State of the stadium

[TonySoprano]

The place is looking tired.

Walking to the stadium, I noticed the Doncaster Rovers signs peeling, the white edging on the letters is coming off.
Other than those cheap signs, there's hardly any Rovers branding on the stadium at all, even the sponsors signs are bigger and illuminated.

The banners of the ex players are so faded you can hardly see them.

Inside the ground. The west stand tannoy is broken and not working at all, isn't this a safety issue at a minimum?

A third of the floodlight bulbs haven't been replaced.

There's no Rovers branding inside the stadium, or dons for that matter.

The pitch is also worse than usual for this time of year.

The place needs some TLC, and I know some usual suspects will bleet on about costs, and spending brammalls money etc. But I'm sorry, it's slack that it's got to this state, and needs sorting.

[hamiltonrover]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

[GazLaz]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

Could have spent the thousands a week we’ve spent on Close and Westbrook on the stadium. Fine saying that if we weren’t wasting as much money as we are on players we don’t use.

[mpc123]

Why don't we just pack up as a club.

It's the easiest job in the world going around picking negatives. You could go to any business in  the world and do it, because it's that easy many have a go at it.

Why dont you do the hard things and  go and work hard to make more money to do so.

My guess is you'll pick the easy way to make yourself look good and the club look bad. Bramhall has done the hard thing, why don't you try it?

[drfchound]

I don’t think it would cost anything to turn down the volume of the south stand speakers.

[TonySoprano]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

Like I said, I thought this question would arise.
It's not a question of that in my opinion, it's just basic maintenance of the stadium.
It shouldn't come to one big expense after so many years, that's if the maintenance is performed regularly.

 

[hamiltonrover]

Some of the items were discussed at Meet the owners:

Floodlights - far exceed the league expectations in terms of brightness, however they won't replace bulbs during the season, if required, they'll get someone to do what's required pre-season when they can replace many bulbs at once as opposed to a few at a time.

The tannoy will cost a crazy amount of money to replace and the club are looking at options, they're aware it's not great and actually appears to be getting worse in the West.

IMO - there's plenty of branding inside the stadium, plenty in the east and west stand (no idea about the South), historical timeline/donny dog stuff etc

The pitch is a victim of the weather, it's been pretty excellent in the past few seasons. A lot of other clubs are similar.

The only point I strongly agree with you on is the banners outside the stadium look tired.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, looking back and saying we shouldn't have signed/re-signed x,y and z to save money is a bit short sighted.

[NickDRFC]

Some of the items were discussed at Meet the owners:

Floodlights - far exceed the league expectations in terms of brightness, however they won't replace bulbs during the season, if required, they'll get someone to do what's required pre-season when they can replace many bulbs at once as opposed to a few at a time.

The tannoy will cost a crazy amount of money to replace and the club are looking at options, they're aware it's not great and actually appears to be getting worse in the West.

IMO - there's plenty of branding inside the stadium, plenty in the east and west stand (no idea about the South), historical timeline/donny dog stuff etc

The pitch is a victim of the weather, it's been pretty excellent in the past few seasons. A lot of other clubs are similar.

The only point I strongly agree with you on is the banners outside the stadium look tired.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, looking back and saying we shouldn't have signed/re-signed x,y and z to save money is a bit short sighted.

The Close/Westbrooke comments aren’t hindsight. Their deals, Close especially, were met with a lot of surprise and scepticism at the time.

[mpc123]

The manager made a decision at the time, he thought , IF THE PLAYER PLAYS TO TOP FORM, he can be a major asset.

Unfortunately that hasn't happened and that is pretty much a high percentage of footballers.

Manager shave to make the decision there and then, supporters get the luxury of commenting when it's gone wrong.

I understand the comment on the stadium but can't be put against the close and westbrooke deals, it's silly.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Some of the items were discussed at Meet the owners:

Floodlights - far exceed the league expectations in terms of brightness, however they won't replace bulbs during the season, if required, they'll get someone to do what's required pre-season when they can replace many bulbs at once as opposed to a few at a time.

The tannoy will cost a crazy amount of money to replace and the club are looking at options, they're aware it's not great and actually appears to be getting worse in the West.

IMO - there's plenty of branding inside the stadium, plenty in the east and west stand (no idea about the South), historical timeline/donny dog stuff etc

The pitch is a victim of the weather, it's been pretty excellent in the past few seasons. A lot of other clubs are similar.

The only point I strongly agree with you on is the banners outside the stadium look tired.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, looking back and saying we shouldn't have signed/re-signed x,y and z to save money is a bit short sighted.

Yes, alot as you said, has been covered already.

Didn't TonySoprano attend the Meet the Owners, or at least watch the event on YouTube?

Essential maintenance is carried out, even in previous meet the owners, GB referenced how much had been spent on maintenance.

Then of course, there are cosmetics which are less of a priority although I'm sure there are plenty of things, big and small, that could be addressed and will be in time.

I've often wondered whether a budget could be set aside annually that can be spent and prioritised by the Shadow Board, Fan Experience Group however, how do we decide on how it's funded? From Sponsorships? From a percentage of total Club Doncaster income? From bonus income from cup runs etc?

Dialogue is always good. Plus, maybe we should read the Shadow Board minutes to check on these sort of things. I took the time to find and read them on the official site a couple of weeks ago.

[In the box]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

So what your saying is that if we played all our games on a council playing field we could sign premier league quality players as we wouldn’t have to meet basics standards of lighting or sound quality or even general house keeping . The board didn’t buy the stadium it leased it on the cheap . The stadium is look untidy and isn’t providing a sufficient sound system for safety . The lights need modernising LEDs are cheaper to run and possibly brighter  and the pitch is only just holding up as playable and clearly isn’t being looking after well enough.. Where is the hydro lamps talked about to help with the grass growth in winter  . Clearly the budget is what pays for the upkeep and it’s not meeting its demands . Put £20 on the season ticket prices and maybe this would go away to fixing the problems .

[hamiltonrover]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

So what your saying is that if we played all our games on a council playing field we could sign premier league quality players as we wouldn’t have to meet basics standards of lighting or sound quality or even general house keeping . The board didn’t buy the stadium it leased it on the cheap . The stadium is look untidy and isn’t providing a sufficient sound system for safety . The lights need modernising LEDs are cheaper to run and possibly brighter  and the pitch is only just holding up as playable and clearly isn’t being looking after well enough.. Where is the hydro lamps talked about to help with the grass growth in winter  . Clearly the budget is what pays for the upkeep and it’s not meeting its demands . Put £20 on the season ticket prices and maybe this would go away to fixing the problems .

I'm not saying that at all, I'm simply asking the question.

The sound system is an issue, but you're talking over half a million to upgrade, £20 on a season ticket isn't going to cut it!

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

The tannoy is a joke in the west, not heard a thing for months, it needs sorting.

[TonySoprano]

Some of the items were discussed at Meet the owners:

Floodlights - far exceed the league expectations in terms of brightness, however they won't replace bulbs during the season, if required, they'll get someone to do what's required pre-season when they can replace many bulbs at once as opposed to a few at a time.

The tannoy will cost a crazy amount of money to replace and the club are looking at options, they're aware it's not great and actually appears to be getting worse in the West.

IMO - there's plenty of branding inside the stadium, plenty in the east and west stand (no idea about the South), historical timeline/donny dog stuff etc

The pitch is a victim of the weather, it's been pretty excellent in the past few seasons. A lot of other clubs are similar.

The only point I strongly agree with you on is the banners outside the stadium look tired.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, looking back and saying we shouldn't have signed/re-signed x,y and z to save money is a bit short sighted.

Yes, alot as you said, has been covered already.

Didn't TonySoprano attend the Meet the Owners, or at least watch the event on YouTube?

Essential maintenance is carried out, even in previous meet the owners, GB referenced how much had been spent on maintenance.

Then of course, there are cosmetics which are less of a priority although I'm sure there are plenty of things, big and small, that could be addressed and will be in time.

I've often wondered whether a budget could be set aside annually that can be spent and prioritised by the Shadow Board, Fan Experience Group however, how do we decide on how it's funded? From Sponsorships? From a percentage of total Club Doncaster income? From bonus income from cup runs etc?

Dialogue is always good. Plus, maybe we should read the Shadow Board minutes to check on these sort of things. I took the time to find and read them on the official site a couple of weeks ago.

The floodlights are just basic maintenance, and wouldn't break the bank to sort, it's just slack to leave so many not working. Plus it just looks bad, hardly professional looking is it?

There isn't any rovers/ dons branding within the stadium bowl, and what little branding there is on the exterior of the stadium is falling to bits.
As for the concourses, what happened to the names for each food outlet ? There were signs that said Peters kitchen etc .

The west stand tannoy isn't just bad, it simply isn't working at all, which is why they have turned up the volume in the south to deafening levels so the fans in the west can hear something, although ironically it's just distorted and garbled noise. Again, this is a safety issue at a minimum, I'm sure the HSE wouldn't approve.

I understand why they are spending money on the training ground. As its also badly needed, but that will be an asset that has a cash value, so a real investment.
The stadium however. Isn't, that's just a liability. But still badly needs money spent on it.

[Monkcaster_Rover]

I think the legends banners on the side of the stadium should be taken down. They’re that washed and faded you can’t even see who it is.

[GazLaz]

Re: The pitch. The worst thing for football pitches is when you play on them when they are borderline frozen. Sure there was at least one game like this this season. That’s probably what did the damage.

[colincramb]

You can’t grow grass when there’s no sunlight. It’s been grim, dull weather for a few weeks. I would imagine the lighting systems you see at premier league grounds to encourage grass growth cost an absolute fortune to run and they need to be on a lot to get any benefit. Probably not financially viable for the club

[i_ateallthepies]

You can’t grow grass when there’s no sunlight. It’s been grim, dull weather for a few weeks. I would imagine the lighting systems you see at premier league grounds to encourage grass growth cost an absolute fortune to run and they need to be on a lot to get any benefit. Probably not financially viable for the club

This exactly, and to add to that (I've already posted this recently) grass goes dormant at temperatures below seven degrees C.  There have been lengthy periods of sub 7 degrees this year.

[Lincoln Rover]

Watch this space ….

[DearneValleyRover]

Don’t we relay the pitch every 2/3 years? Must be time for it to be done.

[Armthorpe mickler]

The pitch must be done every year because the Dons have to play away every year for 2 months.Surely it would be better the other way round with the Dons playing the home games before the football starts again.Did'nt have this problem at Belle Vue.

[Draytonian III]

You can’t grow grass when there’s no sunlight. It’s been grim, dull weather for a few weeks. I would imagine the lighting systems you see at premier league grounds to encourage grass growth cost an absolute fortune to run and they need to be on a lot to get any benefit. Probably not financially viable for the club


Don’t some clubs use lights that are 2nd hand/used that have been confiscated from people “growing “ other things

[ravenrover]

Yes they do, but they still have to buy them and then there is the running cost

[johnny rovers]

The pitch must be done every year because the Dons have to play away every year for 2 months.Surely it would be better the other way round with the Dons playing the home games before the football starts again.Did'nt have this problem at Belle Vue.

The fixture calculator has been kind this year and the dons have a glut of away games during the period when the pitch if renewed. Clearly this was a request that went in and this time they have listened. All Dons home games will be played at the Eco Power

[Avsuptem]

Mr. Soprano raises a fair point.
Generally speaking a proper, professional approach to maintenance is self-funding and not in overall terms a cost. Proper preventative maintenance eliminates the need for more expensive corrective maintenance later on. In this regard it is like health and safety, for example if an unmaintained lighting module falls off the tower and injures or kills someone the consequential costs are far higher than the cost of the maintenance procedures that would have stopped it happening.

[normal rules]

You can’t grow grass when there’s no sunlight. It’s been grim, dull weather for a few weeks. I would imagine the lighting systems you see at premier league grounds to encourage grass growth cost an absolute fortune to run and they need to be on a lot to get any benefit. Probably not financially viable for the club

I recall seeing a few years ago that some of the very expensive halogen lights seized in cannabis grows were being re purposed by football clubs to keep their grass green. In collaboration with the local plod.
But it’s the running of them that costs. Even overnight on economy 7 would be expensive.
Let’s be honest, undersoil heating wasn’t even opted for at the Keepmoat. So keeping the grass green would be very much down the pecking order.
For what it’s worth I think the grounds people do a good job. I’ve been in the jibba  jabba lounge a few times well after a game to see the crew up and down the pitch mowing and flattening it.
Those that went to hull this season will have seen how frosty weather can cut a pitch up.

[VivaRovers]

Genuine question - would you rather money be spent on the things you mention or developing the squad?

Surely we as a club have separate budgets for these things. Maintenance of the stadium shouldn't be an unexpected cost.

I thing TS raises some reasonable points to be honest; I've not been to many home games in recent years but had noted the faded banners some seasons back so surprised that's still an issue, and the state of the tannoy audio in the West Stand seats last Monday was much worse than I remembered or expected. Oddly, it worked fine in the gents... but in the seats it sounded like a bloke shouting over from the Lake, and sinking into it as he did

[Branton Red]

The tannoy is a joke in the west, not heard a thing for months, it needs sorting.

I much prefer it as it is now.

It's refreshing to be able to hear myself think before KO/at HT never mind being able to hear the person sat next to me.

[oggycompton]

I agree with some of the statements on here however there have been a lot of positives also. For example the food and speed of serving has been a big improvement. Still annoys me that you cant hear anything in the West stand at all from the mic guy pre game. Still think we are moving forward.

[drfchound]

The tannoy is a joke in the west, not heard a thing for months, it needs sorting.

I much prefer it as it is now.

It's refreshing to be able to hear myself think before KO/at HT never mind being able to hear the person sat next to me.

As I am a South Stand person I will happily swap places with you until they lower the volume of the PA system.  I am seriously thinking that the club should provide ear defenders for everyone who goes in there on match days.