The Rec - Can We Move On? It Will Be Difficult.

New Ground?
By Glen Leat
August 1 2002

So the "Friends of the Rec" and many others purporting to have the interests of all Bath residents at heart have won the initial stages of the battle of the Rec. But does this need to have such an major impact on our club as many would have us believe?

With the control of the Rec passing to a charitable trust it is more than likely that Bath Rugby will have to break their ties with their spiritual home, but is this the end of the world? The benefits of the Rec appear to be that it is a nice place to be and being in the centre of the City means that local businesses benefit from the supporters wandering around the City centre. The downside of the Rec is that it is a nice place to be, and so no one will ever let us develop it and local businesses, many of whom contribute nothing to rugby in Bath, benefit for free. Additionally there is no parking, most supporters get wet when it is raining, the club bars provide a very limited service, the toilets are poor and away supporters complain at what we are able to offer them in terms of standing room.

I'll quite happily pin my colours to this very knotty mast by saying that I'm not bothered about staying at the Rec and I never have been. Instead I would rather watch my rugby in better conditions, have access to a decent club bar, not have to park a mile away and fall out with local residents as I steal their normal parking space and enjoy some pride in my club as visiting supporters congratulate us on the welcome they received and the facilities they enjoyed at "The New Rec".

However given the options open to Bath Rugby in terms of alternative venues - Lambridge, Western Riverside, Newton St Loe, Newbridge or a ground share - I'm not convinced that a solution will be easily found. Lambridge could only have worked if the Buchanan Tunnel had been built in the sixties as the traffic congestion on the London Road would be horrendous. The Western Riverside is similarly congested and would create chaos on match days as Sainsbury's shoppers mix with rugby supporters. Anyone who currently drives along the Lower and Upper Bristol Roads will confirm that an additional 4000 cars (assuming car parking is part of the package) on a Saturday afternoon before and after games will guarantee gridlock probably affecting the whole of the City and not just the local area. I'm sure the residents of Newbridge will place as many NIMBY arguments in the way of any development as those living close to the Rec. A ground share is not worth considering as this would take Bath Rugby out of Bath. So that leaves Newton St Loe, perhaps the best solution out of those currently on offer but will building on precious green land scupper this opportunity?

We appear to be in this position because Bath Rugby need to expand, as any good business would, and the rugby authorities have said we need 10,000 seater stadiums. I have no problem with Bath Rugby aiming higher because we would soon be giving them a hard time if they were satisfied with mediocrity but I can't work out why all clubs need 10,000 seaters grounds. Last season only Leicester could claim to have regularly filled their ground to this extent with proper paying customers, many others beef up their figures by offering packages and freebies, so why have the authorities got this thing about insisting on larger grounds? Do they like to see our sport on the TV surrounded by great swathes of empty seats at many of the games?

In the longer term I think Bath Rugby and its supporters will benefit from moving away from the centre of Bath but this will have a negative economic impact on the City and therefore will not make the club so attractive to local businesses and politicians. I also think we will be arguing about the solution to Bath Rugby's "ground problem" in five years time and so either the rugby authorities will have to take this in to account when we fail to deliver a 10,000 seater ground or the local authority will have to allow a temporary expansion of The Rec to meet the 10,000 rule.

Oh and while all this goes on about 10 people a night make use of the Rec!!!!!!!