridiculous that the average non league ground is only used for around 10 hours each week and in summer virtually not at all.

Look at Witham Town their pitch even at its very best is awful having played on it several times,3G paid for by the prem would transform WT and indeed the Town itself as the ground wiould become a family hub with many teams senior and junior using the pitch and other facilities,The football club could charge minimum fees for the usage and to cover floodlight costs and everyone has their chance to shine playing football on a decent surface.

Witham is a terrible pitch but they don’t really make much of an effort to have a good playing surface for their 1[SUP]st[/SUP] team. They let a lot of people use it, including Howbridge swifts (a pope and smith Sunday side). I have played there in pope and smith division 3 matches for our reserves and that is a ridiculous state of affairs for a Ryman Premier club. I know they used to use it for training as well. I’d be reluctant to replace natural playing surfaces with 3G, there are issues as chapperz highlights with some players not being able to train on 3G etc. If you have played 90mins on a 3G pitch you will know the impact on your body is felt significantly more than after 90min on grass. In case like Withams, a 3G pitch to train on and to offer an alternative to the secondary teams that use the pitch when it is cutting up etc is the way forward. 3G is a great facility to have but I’d want it as a tool to take the pressure off grass pitches, not replace them.
 
Witham is a terrible pitch but they don’t really make much of an effort to have a good playing surface for their 1[SUP]st[/SUP] team. They let a lot of people use it, including Howbridge swifts (a pope and smith Sunday side). I have played there in pope and smith division 3 matches for our reserves and that is a ridiculous state of affairs for a Ryman Premier club. I know they used to use it for training as well. I’d be reluctant to replace natural playing surfaces with 3G, there are issues as chapperz highlights with some players not being able to train on 3G etc. If you have played 90mins on a 3G pitch you will know the impact on your body is felt significantly more than after 90min on grass. In case like Withams, a 3G pitch to train on and to offer an alternative to the secondary teams that use the pitch when it is cutting up etc is the way forward. 3G is a great facility to have but I’d want it as a tool to take the pressure off grass pitches, not replace them.


Dont forget Witham ladies use it too.

The pitch at Witham is diffulcult to play on as the ball will bounce anywhere and often makes the player look a mug.Harlow and Maidstone both have wonderful surfaces where I believe many teams use the facility?
 
it's a pity, i cannot afford SKY SPORTS and cannot trans to BT (on a fixed contract), still not the end of the world hope BBC still have MOTD + football L show and we can see England matches (please)
 
My son works at Liverpool Everton Man Poo AND CITY AND PREFERS sKY TO bt BECAUSE HE GETS FREE FOOD FROM THE sKY BOYS.,Crap caps off.
 
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