Isn't it time the Councils (particularly Hutt and Wellington ) were held accountable for the state of the grounds They know how important they are to the winter sports people, but for years have persisted with the policy of little or no maintenance and and outsourcing the ground management to a firm that is essentially a lawn mowing contractor
Compare the state of any football pitch to any of the local golf courses. I know its not quite the same as 20 guys running around a confined space with sprigs on, but you will find the golf courses are not wet and muddy. Some of the courses will have had 200 plus players over them this weekend and are still in very good shape. They invest in turf culture, and appoint qualified green keepers.
I understand that cricket is also unhappy with the state of the grounds in the Hutt and rumour has it that the Hutt grounds are no longer considered good enough to host age group tournaments.
Isn't it time the councils were held accountable for their failure to provide and maintain adequate facilities?
What will happen when artificials are installed Will they be neglected too?
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Are you prepared to pay $1000 per year like the golfers do to get good grounds to play on?
A dog with a bone :)
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Just some observations on this issue from my flying visit today.
Mention of cricket above reminds me that when I was heading to Alex Moore Park from the airport, I did a double-take when I saw some r-word posts at either end of the Basin Reserve.
I had no idea they played r-word there - no wonder the cricket fraternity are uppity! I pity the poor groundsman charged with turning a heap of rolled mud into a test match wicket - can you imagine something like that happening at Lords, the home of cricket?
Went past a couple of footy grounds en route, and both appeared to be right gluepots, particularly the one on the road approaching the airport, by the Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club. (Sorry, don't know the name of the ground).
Alex Moore Park's upper pitches appear to have been extremely well used, while the one on which the girls played was a bit sticky but acceptable - the ball ran true when rolling, which is the minimum expectation. The r-word pitch below it was a right mud-heap! (No surprise there!)
Cheers,
JR
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Are you prepared to pay $1000 per year like the golfers do to get good grounds to play on?
Im not sure a golf comparison adds a lot. For $1000 , golfers can play all day every day of the year if they want.
Most Capital Soccer teams are targetting 18 games per year, and may struggle to reach that.
18 games is an incredibly short season in any case. Any Saturday team Ive ever been involved with in the UK played 30 games a season minimum, and there was just as much football again on a Sunday.
I dunno the details of the finances involved but it seems to me football aint getting much of a deal. It seems that there just arent anywhere near enough pitches to support the number of teams that want to play.
Ok the 'lawnmowers' may not be doing a great job, but if there were full time groundsmen, how many more games would be being played each week now? Undrained mudheaps cannot cope with 4 games of football a weekend whatever you do with them I suspect.
Newbie2009-07-05 22:46:41
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I was just replying to Toehacker about his golf comparison.
Yes the pitches are'nt what they should be. Doesnt help that we are'nt getting any wind to dry things out at the moment and its been so wet. Not every year is like this, but 2 in a row is a bugger. I'm not sure how much of our money the councils are putting into the grounds to get them in a playable condition but surely there should be some mininum standards that have to be meet by their contractors.
Pity the person at Capital Football who had to do all the ground transfers on Saturday so that so many games could be played. 
On the plus side I got to play on Brian Heath on Saturday. Ground was in great condition and I didnt bring half of it home on boots.
nightz2009-07-06 08:35:35A dog with a bone :)
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The only way to get the grounds to handle more games is to rip them up, lay a new foundation so they drain better, stop the rain and get a bit more wind (ironic for Wellington). Grass is a natural surface and needs time to heal, like a lot of us do. Could anyone here play four games a weekend and no suffer from it. We either need considerabley more pitches or artificial ones. Neither are likely in the short term so get over it, play when you can and enjoy it.
Its no longer a problem.
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we are lucky in wanganui we do not have too many problems in winter with the grounds ripping up ,i do realise though that each ground only has 2 games on them each weekend compared too 4 per ground in wellington also we do not have anywhere near as many teams playing here as you do down there.
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Its all $$$. What needs to be done to fix/maintain these grounds is huge.
The main issue, as we all know, is that the grounds themselves have next to zero drainage. Even some of the top grounds are turning into swamps.
Look at Newtown for example. If the councill want to fix it completely they will need to install a drainage system, construct a sand base soil structure - with sand comes irrigation - and then of course establish the turf surface itself.
Just for one field we're already talking six figures. Then they have to maintain it.
Fuck this stupid game
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Will the grounds get any better if nothing is done or will they get gradually worse over time
We seem to be hanging out for artificials, but the other grounds need some money spent on them too, before they become even worse.
And no Nightz I wouldn't be prepared to pay $1000 each for better pitches, but as a ratepayer I would happily pay $10 or $20 more a year if it guaranteed my kids better pitches to play on.
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we are lucky in wanganui we do not have too many problems in winter with the grounds ripping up ,i do realise though that each ground only has 2 games on them each weekend compared too 4 per ground in wellington also we do not have anywhere near as many teams playing here as you do down there.
?!
The worst ground i've played on all year was Wembley 2, followed closely by Wembley 1. Wembley 2 was more like a horse paddock than a football field. On top of that, they are tiny!
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can anyone from auckland let us know how there grounds are atm?
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can anyone from auckland let us know how there grounds are atm?
You're from Olympic right? Sorry mate but Becroft is sh*te. It's been under many developments and redevelopments over the years, the latest being rotating the number 2 and 3 pitches 90 degrees (both out for the whole 09 season) and still under development. It must just be the land they're positioned on, which is surrounded by a lake and swamp.
The rest are average, but Fred Taylor Park (Waitakere) looked nice on Sunday for the cup game.
Three for me, and two for them.
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Will the grounds get any better if nothing is done or will they get gradually worse over time
We seem to be hanging out for artificials, but the other grounds need some money spent on them too, before they become even worse.
And no Nightz I wouldn't be prepared to pay $1000 each for better pitches, but as a ratepayer I would happily pay $10 or $20 more a year if it guaranteed my kids better pitches to play on.
According to this mornings Dom Post, the WCC are going to start building a full size artificial on the top carpark at the show buildings in Newtown. Apparently it should be ready for next season.
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I've vented my spleen on a few other threads, but the local coucils (esp WCC) are utterly sh*t!!!
the grounds are poorly laid and poorly maintained. This is then worsed by the council pleading for noone to blame them as its a bit wet - its soddin winter, what do you expect!!??
The cricket grounds are a disgrace & its onlty a matter of time before a serious injury occurs due to the state of the grounds. So they're not being "saved"!
Yes it will be expensive to relay all the grounds & I'd be wiling to pay more to be able to play a whole season pretty much non stop. But hang on, we pay rates for the council to manage & maintain their assets in a useable condition - the grounds are currently nowhere near this. So where's the cash going to???
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Another quick thought - did anyone else gret the news of 8 team leagues plus a "cup" as an chance to the shorten the season, finish all the regular leagues (unlike last seaon) and then quietly can the cup due to the "state of the pitches, but at least the leagues got completed"...?
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Just some observations on this issue from my flying visit today.
Mention of cricket above reminds me that when I was heading to Alex Moore Park from the airport, I did a double-take when I saw some r-word posts at either end of the Basin Reserve.
I had no idea they played r-word there - no wonder the cricket fraternity are uppity! I pity the poor groundsman charged with turning a heap of rolled mud into a test match wicket - can you imagine something like that happening at Lords, the home of cricket?
haha the cricket world dont mind the use of the basin for rugby matches, mainly because year in year out everytime cricket season rolls around the basin reserve outfield is like playing on immaculately laid green carpet
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apparently endevour is a backup ground for capital 16 transfers...... f**king ridiculous someone needs there head checked
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apparently endevour is a backup ground for capital 16 transfers...... f**king ridiculous someone needs there head checked
???what div should have gone there? & what div do you play in??
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Residents cry foul over high use of sports fields
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By DAVE BURGESS - The Dominion Post
PHIL REID/The Dominion Post
ALL-WEATHER WORRIES: From left, Jocelyn and Bryen Burnett and James Hall, who all live opposite Khandallah's Nairnville Park.
Khandallah residents have threatened Wellington City Council with legal action over what they say are dangerous roads and congested parking around an all-weather sports field.
The residents say the council has breached its own resource consent conditions in the way it runs the three-quarter-sized artificial pitch at Nairnville Park, which opened in April.
"We have informed the council that we will pursue this by taking them to the Environment Court," spokesman James Hall said yesterday.
"The resource consent clearly states it is going to be used for multi-sport training but it is being used as a full-on competition venue."
The pitch is in constant use by junior soccer players during weekends between 8am and 5pm, with up to four games being played at one time.
Mr Hall said a neighbour had installed a removable pole in his driveway to stop vehicles using it as a turning area.
"The noise level is horrific. The parking is unbelievable. You have parents dropping off kids who are running across the road.
"Our fear is somebody is going to get bowled."
He said a reversing car had demolished a brick fence.
He is also concerned that the council may erect a 2.4-metre-high fence around the pitch, to be locked when games were not being played, despite an agreement that it would not happen.
"We have been negotiating with the council in good faith but we are being treated as kind of nutters. But our lawyer thinks we have strong grounds ... to force them to stick to the original usage in the resource consent."
Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the council planned to meet the group later this week, despite disagreeing with their claims.
"The pitch at Nairnville was never supposed to be limited to a training venue ... it was always going to be used for competitive sports."
Mr MacLean said the council monitored the traffic and parking situation every weekend around Nairnville Park and it had not found any problems.
"The pitch is being used more extensively but there are certainly no traffic jams up there or incidents about road safety."
Any increase in noise at the venue was "basically the sound of children playing sport".
The council had no intention of locking off the pitch from the community, he said.
The council has pledged $10 million to develop six new artificial turf fields during the next 10 years.
First in line is a full-sized field on the car park behind the old Wellington Show Buildings in Newtown, expected to open by the start of the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
<!--end components/story/common_content-->2ndBest2009-08-10 08:48:33
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Saw Karori Park Friday morning ,16th October.......underwater......when are they going to start fixing this Park ? [ probably never ] ChopperHarris2009-10-17 17:36:54
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Saw Karori Park Friday morning ,16th October.......underwater......when are they going to start fixing this Park ? [ probably never ]
March
Founder
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I heard this one before. It doesn't end well.
Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
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Saw Karori Park Friday morning ,16th October.......underwater......when are they going to start fixing this Park ? [ probably never ]
March
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Saw Karori Park Friday morning ,16th October.......underwater......when are they going to start fixing this Park ? [ probably never ]
March
they are gravel banding the number one in March and giving it a sand base. I was just down there and the moisture was fine considering the two weeks of rain. I have it on good authority that is was not underwater on friday - nor has it been. The WCC have just put in new drainage on the number 1 + irrigation. So well done WCC.
Founder
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...have any of you heard of one of these -
?
Honestly, try it.
STOP! Don't write...try the fork.
(go try the fork)
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Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
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Karori vs Kilbernie - the battle of the bogs next season
I know the cricket wicket at Kilbernie park was a freaking shambles, and that was about a fortnight ago
I know the cricket wicket at Kilbernie park was a freaking shambles, and that was about a fortnight ago
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Naenae 1. Naenae 2 was fine all year.
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