lineo Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Can't see it happening to be honest as the athletics club will have a big say on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEd Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 On 22/07/2017 at 22:02, lineo said: Can't see it happening to be honest as the athletics club will have a big say on it. As they should. It's primarily an athletics facility, and Ayr Seaforth have been there for a long time. The council tried to get shot of the stadium to UWS, but that fell through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftk Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Yeah dam park is probably too small. They are supposed to be interested in the old Sainsbury's proposed site at Corton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
come on shire Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 21/07/2017 at 17:11, Shanner said: to paraphrase a famous saying: "Football is a game for gentleman played by hooligans, Rugby is a game for hooligans played and supported by utter gimps". Have you tried a game called Rugby League? If you're too soft for Rugby Union only to try football but find you're not very good, you can move to the north of England and give this joke of a game a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANKIEBILL Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 7/22/2017 at 19:54, lineo said: and still leave then very, very wealthy for the club to really kick on to the next level. What would be the "next level" in Rugby terms ? Only the pro-Clubs ( Edinburgh and Glasgow) have any real fanbase. There doesn't really appear to be much of a level to kick into? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineo Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I think the next level would be pro for them bankie bill. As for fan base I don't know enough about ayr rugby club and its fans to comment. Do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintonfan Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 4 hours ago, come on shire said: Have you tried a game called Rugby League? If you're too soft for Rugby Union only to try football but find you're not very good, you can move to the north of England and give this joke of a game a shot. You ever watched rugby league?? Great game, fantastic atmosphere at games and fans of deadly rivals stand side by side drinking ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANKIEBILL Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 1 hour ago, lineo said: I think the next level would be pro for them bankie bill. As for fan base I don't know enough about ayr rugby club and its fans to comment. Do you? no offence lineo I'm not anti-Rugby but I do know that the majority of club games ( outwith the big two ) do not attract big crowds and if there are pros then it's along lines of a cricket club pro who works in bar or wherever. Nay be hugely different at Ayr and if so then apologies but that's the realities as I'm aware Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 5 hours ago, come on shire said: Have you tried a game called Rugby League? If you're too soft for Rugby Union only to try football but find you're not very good, you can move to the north of England and give this joke of a game a shot. What, exactly, are you gibbering about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthurlie1981 Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 no offence lineo I'm not anti-Rugby but I do know that the majority of club games ( outwith the big two ) do not attract big crowds and if there are pros then it's along lines of a cricket club pro who works in bar or wherever. Nay be hugely different at Ayr and if so then apologies but that's the realities as I'm aware Not wanting to turn this into Ayr RFC thread but Ayr cannot turn pro. The 2 pro clubs are owned and operated by the SRU who also own all the pro players in Scotland. Any pro players Ayr have is are allocated by Glasgow on a game by game basis and it is mainly academy players and players coming from injury. In terms of crowds club games are only really attended by club members and I wouldn't think it would be much more than 100/200. I am surprised that they are thinking of Dam park as they would need 2/3 pitches and iirc expansion wouldn't be possible there. Even the smallest clubs in Scotland have 2 pitches. Hope Whittlets can get an answer from the council about the future asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillonearth Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Yeah, there's no pathway for them to turn pro - one for the pyramid enthusiasts there! Being a dominant team in the top division like they are at the moment is as good as it gets for them. The SRU originally formed four pro teams mirroring the four club rugby regions, but Caledonia Reds (effectively everything north of Stirling) didn't last long because of the spread-out nature of the geography meaning they couldn't attract meaningful crowds. The Border Reivers lasted a wee bit longer, but the local rivalries between the towns down that way meant that Gala punters wouldn't travel to Hawick to watch them and vice versa. Those teams were disbanded and subsumed into Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively. Regarding rugby crowds a lot of the time it depends who they're playing - a Border local derby like Gala v Selkirk will attract a crowd of a good few hundred, same with the big Edinburgh FP clubs like Heriot's v Watsonians, but if there's no real history there it'll be a lot less. I caught Glasgow Hawks v Melrose recently and you'd be lucky if there was much over 100 there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthurlie1981 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Yeah, there's no pathway for them to turn pro - one for the pyramid enthusiasts there! Being a dominant team in the top division like they are at the moment is as good as it gets for them. The SRU originally formed four pro teams mirroring the four club rugby regions, but Caledonia Reds (effectively everything north of Stirling) didn't last long because of the spread-out nature of the geography meaning they couldn't attract meaningful crowds. The Border Reivers lasted a wee bit longer, but the local rivalries between the towns down that way meant that Gala punters wouldn't travel to Hawick to watch them and vice versa. Those teams were disbanded and subsumed into Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively. Regarding rugby crowds a lot of the time it depends who they're playing - a Border local derby like Gala v Selkirk will attract a crowd of a good few hundred, same with the big Edinburgh FP clubs like Heriot's v Watsonians, but if there's no real history there it'll be a lot less. I caught Glasgow Hawks v Melrose recently and you'd be lucky if there was much over 100 there. Remember the early days and then the Glasgow Caley Reds & Edinburgh Reivers. Thankfully SRU seem to have it sorted now and having attended far more Glasgow games than I can remember it's great that there is more of a supporter base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftk Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Don't think there is enough interest or fan base in Scotland for any more pro clubs tbh. The two big cities have a team and that is enough. The other teams in Scotland provide a decent and competitive amateur league. Ayr isn't big enough to have a pro team. They just want better facilities for their first team and for their large youth development teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lang Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Don't think there is enough interest or fan base in Scotland for any more pro clubs tbh. The two big cities have a team and that is enough. The other teams in Scotland provide a decent and competitive amateur league. Ayr isn't big enough to have a pro team. They just want better facilities for their first team and for their large youth development teams. No,they want the money from selling out for housing[emoji52] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftk Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 No,they want the money from selling out for housing[emoji52] .....which will fund better facilities else where. I personally don't have a problem with it. Just now I feel that rugby is just for the rich people of Alloway. Would be nice to see the club relocate to a more central location and reach out to the whole of Ayr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lang Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 And where would you get that amount of space in a central location Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftk Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 If they put down a 3g pitch at Dam Park that could be used loads but space is limited. They have other options and are supposed to be in talks with council about using the old race course(some of it already being lined up for a golf academy). They are also in talks with the new developers of the Corton South East Ayr project about using the old Sainsbury's site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEd Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 20 hours ago, Arthurlie1981 said: In terms of crowds club games are only really attended by club members and I wouldn't think it would be much more Couldn't tell you the precise figures, but Ayr RFC tend to get better crowds than that. Big games can bring in four figure crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEADOWXI Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/40764024 Could Ayr being looking to go Semi-Pro, SRU giving £100K to each of the semi-pro teams annually; Scottish Rugby ponders creation of six semi-pro clubs By David Currie BBC Scotland From the section Scottish Rugby Nick Grigg (right) became a regular for Glasgow last season after playing for Stirling County in the Premiership Scottish Rugby is planning to create six semi-professional franchise clubs as part of a radical restructuring of the game in Scotland. Chief executive Mark Dodson will unveil the proposal at the union's annual general meeting next Saturday, 5 August, BBC Scotland has learned. The SRU would invest at least £100,000 annually in each of the teams for the first five years, a total of over £3m. They will contest a six-team semi-pro league, with play-offs to follow. There is likely to be one team based in Glasgow, one in Edinburgh, one in the Borders and one in the North and Midlands district, with two others elsewhere. It is hoped the new set-up, which follows a comprehensive review of the whole club structure of Scottish rugby, will be up and running for the start of the 2018-19 season. The fully professional teams, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby, would remain in their current guises. Underneath the semi-pro league, there would be an amateur national league of four divisions each containing 12 clubs. The BT Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish club game, has 10 clubs at present, with the National One, Two and Three leagues featuring 12 clubs each. Some clubs have yet to be convinced of the plan. One club representative told BBC Scotland: "I doubt we have enough good players to make it work and it might cost more to set up than the union envisages." The strategy will be presented at next Saturday's AGM to the clubs, who will then have time to consider the proposals, although there is no plan for a vote of the member clubs. Scottish Rugby owns and funds both of its two professional teams, Glasgow and Edinburgh, to the tune of about £5m per year, although is open to outside investment in both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANKIEBILL Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 heard that yesterday on radio ... looks like there may be "the next level" after all. Best of luck to them as long as it's not at the expense of Whitletts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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