Hibs Pitch Problems £600k for a new one

[04Sauzee]

Article here on how poor our pitch has been for the last couple of seasons and the cost of putting in a new Hybrid Pitch.

Would be fantastic to have and once in costs no more to maintain than a normal grass surface.

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/shaun-maloney-admits-hibs-cant-23200704

[GreenCastle]

Didn’t look great on Saturday. Part in front of the east looked really bad and seemed ball wasn’t bouncing well.

Noticed the club are using more of the lights on the pitch to try help the grass grow but surely an improved pitch will be the next step as it’s been poor for a few seasons.

[Ronniekirk]

Could HSL assist with a wee promotion for funds for this Players need s good pitch to play on so would be an investment of sorts in the playing side of things Giving good player the foundation to play better


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[bod]

Could HSL assist with a wee promotion for funds for this Players need s good pitch to play on so would be an investment of sorts in the playing side of things Giving good player the foundation to play better


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No

[matty_f]

No

Why not?

[Northernhibee]

We could put one in then immediately hold a massive concert on it.

[Hibernian Verse]

We could put one in then immediately hold a massive concert on it.

That's what all the massive clubs do

[scoopyboy]

I've heard part of the problem is that we don't use the lights to help the pitch as it uses too much electricity, if that's the case it's partly self inflicted

[04Sauzee]

No

Can I ask why not?

[GreenCastle]

We could put one in then immediately hold a massive concert on it.

Well there is a concert planned at Easter Road at the end of the season..

But what Hearts did was very Hearts.

[nonshinyfinish]

No


Why not?


Can I ask why not?

Matthew 4v4: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Bod"

[Radium]

Could HSL assist with a wee promotion for funds for this Players need s good pitch to play on so would be an investment of sorts in the playing side of things Giving good player the foundation to play better


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As an HSL member my view would be no. The club needs to have a longer term plan for this and if it is such an issue it should have been prioritised ahead of the screens.


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[bod]

Why not?
Didn’t they vote for their money to go towards players fund

[bod]

Can I ask why not?

See above

[Colr]

Were’s the Gofundme page?

I’d contribute.

[Logie Green]

I've heard part of the problem is that we don't use the lights to help the pitch as it uses too much electricity, if that's the case it's partly self inflicted

I’ve heard that too. Short term thinking if it’s true.

[Daniel 1875]

I've heard part of the problem is that we don't use the lights to help the pitch as it uses too much electricity, if that's the case it's partly self inflicted

I live near the ground and the lights are on every evening I walk past. They were on and covering a huge chunk of the pitch on Tuesday night when the Q&A session was on too.

[Carheenlea]

The pitch always looks decent enough from my seat, but it’s this time of year you usually see deterioration for a few weeks till proper growing season again. It’s a winter pitch in winter.

If it’s as bad as is being made out then a hybrid pitch should be a priority investment for a club who endeavour to play a fast passing game.

[.Sean.]

I live near the ground and the lights are on every evening I walk past. They were on and covering a huge chunk of the pitch on Tuesday night when the Q&A session was on too.
I’m sure they were also on during the video of the tour on the other thread

[Pagan Hibernia]

Didn’t they vote for their money to go towards players fund

they did a separate funds drive to buy league cup final tickets for the less well off two months ago

[Billy Whizz]

Did we not a have a big problem when Covid struck, and everyone associated with the pitch etc, was put on Furlough

It’s really bad, and has been for a few weeks, along the length of east, barely no grass

[G15 Hibs]

Could be worse, could be Firhill. Essentially a ploughed field, by the looks of it.

[hibsforeurope]

I'm not for HSL having to contribute to this, the club announced healthy accounts recently why not use some of that to install the pitch now. Leaving it a year could have a detrimental impact on the team's performances for another year.

[Sioux]

I'm not for HSL having to contribute to this, the club announced healthy accounts recently why not use some of that to install the pitch now. Leaving it a year could have a detrimental impact on the team's performances for another year.

Being unable to bring in some players in the summer would have this place shouting from the rooftops that Ron's a con, or something equally stupid.

The club needs to spend what it can on a priority basis. Does a new pitch have priority over players?

Tough call.

[Pagan Hibernia]

Being unable to bring in some players in the summer would have this place shouting from the rooftops that Ron's a con, or something equally stupid.

The club needs to spend what it can on a priority basis. Does a new pitch have priority over players?

Tough call.

as Leann Dempster said in an interview, “Football Clubs eat money”

there’s always something to be paid for. They’re a bit like my missus in that respect

[Since452]

I'd be surprised if a hybrid pitch wasn't high on Ron's to-do list.

[scoopyboy]

I live near the ground and the lights are on every evening I walk past. They were on and covering a huge chunk of the pitch on Tuesday night when the Q&A session was on too.

Fair enough, they might not be on for as long as they're meant to be. Only going by what I was told.

[scoopyboy]

I’m sure they were also on during the video of the tour on the other thread

They would do that though to look good :greengrin:greengrin:greengrin

[Unseen work]

Some of those quotes sound like Kensell as opposed to Maloney.

Interesting there’s mention of getting it done at East Mains too, suppose it would greatly assist with training how you play and then also allowing for the development teams to play on it

Wonder if to help fund it they’ll sell the naming rights/more sponsorship at the ground and training facility - something touched on in an interview done by Greg McEwen.

[The 90+2]

Bring back MadDog McCourt :agree:

[hibsforeurope]

Being unable to bring in some players in the summer would have this place shouting from the rooftops that Ron's a con, or something equally stupid.

The club needs to spend what it can on a priority basis. Does a new pitch have priority over players?

Tough call.

It certainly would, but it must be a worry for Maloney for him to come out in the press to raise the issue.

It's maybe something we may need to find the money and do it now, however players aren't going to get nice pitches everywhere they play.

[04Sauzee]

Some of those quotes sound like Kensell as opposed to Maloney.

Interesting there’s mention of getting it done at East Mains too, suppose it would greatly assist with training how you play and then also allowing for the development teams to play on it

Wonder if to help fund it they’ll sell the naming rights/more sponsorship at the ground and training facility - something touched on in an interview done by Greg McEwen.

The big clubs down south have a number of hybrid pitches at their training ground, ,grass cut to the same legnth as the home turf and they obviously move around the training pitches, loads.of money at theses clubs for these kinds of things.

Regards the Greg McEwan interview I wonder what the comments were about the main stand?

[hibsforeurope]

The big clubs down south have a number of hybrid pitches at their training ground, ,grass cut to the same legnth as the home turf and they obviously move around the training pitches, loads.of money at theses clubs for these kinds of things.

Regards the Greg McEwan interview I wonder what the comments were about the main stand?

They are planning a big upgrade to the hospitality facilities and maybe the LED advertising ribons?

[CentreLine]

I live near the ground and the lights are on every evening I walk past. They were on and covering a huge chunk of the pitch on Tuesday night when the Q&A session was on too.

The lights were still on when I passed about 2am today. Obviously some heavy duty maintenance going on right now

[Unseen work]

Re the hospitality - A mate of mine recently had a meeting with Kensell about this.

Hibs have picked the same company that designed Spurs hospitality which will see everything in hospitality being very digital. For example when you arrive you scan a QR code which then comes up “Hi xxxx”, from there you get a range of options including ordering drinks etc.

Been told ours is similar to Spurs although a much cheaper option obviously.

[Alfred E Newman]

Given the amount of rain we have had in the past few weeks I couldn't believe they had the sprinklers on at half time last Saturday. :confused:

[seanshow]

Speculation but
In short they must have been training on the pitch.

Don't have the dates but it was near perfect, a period of no home games at all, suddenly next time we were at the stadium it was a baron bobbly field.

In recent times only under Lennon I can think of that pitch was left good all year round.

[FilipinoHibs]

Pathetic excuse. Should have seen the pitch in the early 79s😀

[erin go bragh]

3m for Boyle , surely 600k could be spent on a new pitch .

[Billy Whizz]

A week tomorrow Hibs v Rangers on the pitch in the semi final of the Scottish Youth Cup. Next day Hibs v St Johnstone in the league
Great for the young lads play at ER, hope it doesn’t rain that night

[Pagan Hibernia]

Any chance we can bring back the slope when we do our work on the pitch? I miss it. I’d pay extra into HSL for that

[Unseen work]

3m for Boyle , surely 600k could be spent on a new pitch .

I think that’s part of the problem Maloney is referring to, even if we spent a lot of money in the summer on new players the first sign at us struggling would inevitabley see the posts of “Rubbish team but hey at least we spent 600k on a pitch”.

[SquashedFrogg]

Speculation but
In short they must have been training on the pitch.

Don't have the dates but it was near perfect, a period of no home games at all, suddenly next time we were at the stadium it was a baron bobbly field.

In recent times only under Lennon I can think of that pitch was left good all year round.

I think the pitch would be in far worse condition if they'd been training on it.

They've got those heat lamps on them every night trying to help the pitch. So very much doubt they'd use it earlier in the day.

Through memory I thought pitches had a life span. Maybe it's reaching the end of its life?

Noticed last season the pitch looked as bad as it's been for a few years. I thought that due to covid and being careful with the budget, that perhaps the club had scaled back on groundstaff and associated costs.

Who knows. Can we not put down a normal grass pitch at a far lower cost? Like we've always done?

[lord bunberry]

Speculation but
In short they must have been training on the pitch.

Don't have the dates but it was near perfect, a period of no home games at all, suddenly next time we were at the stadium it was a baron bobbly field.

In recent times only under Lennon I can think of that pitch was left good all year round.
The pitch was absolutely stunning for the first half of the season and as you said it deteriorated very quickly despite there not being many games played on it. I’m not sure why they’d train on it though as they have all the facilities they need at the training centre. It’s not exactly been a severe winter either.

[matty_f]

Didn’t they vote for their money to go towards players fund

It’s semantics though, they raise the amount towards the players fund that would have been impacted by the pitch expense.

[wookie70]

One of things I was concerned about with the way Maloney wanted to play was the state of Scottish pitches. For him to succeed then he will at least have to have a good pitch at ER. Not sure we have any choice but to invest in the pitch. 600K is a massive amount to spend though

[GreenGray]

Judging by that article it sounds as if a pitch should be a priority. What’s the point in spending money in top players if it’s as hard to play football on the pitch as they claim it is?

[JohnM1875]

Judging by that article it sounds as if a pitch should be a priority. What’s the point in spending money in top players if it’s as hard to play football on the pitch as they claim it is?

I think the money will definitely be spent on the pitch in the summer. Think we're talking about it in the press now to let folk know so it'll hopefully mean less moaning when the money is spend on it.

[Since452]

Some of those quotes sound like Kensell as opposed to Maloney.

Interesting there’s mention of getting it done at East Mains too, suppose it would greatly assist with training how you play and then also allowing for the development teams to play on it

Wonder if to help fund it they’ll sell the naming rights/more sponsorship at the ground and training facility - something touched on in an interview done by Greg McEwen.

I was sure we had one at East Mains. Something rings a bell that it was in poor nick and was recently replaced. Maybe it was a the artificial surface i'm thinking about.

[SChibs]

I've heard part of the problem is that we don't use the lights to help the pitch as it uses too much electricity, if that's the case it's partly self inflicted

Not true. They are on almost every night

[Blaster]

Not true. They are on almost every night

They definitely stopped using them as much due to the cost. Whether that’s changed since I was told 3 weeks ago I don’t know.

[Stuart93]

If the £600k price is correct to install this new hybrid pitch...surely part of the £3m-ish we got for Boyle could cover that?

[SChibs]

They definitely stopped using them as much due to the cost. Whether that’s changed since I was told 3 weeks ago I don’t know.

Maybe they are being turned off earlier as I can see through the gap in the west/south from my front door.

[Blaster]

Maybe they are being turned off earlier as I can see through the gap in the west/south from my front door.

Possibly just being used for less time overall 👍

[hibsforeurope]

the Club could maybe ask the Board to loan them the money to install the pitches this year and pay back next, when they expected to have the money.

If a poor pitch is going to be a big issue then is surely needs done ASAP to have the best chance for Maloney implement his changes next season.

[JimBHibees]

the Club could maybe ask the Board to loan them the money to install the pitches this year and pay back next, when they expected to have the money.

If a poor pitch is going to be a big issue then is surely needs done ASAP to have the best chance for Maloney implement his changes next season.

Issue would be they need time to relay these pitches and we have games to play. If want to spend that money on a pitch they will want to do it right and that will be in the close season I would have thought.

[hibsforeurope]

Issue would be they need time to relay these pitches and we have games to play. If want to spend that money on a pitch they will want to do it right and that will be in the close season I would have thought.

Agreed they will want to do right, but not sure why they can’t just borrow the money from the board and do it this summer rather than summer 2023.

[Billy Whizz]

Agreed they will want to do right, but not sure why they can’t just borrow the money from the board and do it this summer rather than summer 2023.

Do we not have a concert on the pitch at the end of the season, so maybe not enough time for it to grow

[hibsforeurope]

Do we not have a concert on the pitch at the end of the season, so maybe not enough time for it to grow

Not sure tbh, it sounded like money was the main issue. but a concert will surely impact on the usual stripping everything back and reseeding the pitch too. Who knows what state it will be in next year if that’s the case.

[Billy Whizz]

Not sure tbh, it sounded like money was the main issue. but a concert will surely impact on the usual stripping everything back and reseeding the pitch too. Who knows what state it will be in next year if that’s the case.

It’s “we will rock you” on 19th May
Remember the League and League Cup start a bit earlier in the summer, with the World Cup in November

[JimBHibees]

Agreed they will want to do right, but not sure why they can’t just borrow the money from the board and do it this summer rather than summer 2023.

Alright hadnt read the article that they were doing it next summer seems a little whole away

[hibsforeurope]

It’s “we will rock you” on 19th May
Remember the League and League Cup start a bit earlier in the summer, with the World Cup in November
The concert will be between the last league game and the cup final so not too bad. I’m sure we could do what Celtic and hearts did and ask to play away for a few games to allow extra time, sure we did this with the stand builds too back in the day.

[CapitalGreen]

It’s “we will rock you” on 19th May
Remember the League and League Cup start a bit earlier in the summer, with the World Cup in November

The league cup and league are starting at the same time this season as last.

9th of July for League cup and 30th of July for the league (31st last year).

[Billy Whizz]

The league cup and league are starting at the same time this season as last.

9th of July for League cup and 30th of July for the league (31st last year).

Ok, but we weren’t in the League Cup last season, hope we’re not this summer!
Played in Conference League last July. Do you know the dates for the Conference league qualifiers?

[Hibiza]

If the £600k price is correct to install this new hybrid pitch...surely part of the £3m-ish we got for Boyle could cover that?

👍

[CapitalGreen]

Ok, but we weren’t in the League Cup last season, hope we’re not this summer!
Played in Conference League last July. Do you know the dates for the Conference league qualifiers?

Mid to late July most likely depending on when we entered.

[Golden Bear]

A week tomorrow Hibs v Rangers on the pitch in the semi final of the Scottish Youth Cup. Next day Hibs v St Johnstone in the league
Great for the young lads play at ER, hope it doesn’t rain that night

Looks like this game is at East Mains Billy?

[Billy Whizz]

Looks like this game is at East Mains Billy?

Thanks, so I read now

[Hibs4185]

I've heard part of the problem is that we don't use the lights to help the pitch as it uses too much electricity, if that's the case it's partly self inflicted

No chance. I’ve been in the stadium twice when no football was being played and the lights were on.

[Zambernardi1875]

How do other Northern European teams manage, those Nordic countries what are their pitches like this time of year

[Moulin Yarns]

How do other Northern European teams manage, those Nordic countries what are their pitches like this time of year

A few artificial pitches and hybrids.

[O'Rourke3]

A few artificial pitches and hybrids.And summer football

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[O'Rourke3]

Are we penny pinching again? I'm convinced the bigliest team in their heads said it was about £1M a few years back and for an area about 2/3 the size of a real pitch.

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[CapitalGreen]

I’ve no idea how these lights are used and for how long but would it not be normal for their usage to decrease as the amount of daylight we have increases?

[Phil MaGlass]

We have a large stadium, there must be room to install solar panels to help with costs.