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Let There Be Light(s)


HibeeJibee

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Disclaimer: this thread may be unsuitable for Juniors.


Notable among the LL fixture list is that Selkirk have a midweek game at home to Dalbeattie on August 23rd at 7:45pm and their games throughout December-January are listed at 3pm instead of 2pm.

This means their plans for floodlights - which were first announced a good number of years ago now - must finally be coming to fruition.

Indeed quick search online brings up some details of the scheme in the papers of a funding application:
http://councilpapers.scotborders.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=3238


Dalbeattie having fitted floodlights at the turn of the year...

dalbeattie-star-lights-4.jpg

...this would leave 3 unlit clubs in the shape of Civil Service, Vale and Whitehill.

Beyond lighting Spartans are installing turnstiles. EK building second grandstand. Good to see non-league facilities continuing to improve.

Edited by HibeeJibee
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  • 1 month later...

Meanwhile news of upgraded lights at Gretna:
 



First competitive run-out at home to Vale of Leithen in a fortnight by the looks of it.

EDIT: That'd be strangely appropriate actually as a few years I recall they'd 2 games abandoned due to floodlight failure, both v Vale?

Edited by HibeeJibee
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1 hour ago, newcastle broon said:

Any reason why Dalbeattie are playing Uni of Stirling tomorrow night and no Saturday afternoon? 

Star asked before start of season not to have a home match on Saturday 12th August as it is the towns Civic Day which would mean access to Islecroft would be problematic to say the least. Fixtures came out with Star v Uni of Stirling on Friday evening.

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10 hours ago, Ross O'Neri said:

Star asked before start of season not to have a home match on Saturday 12th August as it is the towns Civic Day which would mean access to Islecroft would be problematic to say the least. Fixtures came out with Star v Uni of Stirling on Friday evening.

Thanks Ross. 

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Sometimes theres more than just putting up lights at a ground imo...id be surprised if ww have lights anytime soon. The first issue is cost, the 2nd issue is winter night games will do nothing to improve the annual issues with the pitch. A third petty issue is location of Ferguson park..it would not only be the pitch required to be illuminated it would be a lot of surrounding area which again cause issues....

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8 hours ago, magoo said:

Sometimes theres more than just putting up lights at a ground imo...id be surprised if ww have lights anytime soon. The first issue is cost, the 2nd issue is winter night games will do nothing to improve the annual issues with the pitch. A third petty issue is location of Ferguson park..it would not only be the pitch required to be illuminated it would be a lot of surrounding area which again cause issues....

So what's yer solution then?

Sell the whole lot!  it'd certainly put ww on an even peg wi the rest of the LL and beyond. 

WW Ferguson Park and its assets are probably worth a lot more than you think. 

Night games under lights would nae even be a problem, floodlights as much as I'd love to have them are only used an average twice maybes three times a season in the LL anyway so don't think there be that much more damage to the pitch than there is just now. 

In the meantime there's nae chance of promotion (floodlights)  or an instant fix anyway so we are where we are. 

Its just finding a sugar daddy to fund it cause I'm 100% certain the club have tried all channels available....

 

 

Edited by newcastle broon
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Bump. In the end Selkirk's lights were never cabled-up and now the rest is history...

Minor footnote in the appendix of Lowland League history upcoming: Tuesday night's games at Civil Service and Vale of Leithen may be the last-ever midweekers played by natural light.

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On 28/07/2019 at 19:11, HibeeJibee said:

Bump. In the end Selkirk's lights were never cabled-up and now the rest is history...

Minor footnote in the appendix of Lowland League history upcoming: Tuesday night's games at Civil Service and Vale of Leithen may be the last-ever midweekers played by natural light.

Could certainly have done with them towards the end tonight at the Strollers. They are well on track to have them in for next year.   

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  • 1 month later...

Bump.

Footage of Civil Service finishing their erection:
 

This leaves Vale of Leithen as the only club in LL (and indeed in any tier 1-5 league) without floodlighting.



Time for HJ's illuminating history of artificial light in the Lowland and East leagues.

For many years Hawick (1981) and Gala (1989) were the only floodlit clubs...

Preston joined when their new park opened in 1994, Edinburgh City moved to Meadowbank in 1996, then LTHV moved to Saughton in 1999 which I think already had devil's candles. Lights must have gone up at Riccarton sometime in 1990s, but I do not really know when. Then there was a long lull...

Gretna moved to Raydale at the end of 2008-09 and Spartans new Ainslie Park opened later that year. Don't recall when Stirling Uni installed them at Gannochy - it was in the early 2010s - but maybe someone can shed light on it. Leith moved to Meadowbank 3G in 2013; Easthouses were (IIRC) part of a wide council scheme in 2014; Tynecastle moved to Saughton in 2015.

Edinburgh Uni's rebuilt ground opened in 2014. Dalbeattie installed illumination in 2017 as did Selkirk (alas unfinished)... BSCG, Cumbernauld, and Edusport/Caledonian Braves - who saw their own ground this year - had lights from the start courtesy of groundshares... Dunipace's appeared with 3G in 2018... Bonnyrigg, Dundonald, Jeanfield, Bo'ness and Civil Service all first ignited the hellish incandescence in this year of 2019, the latter 2 due imminently.

Don't think any club has had lights then lost them.

EK, Newtongrange (ground opened 1994?), Dunbar (ground opened 2001?), Sauchie (2003?), Broxburn (with 3G in 2009?), Dalkeith and Penicuik (council scheme like Easthouses? 2014?), Blackburn (with 3G in 2015?), Kelty (2015?), Hill of Beath (?) and Linlithgow (?) were already lit when they went senior.

I'm in the dark on Threave...

Truly we have travelled from the dark ages into an era of soccer enlightenment.

Edited by HibeeJibee
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