When I think about it, when the competition started, all teams had covered stands so the point made is not technically correct.
Waitakere - The Trusts and had a stand built there after season 3 I think but then moved
ACFC - noted
Waikato - Was at Waikato Stadium. Moved
HBU - Park Island, still there
YHM - FMGC stadium but then moved
TW - Newtown Park but then moved
Otago - Carisbrook then the Caledonian then moved but have tried to stay at a covered location
Canty - English Park, still there.
I think the point is more that the standards of the competition has not been upheld but really its all semantics....
I think it's more than semantics. The whole competition was started in order to lift standards on and off the field. While I think it has helped playing standards improve, several clubs - notably Waitakere, Waikato and Team Wellington, have been allowed to downgrade their facilites for spectators to cut costs. You can't tell me Waitakere couldn't have built a 500-seat covered stand at Fred Taylor Paddock in the three years they've reverted to that ground if they'd been required to. Instead they spent their money on players. It has debased the ASBP.
NZF has adopted double standards by letting some clubs get away with second-rate grounds while others like ACFC, CU and HBU provide good facilites for spectators. Struggling Otago United are to be commended for opting for the impressive covered Forsyth stadium. ACFC has poured a lot of money into developing Kiwitea Street. WU has been allowed to avoid spending anything at Fred Taylor, which is an absolute embarrassment for a Fifa competition like the O League.
again, I revert to what I initially said. I do not dispute the point made that yes, they should have had a stand and as you point out and I agree with, they are the only club that's not spent anything on a stand (vs Waikato who started at expensive Waikato Stadium and I guess Newtown would cost as well when up against athletics?) hence why I did say that yes, I was playing with words but the point stood. Sometimes it gets real frustrating posting here because not once have I actually disagreed with anyone over this but yet.... Ah forget it.
This is one of the reasons why I really wanted Glynn Taylor out. This has all happened under his watch where the standards of the competition have been allowed to slip. As part of a wider point around that, how many times have we heard about teams starting the comp without paying the entry fee? I recall the year Waikato moved to narra, they had no stand, no players and not paid. If NZF were proactive with their competition, they would be having a person at each team that was NZF designate and flagging up things like this BEFORE getting to a critical stage (oh wait, apparently they did) the competition is not in the best shape but it has I think, at least stabilised and teams aren't in the red or scrambling to find cash last min. I think they have also learned because of the cost, they simply can't afford to pay players (which they shouldn't be doing anyway but I'm not rehashing that).
I guess the real question is are NZF going to at least attempt to be proactive in improving it in the future or are they of the mindset that it is now what it is. If that's the case then the participatin of some teams should be reviewed because always being at the bottom or always being the easy beats... well it's just not a competition. (And putting Wairarapa in there is just not a smart idea)
