Oldham

[paulwalker71]

1 hour ago, JM2010 said:

I came on this thread to read a debate regarding RL in Oldham but have come away with a thorough list of advantages and disadvantages of 3G pitches

You and me both. And I started the thread!

My premise was that, perhaps, Oldham Athletic had descended to such a parlous state of affairs, that just maybe they might put aside petty historic differences and work together to benefit BOTH sports.

But, no, it seems like both football and rugby would rather take a fast-track to extinction than collaborate. And, from the looks of it, neither are that far off

Sad, really

[LittleboroRoughyed]

With Oldham Athletic’s relegation into non-league football, likely new ownership & potential inability to fund Boundary Park ground hire then their could be an opportunity to work together to either jointly use the stadium (limited to no financial benefit to either club) or to seek funding for a new smaller community stadium. The big issue is that neither club has any assets, both have small support bases & the Council have blown millions of pounds in the past trying to deliver a new stadium for the sole use of the football club.

[The Future is League]

9 hours ago, paulwalker71 said:

I was just watching a piece on BBC Breakfast about Oldham Athletic getting relegated down to non-league.

Inevitably it focussed on the gradual decline over a 20 year period - and of course the rugby club has had a decline which mirrors it. Remember the Oldham Bears were in Super League back in those days!

The football fans are agitating for new ownership because it won't be a given that they'll bounce back - plenty of other teams have fallen down that trapdoor and not come back.

My question to the Oldham RLFC fans here is whether there is now any possibility that the football and rugby clubs could get together, share the ground and for both teams this might be a new beginning?

Or could the local council bang their heads together and get them to work together?

Because, right now, it doesn't look like Oldham RLFC are going anywhere

A good idea, but i don't think Oldham RLFC could afford the rent the soccer club would want for sharing the ground

[Rowan]

Just an aside - and different times I know - but when the Bears were in Super League the cost of ground sharing for Oldham Rugby was, according to the chairman (Jim Quinn) at the time was £8,000 a game. Which, again according to JQ meant  that cash from the first 1,000 spectators at £8 a time, went straight into the coffers of the Latics. I don't know how true that was - I was only the club's media officer (unpaid) at the time and it was Mr. Quinn who disappeared from the scene one fine morning.

[The Future is League]

10 minutes ago, Rowan said:

Just an aside - and different times I know - but when the Bears were in Super League the cost of ground sharing for Oldham Rugby was, according to the chairman (Jim Quinn) at the time was £8,000 a game. Which, again according to JQ meant  that cash from the first 1,000 spectators at £8 a time, went straight into the coffers of the Latics. I don't know how true that was - I was only the club's media officer (unpaid) at the time and it was Mr. Quinn who disappeared from the scene one fine morning.

Which proves my point that Oldham RLFC couldn't afford it, but with the soccer club's financial problems perhaps they would be a bit cheaper just to get some money in

[Pie tries]

Who owns the football ground ? 

[Womer]

20 minutes ago, Pie tries said:

Who owns the football ground ? 

The owners are the previous directors.

They put £5million into the latics but held on to the ground when selling on the club to the dummy who's in charge now

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

20 minutes ago, Womer said:

The owners are the previous directors.

They put £5million into the latics but held on to the ground when selling on the club to the dummy who's in charge now

Apparently they own the pitch, chaddy end, Rochdale rd and the old stand. The new stand is owned by someone else. I believe there's some legal case going through the courts at the moment.

[meast]

13 hours ago, paulwalker71 said:

I was just watching a piece on BBC Breakfast about Oldham Athletic getting relegated down to non-league.

Inevitably it focussed on the gradual decline over a 20 year period - and of course the rugby club has had a decline which mirrors it. Remember the Oldham Bears were in Super League back in those days!

The football fans are agitating for new ownership because it won't be a given that they'll bounce back - plenty of other teams have fallen down that trapdoor and not come back.

My question to the Oldham RLFC fans here is whether there is now any possibility that the football and rugby clubs could get together, share the ground and for both teams this might be a new beginning?

Or could the local council bang their heads together and get them to work together?

Because, right now, it doesn't look like Oldham RLFC are going anywhere

To think, around 1991-1996 both Oldham's professional clubs were in their respective top flights and pulling in around 15,000 fans between them.

How sad.

[meast]

7 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The basic problem is associating Oldham athletic with Oldham football club(original name of the rugby club) . Both clubs have different philosophical foundations. There is very little love between the two groups of supporters. Although latics don't legally own boundary park, the fans own it in their hearts and tend to object vociferously at any attempts at sharing. So it's generally a non starter. I personally think the yeds should share with one of the traditional rugby clubs based east of the town. Oldham St Anne's is ideal as it's  central and has space to develop. Waterhead is based smack bang next to the old watersheddings ground, but has limited potential for development. I hate with a passion the current ground. Wrong side of town, no potential for development and not a traditional rugby ground.

Edit, having sad that, there is one  soccer club I would consider sharing with and that is Chadderton FC. It's a stone's throw from boundary park, easy motorway access and has potential for development. Now as luck would have it they are currently running a fund raising drive to have a 4g pitch installed. So no conflict on churning up the grass. 

Chadderton has one very small covered stand, the rest of the ground is open, flat, hard standing and grass, is that really suitable for professional RL?

[meast]

6 hours ago, JM2010 said:

I came on this thread to read a debate regarding RL in Oldham but have come away with a thorough list of advantages and disadvantages of 3G pitches

Me too, but like many threads these days, it goes off topic very quickly and the crux of the post is completely lost in pages of debating and points scoring which could really be done in a private conversation and get back to the subject of the post.

[Just Browny]

12 hours ago, The Future is League said:

A good idea, but i don't think Oldham RLFC could afford the rent the soccer club would want for sharing the ground

Who else would want / pay rent for it? 

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

To add some thing to the artificial pitch debate (sorry, but it may have wider implications). as we know part of the make up of the pitch consists of tiny rubber balls that hold the structure together and help absorb impact. These are made largely from recycled tyres and a report has just been published that says that they contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that have health implications for those that come into contact with them.

[gingerjon]

10 minutes ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

To add some thing to the artificial pitch debate (sorry, but it may have wider implications). as we know part of the make up of the pitch consists of tiny rubber balls that hold the structure together and help absorb impact. These are made largely from recycled tyres and a report has just been published that says that they contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that have health implications for those that come into contact with them.

Do you have a link for that?

We've discussed it on here before and I think most of the data and reports we were referring to were either small scale and/or pretty old.

[ShropshireBull]

It is amazing that anyone would buy a club without its only asset.  The court case held up a sale of club and maybe chance to save football team. 

If the club and crucially ground has new owners, then Rugby team would have to at least ask about possibility of working together. Again though, unless new owner of ground has a stake in the rugby club what incentive do they have to see It do well? 

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

12 hours ago, meast said:

Chadderton has one very small covered stand, the rest of the ground is open, flat, hard standing and grass, is that really suitable for professional RL?

It has potential for development though. A joint application to the relevant funding authorities may help.

[paulwalker71]

22 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

It is amazing that anyone would buy a club without its only asset.

Well, we (Bulls) have had multiple people who've done just that!

[ShropshireBull]

37 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Well, we (Bulls) have had multiple people who've done just that!

And its worked out great for us.  Hope both clubs can work together to restore both clubs success and pride before its all just swallowed by City. 

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Do you have a link for that?

We've discussed it on here before and I think most of the data and reports we were referring to were either small scale and/or pretty old.

Unfortunately I got it as part of the e-news service of the scientific journal 'Nature', which I get, but it was in the one I got today so is recent. It's not up on their main site.

[Blind side johnny]

On 25/04/2022 at 12:22, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

A few years ago Dewsbury installed 3x 3g pitches (a full and 2x 5-a-side size) on 'their' land to rent out and look how that's boosted them......

Do you remember a thing called Covid?

[Blind side johnny]

Are there any real examples of RL and soccer clubs working together harmoniously in this way?

I don't wish to be a naysayer but the sports seem to have a history of enmity that I can't fathom.

[Anita Bath]

40 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

And its worked out great for us.  Hope both clubs can work together to restore both clubs success and pride before its all just swallowed by City. 

I doubt there is any chance of Oldham RLFC working with the current ownership of Oldham Athletic.  Might be a different story if Latics got a new owner/board

[Gav Wilson]

21 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

Are there any real examples of RL and soccer clubs working together harmoniously in this way?

I don't wish to be a naysayer but the sports seem to have a history of enmity that I can't fathom.

I don't want to jinx it, but the two York teams have co-habited well enough since Jon Flatman took over at the end of 2016.

[ShropshireBull]

21 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

I don't want to jinx it, but the two York teams have co-habited well enough since Jon Flatman took over at the end of 2016.

Might also be to do with the fact being in National League North , York city want the extra revenue stream. Might be a different story were they to get back to EFL, although that seems incredibly unlikely. 

[wilsontown]

12 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

Might also be to do with the fact being in National League North , York city want the extra revenue stream. Might be a different story were they to get back to EFL, although that seems incredibly unlikely. 

The football club don't own the stadium, it is owned by York City Council.