HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 12 hours ago, ArabAuslander said: The best long-term solution for Fort William for survival as a club, would be the installation of a 4G Pitch at Claggan Park. Would almost certainly need some form of Council funding. I've always been surprised by the lack of artificial surfaces in the HL considering that it's the HL clubs that would need it the most. Cove going up means there aren't any in HL. In stark contrast LL = 8... EOSL = 6 ... SOSL = 7... SPFL = 16. Possibly an element of conservatism/traditionalism? Also do most HL clubs own their grounds... that can make it harder to obtain grants than when it's leased from a council or trust. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairWeatherFan Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Didn't Fort William try to get one but it went to the Shinty team? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tout P'ti FC Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Didn't Fort William try to get one but it went to the Shinty team?Last time I was at An Aird they were developing a new pitch behind the clubhouse. I think it was going to be a grass pitch though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, HibeeJibee said: Cove going up means there aren't any in HL. In stark contrast LL = 8... EOSL = 6 ... SOSL = 7... SPFL = 16. Possibly an element of conservatism/traditionalism? Also do most HL clubs own their grounds... that can make it harder to obtain grants than when it's leased from a council or trust. Clachnacuddin were close to getting one a couple of years ago as a groundshare with Inverness City (RIP), but grant funding was cut. There was a lot of resistance anyway from the football side. Not sure how much it would help Claggan Park, drainage would still be a major problem. Edited December 29, 2019 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 16 hours ago, ArabAuslander said: The best long-term solution for Fort William for survival as a club, would be the installation of a 4G Pitch at Claggan Park. Would almost certainly need some form of Council funding. I've always been surprised by the lack of artificial surfaces in the HL considering that it's the HL clubs that would need it the most. There was some discussion about this a few years ago. At the time there was a very vague plan for a new pitch at the Black Parks. In the end, the pitch was laid at the High School. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said: 3 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said: Didn't Fort William try to get one but it went to the Shinty team? Last time I was at An Aird they were developing a new pitch behind the clubhouse. I think it was going to be a grass pitch though. The cost of an artificial shinty pitch would be huge, they're something like 150 metres long and 70 metres wide! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairWeatherFan Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Just now, Cyclizine said: The cost of an artificial shinty pitch would be huge, they're something like 150 metres long and 70 metres wide! I think it was the High School that you mentioned above that I was misremembering. That rang a bell. In looking up Fort William Shinty pitch in hopes of finding reference to a plastic pitch, I did see something for the recent renovation that was done that cost £200k with the main talking point being that they now had floodlights. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 An Aird is one of the "Big Three" shinty grounds along with Bught Park in Inverness and Mossfield in Oban. The Camanachd Cup finals are usually held at one of them. I can see why Highland Council and Sport Scotland would prefer to spend on the shinty facilities over Claggan Park, sadly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tout P'ti FC Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 The next Cammanchad Cup Final is being held at Kingussie on 19 September 2020.Very decent stadium, size appropriate, reflecting investment made by the local team and community, no doubt some grant funding too. Grass pitch at Kingussie. The weekly cost of replacing the divots on a 4G shinty pitch would be interesting! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) An Àird. Please remember your stràcan Pleased to see it going to Kingussie as the "Highland" venue. Much better than the Bught now and closer to Lochaber and Argyll. Any idea who paid for it? Edited December 30, 2019 by invergowrie arab 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 7 hours ago, invergowrie arab said: An Àird. Please remember your stràcan I find it hard to forget the c**t. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqy Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Saturday's game against Formartine has been switched to Pitmedden - Claggan Park is expected to be a mess with the rain. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raidernation Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 ^^^ Duh! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Shaker Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 It's been a mess with rain for a dozen years and more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqy Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 52 minutes ago, Jimmy Shaker said: It's been a mess with rain for a dozen years and more. Yep, even after rotating the pitch. They really need an astro pitch or an incredible drainage system, but that's not likely to happen any time soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 When I see the amount of clubs that can switch to astro pitches with funding and grants I wonder what barriers there are for The Fort in doing the same. The location, size of town, catchment area, potential use as a community space for such a large area make it appear ripe for such a scheme. There would be more folk in Lochaber who could make use of it than just Fort William FC 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 When I see the amount of clubs that can switch to astro pitches with funding and grants I wonder what barriers there are for The Fort in doing the same. The location, size of town, catchment area, potential use as a community space for such a large area make it appear ripe for such a scheme. There would be more folk in Lochaber who could make use of it than just Fort William FCShinty being the main attraction up that way is one of the primary reasons I'd imagine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 4 hours ago, GNU_Linux said: Shinty being the main attraction up that way is one of the primary reasons I'd imagine. It can't be the main attraction to the extent that there aren't enough people interested in playing football on a semi-regular basis, competitive or not. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Capital Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 8 hours ago, AsimButtHitsASix said: When I see the amount of clubs that can switch to astro pitches with funding and grants I wonder what barriers there are for The Fort in doing the same. The location, size of town, catchment area, potential use as a community space for such a large area make it appear ripe for such a scheme. There would be more folk in Lochaber who could make use of it than just Fort William FC The ground is owned by the council I believe and is officially a public park so I imagine making it astro is unlikely. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 What use does the general public get from a waterlogged swamp most of the year? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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