PARADE GROUNDSHARE: 4G training surface now a step closer (From South Wales Argus)

PARADE GROUNDSHARE: 4G training surface now a step closer

7:00am Friday 1st March 2013 in Dragons By Chris Kirwan

AN ARTIFICIAL training pitch is in the pipeline at Rodney Parade following the signing of Newport County’s ten-year lease at the ground.

Newport RFC, owners of the ground, have long harboured the desire to build a floodlit state-of-the-art 4G surface on the area known as ‘the cabbage patch’, a plot of grass between Rodney Hall and the stadium.

That ambition is a step closer to fruition thanks to the arrival of football at the ground as County have better access to grant funding.

But for now the rugby side of operations at Rodney Parade are concentrating on improving the drainage of the pitch, which will be dug up this summer.

“The ten-year lease opens up a lot of opportunities and will help our business grow,” said Rodney Parade chief executive Chris Brown.

“We are exploring the possibility of a 4G pitch (on the cabbage patch) but at the moment the emphasis is on the (main) playing surface.

“There was a little bit of work done on the drainage last summer but proper irrigation work needs to take place.

“A lot of money needs to be spent on that and it will be our focus for this calendar year before we look at any other developments.

“But there are some very exciting possibilities for this site and an artificial pitch would be fantastic for training.”

Brown believes the groundshare has proved to be a roaring success for rugby, football and Newport as a whole.

“It was a contentious move a year ago and there were a lot of questions,” he said.

“It hasn’t always been easy but the groundshare has been pretty successful so far and we think it will go on to be very successful for all parties.”