Thoughts on ground sharing with Edinburgh Rugby ?

[Earl of Currie]

Following the announcement that Scotland are to play Tonga on an artificial turf at Kilmarnock, do you think it would be an idea to set up a partnership with Edinburgh Rugby?

Hypothetically, if Hibs were to lay an artificial turf and adjust the dimensions of the pitch/stands they could accommodate the extra rugby matches.

Ground sharing between sports is already achieved in England and France and would allow Easter Road to be used for other sports.
It would create a long term income stream and should open the club to more commercial opportunities. Additionally it may lead to additional shared arrangements, such as sharing training facilities, sport sciences, etc.

I would be interested to hear other supporters thoughts.

[Keith_M]

More Infrastructure work? Not for me, thanks.

[One Day]

NO

[Pretty Boy]

Was rugby not played at ER regularly a few years ago?

Might have been about the time Edinburgh Rugby 1st came into existence.

[Golden Bear]

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Following the announcement that Scotland are to play Tonga on an artificial turf at Kilmarnock, do you think it would be an idea to set up a partnership with Edinburgh Rugby?

Hypothetically, if Hibs were to lay an artificial turf and adjust the dimensions of the pitch/stands they could accommodate the extra rugby matches.

Ground sharing between sports is already achieved in England and France and would allow Easter Road to be used for other sports.
It would create a long term income stream and should open the club to more commercial opportunities. Additionally it may lead to additional shared arrangements, such as sharing training facilities, sport sciences, etc.

I would be interested to hear other supporters thoughts.

I'd not be adverse to the idea but much would depend on the suitability of the playing surface. I wouldn't at all be surprised if our maroon chums and David Murray are having similar thoughts. Murray seems to be heavily involved with the SRU and he may already be looking for something to be built across on the dark side of the city.

[Hibbyradge]

Yes from me.

We need income and this would supply some.

[Scouse Hibee]

No not for me, the thought of an artificial pitch is enough to put me off.

[Golden Bear]

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Was rugby not played at ER regularly a few years ago?

Might have been about the time Edinburgh Rugby 1st came into existence.

I seem to remember a couple of floodlit games but no more than that.

[BroxburnHibee]

Why do we need an artificial pitch?

They started this team at Easter Road - I worked there at the time.

[Wilson]

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Was rugby not played at ER regularly a few years ago?

Might have been about the time Edinburgh Rugby 1st came into existence.

Yes. Edinburgh Reivers. No artificial pitch either.

[Bostonhibby]

Maybe we could bore 18 holes and lay a few bunkers here and there as well?

None of its for me, I know there might be income involved but recent history has shown how easily distracted from the team on the pitch those who ran the club can be when another objective comes along.

[Golden Bear]

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Why do we need an artificial pitch?

They started this team at Easter Road - I worked there at the time.

Presumably to prevent to wear and tear on the pitch? Edinburgh Rugby play a lot of their games on a Friday night so I'd imagine the grass pitch would be more or less unplayable if we were at home on the Saturday.

[Wilson]

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Maybe we could bore 18 holes and lay a few bunkers here and there as well?.

Hopefully we don't have the capacity to bore under Stubbs! :)

[stu in nottingham]

There's an example here in this city with Notts RFC sharing a pitch with Notts County FC at Meadow Lane. I don't know of any County fan who is happy with it as regular rugby games over the course of the winter make a real mess of the playing surface and make playing passing football a difficulty for long periods of time. In my experience, the Notts pitch is more resilient than what I've seen of the ER surface in recent years too.

Notts County engaged with the rugby club who had become homeless if recall, at a time when the football club were extremely cash-strapped. One can't ignore the modest income it brings in, one stand only is opened up for Notts RFC games, but for a long term arrangement it really needs to be an artificial pitch. For that reason, and whilst Hibs can 'afford' not to, I'm out as I want to see Hibs play on real grass. I accept that one day they may not be able to sustain that.

[Jack]

If it could happen without detriment to our football operation then yes, it would make sense.

[Canongatehibs]

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Following the announcement that Scotland are to play Tonga on an artificial turf at Kilmarnock, do you think it would be an idea to set up a partnership with Edinburgh Rugby?

Hypothetically, if Hibs were to lay an artificial turf and adjust the dimensions of the pitch/stands they could accommodate the extra rugby matches.

Ground sharing between sports is already achieved in England and France and would allow Easter Road to be used for other sports.
It would create a long term income stream and should open the club to more commercial opportunities. Additionally it may lead to additional shared arrangements, such as sharing training facilities, sport sciences, etc.

I would be interested to hear other supporters thoughts.

Think they're already in a partnership with Meggetland, Boroughmuir RFC.

[southsider]

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No not for me, the thought of an artificial pitch is enough to put me off.

Agree, fitba should be played on grass an' no plastic. End off.

[SanFranHibs]

I accept I am not speaking with any figures before me, but on the financial side, how much do we really think we could get from renting ER out as a venue for a rugby club? Not just the wear and tear on the field, but you would pretty muich need a full staff to do all the things that happens at a Hibs games. stewards, cleaners, police, turnstile operators etc and although they would be expected to cover it all, I just don't think there would be a big margin for profit and it would not be worth the hassle and again the wear and tear on the pitch.

Just my tuppence worth.

[Bill Milne]

No. Bristol Rovers share their ground with Bristol RFC and, as a result, their pitch is a tattie field. No coincidence that they were relegated to the Conference last season.

[SunshineOnLeith]

Easter Road isn't in the right part of the city for Edinburgh Rugby to play, they'd get lower crowds than they do at Murrayfield - which they don't have to pay rent on - so it wouldn't make sense for them.

While the Murrayfield pitch was getting fixed they played at Meggetland and that was really successful, so I suspect that's where any move away from using Murrayfield would take them.

[GlenrothesHibee]

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Was rugby not played at ER regularly a few years ago?

Might have been about the time Edinburgh Rugby 1st came into existence.

Rugby was regularly played at ER last season too. Certainly wasn't football

[stu in nottingham]

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I accept I am not speaking with any figures before me, but on the financial side, how much do we really think we could get from renting ER out as a venue for a rugby club? Not just the wear and tear on the field, but you would pretty muich need a full staff to do all the things that happens at a Hibs games. stewards, cleaners, police, turnstile operators etc and although they would be expected to cover it all, I just don't think there would be a big margin for profit and it would not be worth the hassle and again the wear and tear on the pitch.

Just my tuppence worth.

Agree with your general point about margin of profit. It wouldn't be the same amount of staff though I wouldn't imagine as only part of the ground would be opened for games.

[tamig]

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Easter Road isn't in the right part of the city for Edinburgh Rugby to play, they'd get lower crowds than they do at Murrayfield - which they don't have to pay rent on - so it wouldn't make sense for them.

While the Murrayfield pitch was getting fixed they played at Meggetland and that was really successful, so I suspect that's where any move away from using Murrayfield would take them.

They did ok crowd wise when they played at Meadowbank for a few years.

[Baader]

No. Rugby just messes up a playing field and would not want a plastic pitch.

Might have worked last season where anything outside the penalty boxes was superfluous...

[weecounty hibby]

In answer to a few of the posts above. It costs the SRU aprox £5m per year to run Edinburgh rugby. This includes the cost of Murrayfield, this is not free as stated above and I'm sure that a fee could be agreed for rent that would be agreeable to both parties. If we could lay a hybrid pitch that could take the wear and tear then it is a great idea. More revenue. Average crowd is probably about 3/4 thousand but for big games such as the Heineken cup quarter final there were over 20 thousand. I think it is something that could be worthwhile looking at

[SunshineOnLeith]

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In answer to a few of the posts above. It costs the SRU aprox £5m per year to run Edinburgh rugby. This includes the cost of Murrayfield, this is not free as stated above and I'm sure that a fee could be agreed for rent that would be agreeable to both parties. If we could lay a hybrid pitch that could take the wear and tear then it is a great idea. More revenue. Average crowd is probably about 3/4 thousand but for big games such as the Heineken cup quarter final there were over 20 thousand. I think it is something that could be worthwhile looking at

The charge for Murrayfield included in that though is essentially a recharge from one SRU company to another, it doesn't leave the Group.

The crowd for the Heineken Cup Quarter final was 38,000, games like that would have to be at Murrayfield. Their other big draw is the Boxing Day game against Glasgow which, again, works best at Murrayfield given it's proximity to Haymarket for the weegies coming through, and the fact you can stand pitchside with a beer. Since football is often played on Boxing Day as well, ground sharing wouldn't work here.

The only complaint with Murrayfield really is that it's far too big for their usual 6,000ish crowds, but they've made it work quite well in recent seasons by opening up the trackside for standing, it's good fun.

[The Pointer]

I'd be delighted. Playing Edinburgh games at Murrayfield is a disaster and if a similar pitch such as they've just laid there was to be installed at ER it would work very well. Remember Glasgow played very successfully on Friday evenings at Firhill over several years before pitching up at Scotstoun and played a major part in them building up a decent fan base. The stands at Murrayfield are too shallow and distant from the pitch for any kind of atmosphere, especially when games have smaller crowds, whereas the likes of football grounds generally have steeper stands creating a better atmosphere. It'd also be nice to sit watching a game at ER with a bevvy - which would mean more revenue for the club.

[Steve-O]

It can be done - I've regularly attended football here in Wellington on the same pitch that Super Rugby was played on the same weekend - pitch was perfect. Nae idea how they managed it, but they did.

[LancashireHibby]

As long as we got the SRU to pay for an upgrade to a hybrid pitch and maintain it, and we got a a decent rental agreement, then I don't see any reason not to, personally. Of course the likes of Bristol (who are actually moving to Bristol City from Bristol Rovers), Nottingham at Notts County and when Saracens were at Watford are examples of how much damage rugby union can do to a pitch, they can generally cope fine with a bit of investment and upkeep with London Irish at Reading being a good example of that.

[nellio]

Interesting thread. I'm a Cardiff fan and the Cardiff blues rugby team rented our ground off us for home games. For the first 2 years of the stadium opening. Ruined the pitch and thus our chances of playing any decent footie on the deck. Their problem was that a lot of their fans didn't want to leave the arms park in the first place and simply stopped going! Cardiff city enjoyed the extra income as we needed it at the time but the pitch was awful. The blues went back to the arms park and fitted an artificial pitch.