New Training Ground

[Nameless]

NOt sure how there can be anything ‘fishy’, the work is taking place in plain site on a public road.
I’d agree it would be nice to have had a bit more info but let’s be honest it’s a training ground which won’t be open to the public so not that big a deal.
I’m surprised there isn’t more interest in what is happening with the REP development which will have huge impact on all of us....

Is anything even happening with REP?

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

[WoodleyRoyal]

Hands up for being lazy and not searching for it, but do you have the address for it and I’ll take the bike for a spin next week and take some photos? If I get caught I’ll just put on a Yorkshire accent.

Mole road, i drive past it everyday on the way to work and there has been and still is loads of work going on

[Hound]

NOt sure how there can be anything ‘fishy’, the work is taking place in plain site on a public road.
I’d agree it would be nice to have had a bit more info but let’s be honest it’s a training ground which won’t be open to the public so not that big a deal.
I’m surprised there isn’t more interest in what is happening with the REP development which will have huge impact on all of us....

Is anything even happening with REP?

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

my guess is that the new owners aren't that interested in REP. Reckon it will end up being quietly dropped, maybe in place of another plan if the Chinese buy the land. Stuff like the ice rink was very much the Thai's thing.

[muirinho]

Is anything even happening with REP?

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

my guess is that the new owners aren't that interested in REP. Reckon it will end up being quietly dropped, maybe in place of another plan if the Chinese buy the land. Stuff like the ice rink was very much the Thai's thing.

But it doesn't have a lot to do with the new owners anyway, does it? The land has already been sold to the holding company for REP and only 10% or something like that of that REP company is owned by the club (and hence by the Chinese).

More likely is that the Thais are struggling to raise the finance to do it themselves, they may end up selling it on, or bringing in other investors. Or maybe they're waiting to see how the economy fares after Brexit - if house prices crash, the number may not add up. There's nothing stopping them sitting on the land for a while, and waiting to see how the wind blows.

[Hound]

yep that doesn't contradict what I said. I expect the Chinese will buy the land.

I'd be interested to know if REP could happen if the new owners were strongly against it. I expect they could find a way to delay or stop it

[One87One]

Is anything even happening with REP?

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

my guess is that the new owners aren't that interested in REP. Reckon it will end up being quietly dropped, maybe in place of another plan if the Chinese buy the land. Stuff like the ice rink was very much the Thai's thing.

REP has nothing to do with our new owners! The Thai’s own the land and the planning; and what’s more they’re trying to find buyers to take the project on - they don’t want to invest in it themselves. I’m hopeful the Chinese can purchase the land back and see how negative REP would be for the Football Club, but we’ll have to see on that.

[Nameless]

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

my guess is that the new owners aren't that interested in REP. Reckon it will end up being quietly dropped, maybe in place of another plan if the Chinese buy the land. Stuff like the ice rink was very much the Thai's thing.

REP has nothing to do with our new owners! The Thai’s own the land and the planning; and what’s more they’re trying to find buyers to take the project on - they don’t want to invest in it themselves. I’m hopeful the Chinese can purchase the land back and see how negative REP would be for the Football Club, but we’ll have to see on that.

I think some kind of scaled down version of REP could work, there’s a lotof land standing there not doing much most of the time.
Agree with you general point though. Would have to be the owners buying it though rather than the club.

[Pat Butchers Ring]

I don’t quite understand how REP would be negative for the football club. We are losing a largely unused piece of land that will make the stadium more of a destination rather than a desolate car park.

[Hound]

Precisely !
Which may be a good thing if RFC have been paid for the land up front.
I also wonder whether Nigel Howe is still fronting the REP project now he is actively involved at RFC.

my guess is that the new owners aren't that interested in REP. Reckon it will end up being quietly dropped, maybe in place of another plan if the Chinese buy the land. Stuff like the ice rink was very much the Thai's thing.

REP has nothing to do with our new owners! The Thai’s own the land and the planning; and what’s more they’re trying to find buyers to take the project on - they don’t want to invest in it themselves. I’m hopeful the Chinese can purchase the land back and see how negative REP would be for the Football Club, but we’ll have to see on that.

That is pretty much exactly what I said

[One87One]

Apologies, it sounded like you thought the current owners had a say in REP, which of course they do not.

[Nameless]

I don’t quite understand how REP would be negative for the football club. We are losing a largely unused piece of land that will make the stadium more of a destination rather than a desolate car park.

Almost unused except when several thousand people use it to park before a football match !
That’s the potential downside.
Which may be outweighed by the positives.
When it was first announced pretty much everyone pointed out they were a special case who had to park at the stadium and couldn’t possibly use the buses, however many there were and wherever they came from.

[muirinho]

If anybody wants to see how the new training pitches are coming along - nice photos here from the Grounds Manager

https://twitter.com/Agrantham28Adam/sta ... 6711711744

[Green]

Sometimes I think I missed a calling as a groundsman.

[Nameless]

Sometimes I think I missed a calling as a groundsman.

Nice job, couple of gentle strolls behind a mower each week and paint some lines on a Saturday morning.
Other than that spend your time sat in a shed drinking tea and doing crosswords....

[Green]

There must be tough days too though. Drainage issues, looking at the weather forecast with dread.

[Maneki Neko]

pitches being laid and floodlights going up

[Nameless]

pitches being laid and floodlights going up

Drove past it this morning, much more extensive than I realised ! Seems to cover double what I remember as the old Bearwood course.
Couldn’t see if the floodlights were going up on an artificial pitch or a grass one, seemed very close to the road though.
They’ve built big earth banks along the perimeter so no chance of Bielsa sneaking a peek.
Didn’t see any buildings although could have missed them. Would have expected some quite significant constructions.

[Sutekh]

pitches being laid and floodlights going up

Drove past it this morning, much more extensive than I realised ! Seems to cover double what I remember as the old Bearwood course.
Couldn’t see if the floodlights were going up on an artificial pitch or a grass one, seemed very close to the road though.
They’ve built big earth banks along the perimeter so no chance of Bielsa sneaking a peek.
Didn’t see any buildings although could have missed them. Would have expected some quite significant constructions.

Aren’t some of the buildings at Forest School going to be used? Seem to vaguely recall news from a couple of years ago that the club was/is going to build a replacement dome at Forest School to house further artificial pitches. Or perhaps that was only going to happen when the current dome at the Maddy finally gets bulldozed for REP (though that project in itself seems to have sunk without trace).

[Hound]

drove passed the other day, the pitches look lovely, but still seems a fair bit to do in terms of the buildings etc

I'm guessing the target is pre-season now at least for the academy

[King Coppell]

Weren’t the academy supposed to be by last xmas? This really is dragging along, especially as we were told the Chinese made some changes of their own to put their stamp on it, yet we haven’t been told or shown what those changes are, or received any visual updates on the building work.