Reason to celebrate - and big news of the pitch

[stevebone]

Story from Carl ... www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/why-bognor-regis-towns-cherished-pitch-is-in-line-to-be-dug-up-4524589

[stevebone]

On Twitter, news about the pitch has brought a very mixed response - ranging from 'has to be done for the future' to 'terrible / that's me done'. Interested on the thoughts of the regulars on here...

[cityboy]

As a long term fan of over 55 years it's a great shame that the grass pitch has to go; however for the long term financial stability of the club it has to be done.
Fans want the best players in the team with little idea of how much they cost. This gives the club the chance to compete with clubs who already have them.
The weather changes are causing more games to be cancelled each year. The rearranged midweek games get smaller gates than a weekend game would get. This obviously means less revenue in the canteen; bar as well as the smaller gate.
Obviously a 4g pitch would stop this happening.
As much as I don't like it I see the benefits of a plastic pitch !!

[uptherocks91]

Over 500 players representing Bognor Regis is a fantastic achievement for the club, it really does show how much it means to the town.

It's great to see two local journalists cover this in the article.

The future is bright, official club announcements regarding facility developments and our vision will be made in due course. Watch this space!


UTR ⚽🟢

[kof]

Cityboy,
What you say is totally outrageous, a load of old cobblers, absolute rubbish, not credible in any regard. You mean you are expecting us to believe that you didn't start supporting the Rocks until you were 30 years old! (Just kidding).
I agree with the rest of what you say.

[cityboy]

Feb 19, 2024 21:10:34 GMT 1 kof said:

Cityboy,
What you say is totally outrageous, a load of old cobblers, absolute rubbish, not credible in any regard. You mean you are expecting us to believe that you didn't start supporting the Rocks until you were 30 years old! (Just kidding).
I agree with the rest of what you say.

Kof I have aged well🤣🤣🤣

[paul]

To give some perspective to the kind of money that can be raised from this, this is the availability and pricing for Lewes’s 3G pitch for the forthcoming week:

schoolhire.co.uk/lewes/lewesfc/football-pitch/3769

A cursory glance shows that it’s booked out for around 60 ish hours this week at a rate of around £90-£120 per hour. I’ve no idea if that’s a typical week or not and I’ve no idea about their staffing costs, utility costs, maintenance etc but it certainly has the potential to be a very useful additional income stream (although the cynic might suggest that they’ve been hiring out their 3G pitch since 2015 and are still below us in the league…).

Will it be enough to take the club to the ‘next level’ (a la Worthing)? I remember Jack giving an interview when we were last in the National South saying that, if we had aims of competing at the top end of that division (a la Worthing again), we had to be looking to raise an extra £200000 to £250000 per year on top of what we already raise to give the manager the funds to challenge at that level (reading between the lines, I think that equates to around a playing budget of around £10000 a week). Is that feasible for us?
I’m sure those in charge have the maths to hand but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that an increased income stream from a 3G pitch and a rise in average attendances (I read that Worthing’s break-even average home attendance is about 1300) could elevate the club to the next stage. Dare I say it but the blueprint is about 15 miles to the east and, whilst you need a little bit of luck along the way (Ollie certainly didn’t look like a goal-a-game striker when he played at that level for us!), the ambition certainly has to be applauded.
Even so, I still think football played on these 3G pitches is, generally, a pretty difficult watch…

[uptherocks91]

Paul, you raise some valid points. Here is a rough outline of the business case:

- Income via pitch hire
- Income via average attendance increases
- Income via the delivery of new club-related activities i.e. 6th form programmes, half-term clubs, Academy/Development centres and the progression of a community/foundation arm of the club.
- Income via the expansion of Seasons being utilised as a service operating 7 days a week.
- Income via new sponsorship opportunities and an increase in footfall at the facility.

This list isn't exhaustive.

We will be able to observe a consistent fixture schedule, it is extraordinarily rare for postponements to occur, hence no loss of income. Likely income boosts on particularly wet weekends when other local football is postponed.

Part of the plan is to adopt a new changing room and hospitality suite; the latter will present a new range of revenue opportunities.

The development of our facilities will enhance our position further within the community, will provide improved training facilities for a range of Bognor Regis Town teams as well as a consistent playing surface all-year round.

The question to ask is, what role does a football club play in its town, what value does it provide? We’ve kept this as our central focus, and by taking an approach which puts the community at its heart, we will see the benefits on-field and off-field, from grassroots to first team.

Unfortunately, the news article contains inaccuracies in the type of surface we are considering. We are pursuing a top-of-the-range FIFA Quality Pro surface, the like of which is more akin to a high-quality grass surface than a traditional 3G pitch which you may have seen before.

Welcoming over 500 players to our recent celebratory event is a fantastic achievement for the football club. It should have been the focus of the article and I am disappointed with the way facility developments have been announced. I would have liked for the club to have presented its vision as a much more exciting strategic announcement, that was the intention and we will still pursue this. Unfortunately, journalists like to self-indulge and sensationalise for their own means.

[kof]

uptherocks91,

I have no axe to grind in any of this except for being a Rocks supporter and generally in favour of an artificial pitch and the potential benefits it might bring.

However, your criticism of the journalism is rather over the top. The Press have to present this sort of news in a palatable and exciting form to their readers. But if you are going to criticise in such a way, then you ought to make sure you are fireproof in what you say.

What you have described is not a business case or even an outline of one. It is a wish list or, as you say yourself, a vision. Thus, you also have sensationalised and self-indulged yourself just as you have accused the Press of doing. If this were a business case, I, who have some experience in this field, would turn it down. Two immediate questions are: who is going to manage all these opportunities and what business experience do they have; what evidence is there that these opportunities exist?

I admire your enthusiasm but not your realism or unwarranted criticism of others.

[uptherocks91]

Thanks kof, welcome all feedback. I did state it was additional insight to provide context, a full business case isn't going to be outlined on a forum post. Your questions are valid and can be answered. No sensationalism or self-indulgence here, just hard-working volunteers, giving their time for free and trying to improve services for the town.

I'm not sure the headlines were palatable or exciting, they just caused a lot of confusion. As you have experience in this field, you'll understand that there are ways of managing official communication. If this was a journalistic piece, it shouldn't have been presented on official club accounts being passed off as approved club correspondence relating to facility developments.

I'm entitled to an opinion, as are you and I respect that. But let's assess matters objectively, and not turn it into a popularity contest.

[Rattlesnake]

Personally, it's a shame that one of the best, and best attended to, grass pitches in non-League football (as rated by many outside the club as well) will disappear.

On a business and community level, it has to happen.

I take it there'll be a sale of square feet / yards of the dug-up pitch for supporters to buy and stick in their gardens, with proceeds to the football club? Just a thought. It would help swell the coffers a bit (put me down for a slice while you're at it!).

[mbnimo]

Its a shame we are not able to consider a Hybrid pitch - the pitches at lewes and Totton were really top quality. I know in rugby players prefer using the hybrids to grass - it seems a pretty clear evolution of surface quality across sports. They cost an absolute fortune though so not shocked its not feasible! It's obv a real shame to lose something the club has excelled at and had pride over for a very long time but its also just a clear no brainer in terms of advancing the club in all facets.

It's all good anyway - will have to rip it up and put grass back in when we get to league 2 🥳

[stevebone]

Hi Uptherocks91 - you say 'the news article contains inaccuracies in the type of surface we are considering' - can I ask what is inaccurate? Steve.

[stevebone]

Also ... there's no self-indulging or sensationalising from me. Just reporting what we know.

[uptherocks91]

Steve,

It's too late to be discussing inaccuracies, which include the quality of the pitch and the full scope of the project. If you wanted to speak on behalf of the club, headlines and content should be approved by club officials before its pushed on social media and relayed on our official club accounts.

The project consists of a FIFA Quality Pro pitch, along with proposed redevelopment of other surrounding facilities which meets the requirement for use in the National League. The project is not a case of two journalists stating the club wants to just "dig up the much-loved Nye Camp carpet" whilst the same journalist declares "I'm not a fan and grass should be for football matches".

You're either speaking on behalf of the club, whereby it approves the content and leads on the announcement, not EldoMedia and Sussex World. Or, it's a speculative journalist article which shouldn't be present on official club accounts.

[paul]

uptherocks91, I wouldn’t normally get involved in a post like this and, given you’re posting on here anonymously (which is obviously fine) I’m not sure if you’re posting in a personal guise or as a representative of the club, but I’d strongly suggest that you really don’t want to fall out with Steve of all people - he’s been hugely supportive of the club over many years and the symbiotic nature of the relationship between club and the local press means that club news and initiatives end up being read about far beyond the club’s own social media channels, which is obviously of enormous benefit to the football club.

I’d respectfully suggest that if you feel a mistake has been made, it’d be far better to address it in private rather than on here as, inevitably, it draws the attention even further away from the community story that the club was seemingly keen to promote.

[stevebone]

Uptherocks, I am not speaking on behalf of the club, never have, never would be claiming to. I work for Sussex Newspapers, the Bognor Observer, totally independent of the club. We report in good faith news and opinions about the club (and many others) and will carry on doing so. Hope that helps.

[uptherocks91]

That's my point Steve. I'm not doubting you reported in good faith, but you and EldoMedia wasn't speaking on behalf of the club, club officials didn't approve the headlines and it shouldn't have been advertised on official club accounts. The article doesn't accurately reflect project plans and its caused a bit of a mess. It's a matter for all parties to reflect on.

Nevertheless, its done now and we move on.

[kof]

Well said, Paul. Totally agree with you.
I find it difficult to believe someone associated with the Club could be so unbelievably petty.

[uptherocks91]

I don't think caring about the management of one of the most important developments in the clubs history is 'petty'. I do take umbrage seeing the club's interests and official account platforms being used to further other peoples agendas.

I've made my opinion clear, I respect others views and wont comment further. Some of us are busy committing time helping to build Bognor Regis into the best possible club it can be for a town which deserves it.