Quote: Ste100Centurions "I get your point Butcher, The Willows was [ia $H!TH0L€[/i & before anyone starts getting on their high horse, Hilton Park was a $H!TH0L€ too, as was Knowsley Road.
All 3 of those stadiums were falling down & grim, walls collapsed at Knowsley Road with regularity & any stadiums with wild trees & shrubs growing inside them are only fit for demolition.
P!$$!N6 against a wall outside (but within the ground) might have been derigeur in the 50's but not acceptable now.
While all of those grounds shared some good times, some hard & provided the all important & oft elusive atmosphere, they were long past saving & shared a common denominator, they were all derelict.
I have said this umpteen times with Salford fans, a ground share with Swinton [iis the only way forward[/i, it isn't demeaning, it doesn't mean your Club has failed, it does though make common sense to share the costs of your business & should bring back stability & equally as important, help rebuild your fan base while also having your admittedly shared home in a Salford town.
I see no reason why this would not suit Swinton but I do see big issues with your lease at the AJ, not to mention the fight MK had with Salford City Council.
If legally Salford RL can walk away from the AJ then they should make it happen, MK needs to be keeping sweet with Swinton to ensure that there is at least a chance of a joint venture.
On the issue of soulless stadiums, they are what you eventually make them, the first couple of years at the LSV were not great yet eventually the fans returned & started to help in their little way to make it a fortress & a loud & threatening place to visit for opposition teams *threatening maybe not the best description bit you get my drift, hopefully*.
There is always hope.'"
Steve with due respect Warrington, Saints, Leigh built their grounds within or near town centres. Leigh ground is a nice walk too with plenty of ale houses along the way. Now the one thing you're failing to understand Ste is the AJ Bellend is outside of Salford. So your situation differs to ours.
What Salford should of done, was to copy Widnes's lead and redevelop one stand at a time. But Arthu Daley had personal alternative bent schemes to adhere too.
