UR and UK City of Culture

[Big-al]

Good man Davy.

[DavyG]

So the folk in stroke city expect Ulster matches to come to them then?

.....

No one is sugesting UR play games here, what is being proposed is one match in August 2013

[AyeYerMa]

Get a train.

Only of use for an afternoon game, don't run late enough for an evening match, nor do buses. Same applies to virtually everywhere in NI other than Belfast.

[Scranner]

So the folk in stroke city expect Ulster matches to come to them then?

If thats the case, as an Ireland supporter I expect at least 1 six nations game a year at Ravenhill. Because I dont want to travel to Dublin.....

You just don't get it do you? No-one expects Heinie games or even Rabo games to go to the NW or any other part of Ulster. The facilities just aren't there - the same reason we don't get more international matches at Ravenhill. No-one expects that Ulster Rugby will move away from Ravenhill. The whole thing is about inclusivity - it's about supporting the supporters and showing the non-supporters what rugby is all about. And one pre-season friendly - badly supported for the most part at Ravenhill - isn't a whole lot to ask.

[weeHughF]

So the folk in stroke city expect Ulster matches to come to them then?

.....

No one is sugesting UR play games here, what is being proposed is one match in August 2013

That's one match too many.

Give them an inch and all that!

If they can demonstrate their fanbase deserves one, then why not

But then why not Lisburn, Bangor, Portadown, heaven forbid Lurgan!

One thing we would want to guarantee is safety, and this is something nobody in Londonderry can guarantee with the calibre of youngster up there!

Disclaimer, not all are bad, but it just takes one!

[DavyG]

That's one match too many.
Give them an inch and all that!
If they can demonstrate their fanbase deserves one, then why not
But then why not Lisburn, Bangor, Portadown, heaven forbid Lurgan!
One thing we would want to guarantee is safety, and this is something nobody in Londonderry can guarantee with the calibre of youngster up there!

Disclaimer, not all are bad, but it just takes one!

I wonder is that the one who stole the "Big Shirt"

[Scranner]

If they can demonstrate their fanbase deserves one, then why not

But then why not Lisburn, Bangor, Portadown, heaven forbid Lurgan!

One thing we would want to guarantee is safety, and this is something nobody in Londonderry can guarantee with the calibre of youngster up there!

Disclaimer, not all are bad, but it just takes one!

What a load of hokum! It's the second city FFS. They don't have to prove anything. As for safety: do you think the youth of Derry are any worse than in some parts of Belfast. It's one match. Get real.

[fuzzylogic]

by DavyG » Wed May 09, 2012 12:23 pm

No one is sugesting UR play games here, what is being proposed is one match in August 2013

&

by Scranner » Wed May 09, 2012 12:26 pm

You just don't get it do you? No-one expects Heinie games or even Rabo games to go to the NW or any other part of Ulster.

Ummmm . . . . boys, you two just dont get it do you.

If you would care to read through the topic from the start, you will clearly see that I am not discussing the one pre season game being proposed . . . I am responding to BigChiefAllys first post in the thread:

by bigchiefally » Wed May 09, 2012 9:48 am

Ulster should play one proper, ie league, game there every year.

Would you look at that Scranner and DavyG. Someone is suggesting a Rabo game to go there once a year.

[UIBF]

As for safety: do you think the youth of Derry are any worse than in some parts of Belfast. It's one match. Get real.

Have you ever been to a sporting event in the Brandywell. I have.

Anyone who considers it would be feasible to have an Ulster game at the Brnadywell needs their head looked it.

[weeHughF]

If they can demonstrate their fanbase deserves one, then why not

But then why not Lisburn, Bangor, Portadown, heaven forbid Lurgan!

One thing we would want to guarantee is safety, and this is something nobody in Londonderry can guarantee with the calibre of youngster up there!

Disclaimer, not all are bad, but it just takes one!

What a load of hokum! It's the second city FFS. They don't have to prove anything. As for safety: do you think the youth of Derry are any worse than in some parts of Belfast. It's one match. Get real.

No both are a disaster

However, we don't play our matches in a dodgy area of Belfast - only thing we have to worry about is the youth of the area unleashing bats!

I have been to Londonderry twice in my life, and both times I felt totally unsafe, even in the city centre.
I have walked down the Falls, Shankill and other such roads in Belfast and never once felt uneasy

I liken Londonderry to Dublin - a dangerous hole!

[CIMANFOREVER]

[quote="Seamus
Exactly right about the benefits of having a game in the north west, but the Brandywell only holds around 3500 for League of Ireland matches due to health and safety restrictions. The redevolpment plans would expand that to just over 5000 but by the time that's finished, if it ever is, there'll be a shiny new Ravenhill to keep occupied.
Now there's a big stadium next door to the Brandywell that can take a rugby pitch and hold a lot more people but...

The GAA stadium? No different from playing at the Brandywell I would've thought. Surely that one's already been busted open by IRFU at Croker a few years ago? Big chance for the GAA to make a statement of inclusion in the Northwest

I agree, but the the rule change allowing other sports to be played only applied to Croke Park.[/quote]
Didn't realise that was the GAA rule for Foreign Sports. Even so, still a great opportunity for GAA and UR to be magnanimous in a city thats heavily polarised. I'd support it.

[Eggs]

I'd have no problem with a preseason friendly there. I would however not be happy with a competitive game going up there, unless I was to have the option of some money off my season ticket. After all it's not cheap, and travelling might well not be feasible. A friendly sounds like a great idea tho, and I would definitely travel up if I could make it!

[UIBF]

Didn't realise that was the GAA rule for Foreign Sports. Even so, still a great opportunity for GAA and UR to be magnanimous in a city thats heavily polarised. I'd support it.

All 6 British counties voted against opening Croke Park to rugby and football in 2005 and this obviously included County Londonderry's board. Rule 42 as it was then.

I think you can rule out the use of gaa grounds for planter sports.

[bigchiefally]

So the folk in stroke city expect Ulster matches to come to them then?

If thats the case, as an Ireland supporter I expect at least 1 six nations game a year at Ravenhill. Because I dont want to travel to Dublin.....

Given that you are an Ireland supporter who live in Ireland, I think it is a fair enough wish to have more than one game in Ravenhill every 50 years. That is a very different situation from a Manchester United fan in Mumbai wanting a game played at his local ground just because he follows the team.

I think a much bigger problem than the folk in stroke city wanting the matches to come to them is that they couldnt give a stuff about the matches full stop. Maybe it is time to try and change that.

[CIMANFOREVER]

Sorry, dont get this. How will playing a match in the NW increase UR's fan base that will attend matches at Ravenhill. Yes I am sure there are many in the NW who would go to a match played in Derry but how many would then start to come to Ravenhill on a regular basis? Very few I would imagine.

Ulster Rugby play at Ravenhill. We are not Stade Francais who have tried playing games in Belgium. Did that increase the number of fans attending Paris every week. I doubt it.

To increase the fan base in these areas get the players into the local schools for coaching sessions and target the GAA-playing schools in particular.

is that not the point LTHG? All very well getting the game in schools, but seeing the full side in the flesh, in a competitive match, will help get the enrolement going more than watching a team playing week in and week out in the big smoke, 80 miles away for some of these kids. Both go hand in hand. For all Munster's faults, they work between their two big population centres, even tho Limerick is smaller than Cork.Big games usually at TP.
Leave aside the usual idiots who will spurn anything that brings people together under a common sport, and lets move on.
Don't forget Donegal etc is part of UB, and Stroke City is considerably closer than B/Faast- Maybe we should play on the beach at Rossnowlagh?
Rugby has greater potential to bridge Sectarian divides than Football or GAA here, so shouldn't we maximise our playing resources, or do we want to be N.I. or Antrim GAA, and severely limit our playing catchment?...