3G pitches get the go ahead for 2015/16 season

[lucy6lucy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/28589474

This is great news and will costs clubs like ourselves a fortune in lost revenue over the winter months. However I hope this doesn't apply to us as we will be back in the football league

[DevonYellow]

Agree this is a great step forward. I've played on them and they are very good. The financial benefits could be critical to the long term viability of clubs like us.

It says up to conference level...so what happens if we don't go up and get one installed then go on to win the league?

[lucy6lucy]

Agree this is a great step forward. I've played on them and they are very good. The financial benefits could be critical to the long term viability of clubs like us.

It says up to conference level...so what happens if we don't go up and get one installed then go on to win the league?

A valid point that many top clubs in the Vanarama Conference will have to consider, if they where to install and then have to rip it up and go back to grass upon promotion to FL2. Question: how much would it cost to install 3G pitch? And cost of a full grass pitch being laid? Matt anyone know the answer. We lost key Saturday home games last season, which had they had been played when scheduled COULD have effected our league position( of course we will never know), but we certainly lost thousands in gate revenue.

[happytorq]

I don't think it'll be too long before 3G pitches are accepted in the League, honestly. Fifa will need to upgrade their grading system first, really - they currently only rate pitches as one or two stars which isn't very helpful. Once they get to a proper testing standard (probably 5 stars, with e.g. only 4/5 allowed to host professional games, 2/3 acceptable for training, and one star for amateur games) that'll give clubs a better understanding of what they need to do.

For most 3g pitches have been used in American Football, and that's what the research/development went towards improving, but the recent versions of this sort of surface are designed for football as well, which makes it pretty certain it'll become more prevalent in the next 10-15 years.

[cambgull]

Unless you're unlikely to get promoted, I'd say it isn't worth moving from grass until the FL accept their use. Once that happens, it would make complete sense to move into artificial pitches. Cheaper costs to maintain with less staffing needed and a playing surface which will be suitable at all times of the year. I don't see any downside to it.

[hector]

I would hope that the FL would see sense and allow pitches that play the same as grass.

Even the Premiership rugby have allowed Saracens to use an artificial pitch.

[tomogull]

Grass was created for football to be played on. Okay, I'm a luddite but there will be no more of those 'entertaining' games played in ankle-deep mud and the likes of the late great Cyril Knowles won't be able to turn the hosepipes on the pitch to get a game postponed when there's a lengthy injury list (allegedly). Players won't be able to look down in disgust at a blade of grass when they miss a sitter. We won't be able to blame relegation on postponed games because of drainage problems. There must be many more reasons for keeping grass ...... :rules:

[Trojan 67]

There must be many more reasons for keeping grass ...... :rules:

Aye, one reason being you cant smoke astro turf.

[Dave]

Mixed feelings on this, nothing wrong with either 3G or 4G pitch's, and I do get the financial benefit it would bring to our club, as said above, until the football league come on board would this be a wise move by our club, the club could be faced with the initial cost of installing 3G and if we have ambitions to return to the FL and to rip it up again before it's paid for itself, should promotion be gained.

[DevonYellow]

Grass was created for football to be played on. Okay, I'm a luddite but there will be no more of those 'entertaining' games played in ankle-deep mud and the likes of the late great Cyril Knowles won't be able to turn the hosepipes on the pitch to get a game postponed when there's a lengthy injury list (allegedly). Players won't be able to look down in disgust at a blade of grass when they miss a sitter. We won't be able to blame relegation on postponed games because of drainage problems. There must be many more reasons for keeping grass ...... :rules:

Unfortunately those games that used to be played in mud don't make it past the pitch inspection these days.

If you travel away these pitches have the added blessing of not hearing the game has been called off half way there. Happened to a few traveling to plainmoor this season.

[Pea]

The ladies played a friendly against Argyle on a 3G pitch yesterday and it was absolutely excellent. It did give Adele a bit of a grazed leg, but then, so would the bone hard ground of a Conference pitch in August anyway. Gone are the days, when I was at school, when we had one of the best Astroturf pitches in the country and it still had to be covered in extremely fine sand to keep it in good nick. You can imagine the injuries that used to cause. Like playing football on sandpaper.

[cambgull]

We had an astroturf pitch at my old school, it was great in the fact you could play in all weathers and all conditions but was a nightmare for football. You couldn't slide tackle for fear of leaving a giant scrape up the side of your leg and it was a very strange feeling to run on, you could feel all of the grains through your shoes. 3G pitches are an absolute leap ahead though, and it's about time they were brought in. It means that teams have an equal playing surface no matter where they go, so it's left to the skill of the player and not how many bobbles are in the pitch. It'll certainly see a much bigger advantage to playing good football, during the winter months especially.