Chair Maker - Thanks for the photos, ground looks like it's going to be great....and all our own as well, even better.

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/n ... ue-stadium Apologies if it has been posted elsewhere

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/n ... ue-stadium Apologies if it has been posted elsewhere

www.saintsrlfc.com/news/2693 Official Press conference and questions answered in a 10min vid

www.saintsrlfc.com/news/2693 Official Press conference and questions answered in a 10min vid

Love this quote from Big Mac on the Beeb website:

"We've very much gone for quality in terms of specification rather than quantity. So I would like to think this will be the highest quality and most atmospheric stadium in club rugby league and club rugby or either code."

Where's jaybs when you need him anyway . . . . .

Will you be keeping the same groundsman (Is it still John Edwards?) for the new stadium or is it going to be outsourced? Hope you get a belter of a pitch to match the stadium.
Just some other Q's, are there going to be rock/music concerts & the like held there to bump up the income or is it solely going to be for St.Helens SL matches only? (You had SL, 21's, Academy & SH Town play on KR at one point)

The planning permission specifically states no music concerts allowed at the stadium.

Whether Saints will try to revoke that in the years ahead, who knows. However they would need apply for planning permission to hold such events.

You can apply for a temporary change of use at any time.

I take with a pinch of salt everything Big Mac ever says, I will wait to see if the Proof is in The Pudding! - it's a very high claim he makes, will it stand up??

Don't worry yourself FearTheVee I never go away, I am a rugby league supporter not just one club man! and I see faults when they are there unlike many!

Don't think there would be any interest in having concerts at a stadium of this size (let alone in St Helens). Bands would just do an Arena tour before moving up to proper stadium tours (Wembley, Old Trafford, etc).

Any way can we lock this thread there's no fun to be had any more.

Does it? When I asked if they were thinking of obtaining a music licence they said they weren't going to include it in the plans at that stage as they wanted things to be as simple as possible but they would consider it once the stadium is up and running.

18,000 seems too small for big bands and too big for small bands, we are hardly blessed with a massive recent history of local musical talent

But man, had all the acts at the International Arts Festival congretated there for one big closing performance or something it would have been fantastic. Music licences aren't just for bands. With just a titchy bit of imagination all sorts of music related events - or even events with music incidental to them - could take place there.

This is what makes the wenbley pitch so nasty, no to music events, other sports such as Liverpool/everton reserves no probs

Condition 6 states on the planning document
"No open air concerts shall be held at the Stadium."

As i said earlier it does not mean they cant apply for that condition to be lifted temproarily or amended.
But they would have to apply for permission.

Interestingly when it comes to who can play at the stadium. This is what it says.

The use of the stadium playing pitch shall be used solely for hosting
sporting events that shall be limited to the following:
St Helens RLFC first, reserve and youth team rugby league fixtures
Other domestic RUGBY AND cup competition fixtures
St Helens Town FC fixtures
INTERNATIONAL RUGBY FIXTURES
NO OTHER SPORTING EVENTS SHALL TAKE PLACE WITHOUT
THE WRITTEN AGREEMENT OF THE COUNCIL AS LOCAL
PLANNING AUTHORITY

Hence Liverpool or Everton reserves cant play their unless Saints get the ok from the Council

Oh. Ok.

I thought St Helens Town weren't playing at our new stadium? Damn shame if they are. They wreck our pitch.

Don't get me wrong I'm not doubting the facilities are capable of being a fantastic arena, i'm a bit more doubtful we could go anyway to filling it enough to justify its worth (at the moment) - I have to admit I didn't even know it was on in St Helens last week, what sort of audiences did the Arts Festival get?

If we can get temporary change of useage, another aspect would be our season with friendlies runs from January/February to late September which would mean unless we consider use mid season the pitch area would be more at risk from damage due to being used in poor conditions - though if this week is anything to go by that might be a point anytime lol!!

www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/8...r_new_stadium/ Seems that now 2011 has finally been sorted as having to be totally on the road there are slightly more realistic timescales in place!

www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/8...r_new_stadium/ Seems that now 2011 has finally been sorted as having to be totally on the road there are slightly more realistic timescales in place!

So you expect that St Helens Council and Regional Development should only support rugby league? it is the use by the full community that brings the support that has been rightly given.

“We look forward over the next 12 to 24 months when we will see the stadium rise from the ground.

Not as many as they could have done, had it been advertised properly and had it not piddled it down periodically. It was a fantastic idea that if repeated (with fine tuning) and properly advertised could turn into a terrific event. However, it was EU/NWDA funded and so I guess that it was a one-off.


Well, yes, exactly. The pitch could be ruined just by being outdoors! In the off-season having events there which involved music could be a neat way to raise some extra cash but I suppose it will all depend on weighing up the benefits to the risks. If Saints perceive it as a useful gap in the market to fill then I'm sure they will apply for a licence.

(a) There is plenty of fecking soccer in this neck of the woods; soccer in St Helens does not need supporting.
(b) The Council has not funded the stadium. The stadium belongs to the Saints. Unless it is still a precondition of Sport England funding that we have more than one sport using the stadium, and the only other sport using the stadium would have to be soccer, then all we are doing is inviting great big worn patches at each end of the pitch with a scraggly mess in the middle.

I think you will find that St Helens Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency did support the development of the site and the bringing about of the new stadium **, of course it goes without saying that Sports England want to see as much sport and use by the community as possible they are not sport rugby league!

Lets get the Stadium built and used as much as possible without doing any serious damage to the stadium instead of starting to whine now!


**
"The development partners, which include Langtree, St Helens Council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Saints club, says the regeneration of the site will lead to 1,400 new jobs"

The council could have made it conditional to planning consent being granted, of course, so forcing Saints' hand so far as the stadium is concerned but the partners are partners in the redevelopment of the whole site, not in the building of Saints' stadium. That is down to Saints. I think it must be the Sport England money which influenced Saints because originally, they made it clear that the soccer team wouldn't be playing there (and the soccer team tried to sue).

So you are claiming that no one other than St Helens RLFC and Sports England financed the development and the forthcoming preparation of the ground, meaning no other grants?

No, that's not what I said. I said that in order to secure Sport England money, Saints had to enable other sports to be played at their ground. That money has been in place for a few years now. I can only think that it is the retention of Sport England money which has led Saints to change their minds about allowing the soccer team to play on our ground, as they stated specifically about two years ago that this wouldn't be the case in the new stadium. Either that or the Council inserted a condition into the planning consent that the soccer team must stay.

Sport England haven't financed the ground. As I say, that grant has been in place for years now. But it's a revenue stream and so if they had to retain the soccer team in order to retain the grant then I can see why they have done so.

According to Saints, only Saints are funding the stadium build.