RODNEY Parade chiefs have started talks about installing a Desso pitch and revamping the faulty drainage system.

The famous ground has been feeling the strain this season with Newport County having one game postponed and two abandoned while Newport Gwent Dragons’ New Year’s Day clash with the Ospreys was played in heavy conditions after passing late inspections.

It is early days but Rodney Parade bosses realise the need for action at the Newport RFC-owned venue with the ultimate goal of laying a £1million Desso surface, a hybrid of grass and artificial fibres.

“You have to look at a Desso type system like the Liberty Stadium in Swansea,” said Dragons and Newport chief executive Stuart Davies.

“It works there but it’s about a lot more than just the pitch and there are costs of maintaining it.

“Even then it wouldn’t be perfect, because three sides would take its toll even on a Desso, but there is no doubt that it would be a better world for everyone.

“The question is how we get there and that can only come from all interested parties addressing it together, and I don’t just mean County, Newport RFC and the Dragons.

“There is a wider interest in trying to get this pitch improved. Unfortunately there is a big spotlight on this issue and I don’t think that is good for the city in terms of the negative publicity and perceptions.

“For those reasons we are all charged with trying to improve the situation and I have had discussions periodically with Newport City Council about the facility at large, not least since Friars Walk has gone up.

“There is dialogue but I am sure the local authority would point out that they have pressures on their budgets as well.

“It’s got to be a combined approach because I can say categorically at this moment that Rodney Parade Ltd doesn’t have the funds to lay down a £1million Desso pitch, which is the ball-park figure we have been quoted, and deal with revenue implications thereafter as well.

“It is a difficult one and everyone realises these things don’t come cheap but in terms of the assurances I’d give to people, those discussions have started with all interested parties.

“We will explore all possibilities and the dialogue has already started.”

While Desso is a goal, further drainage work is essential and planned in for the summer after a report by English Football League specialists highlighted problems. It could potentially cost a six-figure sum.

The ground was levelled last summer and the suspicion is that the south west corner has been raised further away from the drainage channels.

“It’s recognised that as a minimum we have to revisit the drainage beneath the pitch,” said Davies.

“It is working in part but we have had problems and the report suggests that there is a disconnect in some parts of the ground between the playing surface and the drainage layer below.

“That’s got to be further explored but it’s destructive to do that, you’ve got to get below the pitch and you can’t do that in the season.

“That is scheduled for the off-season as a minimum but the ambition we’ve got to have is to go beyond that and do more.”

“The report confirmed a lot of the things that we already knew,” continued Davies. “That the problems are a combination of a traditional pitch, three teams and the Welsh weather.

“When all of those things collide it stresses the pitch and causes postponements, that’s unavoidable despite the wonderful work that our ground staff do.

“One of the things that wasn’t recognised in the report, and perhaps the EFL should look at themselves on this, was the scheduling.

“We tried via our own tournament director, David Jordan of the Guinness PRO12, to make sure that there was dialogue between the governing bodies when the fixtures were arranged pre-season.

“Despite our efforts, and those of the PRO12, we haven’t avoided clashes, which are largely avoidable with good communication and cooperation.

“The end-of-season clash (Dragons versus Cardiff Blues, Exiles against Notts County on Saturday, May 6) is a massive one and was flagged up immediately. It remains an issue and a huge concern.”

For all the problems, the situation would be even worse were it not for the hard work of the ground staff with four staff members having already put in over 700 extra hours in the five months since the start of the season.

“We are very appreciative and mindful of what they are doing,” said Davies. “Motivation is a key consideration because they spend all week working on something and have to start all over again once a game has been played.

“They are appreciated here and we are very careful that they are being managed well.”