salmson wrote: My preference would be for ~10K capacity split clubhouse/main stand whatever way works, with both ends undeveloped. Then if you ever have an All Blacks visit, HEC QF (15K capacity required) or a Rabo Final (18K) you can throw in a rake of temporary seating as needed.

[Yes, even more preposterous than yours SeaPoint]

Fair to say that by the time we're hosting a home HEC 1/4 final or a Pro12 Final, Pearse Stadium and McHale Park will be probably Open.... :whistle:

Connman I'd say our future is more secure than the Doggies, there'll come a time that the subsidies that they are getting from the Tax Man will stay in the public purse...

Maybe its something that the PGB should consider...Is our future @ the Sportsground, are we going to be able to offload our fellow tennants. Or should we be aiming at a 5 year plan where we are aiming at building a new 12000 capacity ground. No harm getting the ball rolling earlier than later ....may not happen for 5 - 10 years but could start off a scheme. Or indeed sort out a sole tennancy agreement at the Sportsground and look at developing it further into a more Rugby Friendly arena.

My preference would be for ~10K capacity split clubhouse/main stand whatever way works, with both ends undeveloped. Then if you ever have an All Blacks visit, HEC QF (15K capacity required) or a Rabo Final (18K) you can throw in a rake of temporary seating as needed.

[Yes, even more preposterous than yours SeaPoint]

RonanL wrote:

Connman wrote: Realistically now we should be aiming for 4000+ maybe 4500.....will be great next season...would be great to get another great draw in the HEC too and we get a massive crowd for one game 10000+ imagine......

If we got the likes of Clermont, I'm sure 10000 tickets could be sold, but I don't know if the sportsground could take it! The Toulouse game was great, especially for those of us who got there early to nab a good spot, but there was a lot of latecomers wedged into every nook and cranny. I suppose they could add a couple of thousand by getting bigger stands at either end?

That would come down to Cost & Benefit, as is 9k is the optimum capacity.

That is until our sugar-daddy steps forward (the Doggies get the order to run somewhere else). And a nice little 12k stadium is built, 6k Stand incorporating Office/Changing and Corporate on the Clubhouse side and a 3k single tier one on the Main stand, with another 1500 housed in Clan Terraces behind each goal....

Oh Yeah Baby, I HAVE A DREAM...... :woohoo:

Connman wrote: Realistically now we should be aiming for 4000+ maybe 4500.....will be great next season...would be great to get another great draw in the HEC too and we get a massive crowd for one game 10000+ imagine......

The bizarre thing is that the likes of county hurling semi-finals between Loughrea and Athenry a few years ago get over 10k. (Of course, the 'official' gate was about 3 thousand, wink, wink...) Granted everyone was there because there had been a fantastic brawl in the previous meeting. And it was only about a tenner.

If there is a sense that Connacht can be competitive against top teams, and not just make up the numbers on the day for an exhibition match like was the vibe around prior to the Toulouse game, then I think there is a serious pool of sports fans out there that would come.

Unfortunately we never get to have really meaningful games against our neighbours (to such an extent that it is impossible to describe them as our rivals). When you get Munsters first 15 lining out in the Sportsground because they need the points and need their best to get them, then you're in different territory again.

Connman wrote: Realistically now we should be aiming for 4000+ maybe 4500.....will be great next season...would be great to get another great draw in the HEC too and we get a massive crowd for one game 10000+ imagine......

If we got the likes of Clermont, I'm sure 10000 tickets could be sold, but I don't know if the sportsground could take it! The Toulouse game was great, especially for those of us who got there early to nab a good spot, but there was a lot of latecomers wedged into every nook and cranny. I suppose they could add a couple of thousand by getting bigger stands at either end?

Realistically now we should be aiming for 4000+ maybe 4500.....will be great next season...would be great to get another great draw in the HEC too and we get a massive crowd for one game 10000+ imagine......

Robbo wrote: As an aside, you have to wonder who the superior tenant is in the Sportsground these days.

Technically the doggie people are the main tenant, but you can bet the takings in the main stand for the HEC games alone are worth weeks of dog racing.

On a short/medium term basis, I can't see investment in either end (that accomodates the track) as a runner. That would only make sense if you were certain that the dog track would still be there in 5/10 years.

On a long term basis: there are 18 dog tracks in Ireland (ROI) (as opposed to ~40 in total in the entire UK including NI); most are losing money; Bord na gCon runs them all, is subvented by the State to the tune of 75-80%, and is regarded by the current government as little better than a Fianna Fáil cumann (check out Barry Cowen's CV); and most important of all there is a state-of-the-art track little more than an hour away in Limerick.

One would imagine the branch's policy is to wait for the inevitable to happen.

BTW, I have every sympathy with the doggie lot as regards the West "stand" - it blocked access, it's unsightly, it deposited rainwater on a neighbouring garden, and as the city council pointed out, it's not temporary if it's sitting there for 8 months of the year.

ConnachtCows wrote: You'd almost need a glass front to the College Road end to keep people dry.

I wonder could they build curved stands at each end of the Clan Terrace, to go along the track, and increase capacity?

It would have to be done in such a way that the view of the greyhounds was unobstructed.

As an aside, you have to wonder who the superior tenant is in the Sportsground these days. I believe Bord na gCon are feeling the pinch of lower numbers these days. Moreover, the short lived effects of trying to appeal to a higher class of punter have faded.

I feel that the objections raised by the greyhound and related people to Connacht Rugby's planning applications may be part of some ongoing struggle.

You'd almost need a glass front to the College Road end to keep people dry.

I wonder could they build curved stands at each end of the Clan Terrace, to go along the track, and increase capacity?

Big bunch of trees at the Bohermore end, reduce the wind and environmentally friendly

ConnachtCows wrote: Excellent news. Should we realistically be believing in 4,000 now?
I definitely know a few friends who are yet to buy their tickets.

Place should be bouncing next season

Getting to 4k will probably depend on the HEC draw. The Clan Terrace (Which we know to have a capacity of about 2k) is sold out but there are still spaces in the Main Stand Terrace from what TM is showing, anyone know what the official capacity of that is?

Not sure about the "West Stand" if it's going to be there next season. The terraces behind the posts will be a much harder sell for Season Tickets even with a decent draw because of the openness to the elements, at some point a solution needs to be found to provide cover there even if it's a semi-permanent solution.

We had to play away friendlies last season due to the upgrading of the sportsground. Due to health and safety no games could be played on a building site

ummm, wrote: two months if you count pre-season games

what happens if there all away pre season games again this year :pinch:

two months if you count pre-season games

only 3months to go connolly.

when is the heineken cup draw and pro12 fixtures on?