RODNEY Parade is home to three sports teams.

And all three need to get around the table as soon as possible to work out what to do about the playing surface.

Put simply, the Rodney Parade pitch is not fit for purpose.

Anyone who attended Tuesday night’s match between Newport County AFC and Hartlepool United will now that it is now virtually impossible to play football on the surface.

There are tons of sand on it, and it is riddled with potholes.

At half time on Tuesday night the match officials raised concerns about the safety of the pitch and asked for more sand to be placed on it.

That is bad news for County and for both Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons because an unsafe surface is unsafe whether you are running with a football at your feet or a rugby ball in your hands.

There are, of course, some mitigating circumstances.

The wettest winter on record played havoc with the pitch, but there clearly remain significant problems with drainage.

No other pitch in the UK plays host to two rugby teams and a football team.

As a result, there is no respite for the ground staff despite the immense amount of work they do long into the night after every match at Rodney Parade.

They are fighting a losing battle.

There are also some ludicrous conspiracy theories doing the rounds.

One suggests that Rodney Parade’s head of operations Mark Jones hates football and doesn’t care about preparing pitches for County games.

In reality, Jones is a soccer fan, a big supporter of Liverpool FC, and was once on the books of Sheffield United.

Another claims the rugby clubs play whatever the weather, even if it means ruining the pitch for the football team.

In reality, while there may be differing standards between the two sports in terms of what constitutes a playable surface, any decisions regarding whether a match goes ahead or not is taken by the match referee.

I could go on, but you get my point.

Nevertheless, the pitch is and will continue to be a problem that needs resolving.

Last season was relatively dry and the playing surface was superb throughout with no matches being postponed.

This season’s bad weather, particularly pre-Christmas, has created a different story. Drainage is clearly the issue.

In my view – and I am no drainage expert – the pitch has been susceptible to waterlogging ever since the Bisley Stand replaced the old Argus Terrace.

Rugby supporters will remember the Dragons vs Blues televised match on the opening night of the Bisley Stand being postponed due to a flooded pitch.

The substantial and continuing amount of housing development on the Rodney Road side of the ground must also be having an effect on the water table in the area.

Whatever the reasons, a solution has to be found.

The problem is, of course, that such solutions cost money and none of the clubs that share Rodney Parade are exactly awash with cash.

But with wetter winters forecast to become the norm, the pitch problems will not go away without some form of long-term solution being found.

One would hope the clubs are already in talks.

One thing is for certain – no sporting club can prosper and progress without a reliable playing surface.

And Rodney Parade is far from reliable at the moment.