Bromsgrove's ground

[The Reasonable Man]

DaveW - the boycott has been and gone. It had little effect on the then owners. When the club ended up in administration the Trust made a bid to the administrator, but were turned down in favour of a bloke called Mike Ward. Eventually the Trust got fed up and formed Bromsgrove Sporting, who will kick off this season in the Midland Combination.

With Rovers' lease of the Victoria Ground expiring on August 6th (I think), and with the club still not properly out of administration, the Council invited bids for the new lease. Sporting were succesful.

That's the (very) short and (very) simplistic version.

[dave w]

Everyone does seem to have given up, though. There doesn't even seem too much enthusiasm for Sporting.

[The Reasonable Man]

I doubt if you would have found anybody at a Rovers' home match with any "enthusiasm" for Sporting. The acid test for the new club will be when they get the keys for the ground and have to start getting it back into shape. The impression I get (and I may be wrong) is that Rovers are adopting something of a "scorched earth" policy, so Sporting will have their work cut out.

The people who have done the legwork getting Sporting up and running seem to be committed - they must have something about them to persuade the Council to award them the Lease for a start. Whether they will take enough supporters along with them will be interesting and may depend on whether Rovers fold - something the Sporting people have gone out of their way to state that they do not want to see happen.

How many football clubs will Bromsgrove have in 12 months time? 2 (possibly), 1 (probably) or 0 (very unlikely)?

[dave w]

Not at the game - on the Bromsgrove messageboard. Admittedly it's not real life, but there doesn't seem the online enthusiasm other similar ventures have inspired. The acid test will be how many supporters they get. I would guess maybe a couple of hundred, which should be enough to see them up to at least the MFL, at which point they can claim to be the true Bromsgrove FC.

[Zippy]

So, anyway, can anyone advise if we can expect the same when we play 'at home' for the three games?
That is, part of the ground closed off, no hot food? And charge £8? I'll go nonetheless, but if I was a visitor for the 1st time, I would raise an eyebrow if this happened.
I assume we'll have our own friendly gate staff lol!

[The Reasonable Man]

As things stand, Sporting's Lease commences on 7 August, at which time I would expect to see a "task force" swing into action tidying up the place. I would also expect the Safety Certificate, the lack of which is the reason why parts of the ground were closed off, to be sorted out pronto.

Until that date the ground "belongs" to Rovers, who appear not to be doing much of anything!

We originally agreed a deal to "borrow" the ground from Rovers before the news broke that Sporting would be the new tenants. Sporting have since agreed to honour that deal.

On a slightly separate point from Zippy's original question, Rovers are yet to agree terms with Sporting to play at the Victoria Ground this season. In simple terms "we were there first" which means that when both clubs have home fixtures on the same days in August Rovers will have to shift, not us.

Always assuming Rovers are still here...

[Dave the Glassboy]

So, anyway, can anyone advise if we can expect the same when we play 'at home' for the three games?

Yes, I expect you'll still be whinging!

That is, part of the ground closed off,

That'll depend on whether they get the safety certificate. And frankly, with the sort of crowds Sporting are likely to get in the Midland Combination Second Division they may decide it's not worth the expense.

no hot food?

That depends on what can be sorted out. And on our home games, it is Stourbridge's responsibility to provide refreshments and I believe there is some sort of minimum for the SLP which we are required to provide.

And charge £8?

That is our entrance charge next season so yes we'll be charging £8. Season ticket holders will of course get in without paying an extra £8!

I assume we'll have our own friendly gate staff lol!

I expect it'll be our guys on the gate and obviously Brian and I will be stewarding. So behave yourself!