I’m ashamed every time I go to Featherstone - not by them but by us.

In the thirty years I’ve watched the game - they a small village club have managed to redevelop their ground and training facilities to what I consider modest SL standard. Certainly way beyond what we a SL side have. No bleating from them about lack of opportunity to build and expand their business blah blah blah. They have just done it and even more embarrassingly for us have done it without receiving a penny of News International cash. Post office road if anything is more hemmed in than BV and just as unattractive surroundings yet it looks and feels good enough for me whenever I visit and that’s always in the middle of winter.

In the same time period we have managed to knock half the ground down - build a toilet block - polyfiller the terraces - add some crush barriers - get the block of flats by going bust and thus by defaulting. The only items of quality at BV are the floodlights and even they are getting long in the tooth and the pitch. Oh and we have never managed to replace that light bulb in the ladies.

The comparisons look bad enough but the real shame comes when you consider that at least 20 million pounds more (conservative estimate) has passed through our coffers in the last 20 years than theirs. If that was all spent on players we was robbed.

Hindsight is a great gift and one I don’t have. So I blame nobody for chasing the new stadium dream which has on occasions appeared tantalisingly close. Yet now to me it appears to still be some way off - not dead in the water but certainly showing signs of drowning. We the fans and especially the SWAG people have continually been lied to and cheated by virtually everyone, yet we keep trying - in fact we no longer have much option but to try.

Truth is if I had a time machine I’d travel back to 2004 and try and convince Ted Richardson to allow the formation of a Stadium Trust to which he would hand over BV (which was just possible at the time) in return for a cost covering rent. The Trust would then concentrate on raising funds to gradual upgrade the ground - just like Fev.

If we had done this in 2004 I’ve no doubt that with the energy and commitment of people like TRB and many others we’d be well on the way by now. Nothing special, all basic stuff but still a massive improvement on what we have - which is frankly nothing considering we don’t own the ground anymore.

I suppose I just feel cheated that after 15 years of SL and 10 years of promises our combined efforts could have at least created something by now, had we gone down my hindsight root - Fev have.

I know some will disagree with me that stopping at the ground isn’t viable. I don’t buy it and I never have. I do accept the assertion that NM is a better option - it clearly is. However I flatly reject the theory that BV couldn’t be made to work given time and a plan. I also reject the alleged costs quoted for doing it which to me are absurdly OTT. Fev have effectively redeveloped two sides of the ground in the last 17 years without grants or insurance payout (which they got to build the main stand in 1985). I reckon combined they have spent less than 3-4 million over that period to achieve it. If we had what they have I don’t think many would not consider that money well spent - IMHO it would still be money well spent even if we eventually did move to NM.

What worries me is whether not one but both options are now lost. I’m not trying to be a pessimist or put a damper on what’s shaping up to be hopefully a much better season - however until this elephant in the room is finally sorted we remain in a dire position as regards the future no matter how well we do on the pitch under BS and MC - further still I’m certain MC knows this better than most which again is a concern.

I’d like to know what folk think, however unless you can back it up with some facts and ideas I wouldn’t bother replying - this is not a witch hunt more a brainstorming session - it’s needed IMHO because we appear to be in a rut.

I do fully understand why TRB and IA can only say so much and there may well be some great things happening that we just can’t be told. But for the sake of debate lets go with what little we know.

You are writing some good "articles" these days Vasty.
You echo my thoughts with eloquence.

The only thing I'd add to that is that I'm pretty sure some of the recent changes at POR were done by volunteers. I wonder whether we are missing a trick allowing more people in Wakefield with skills to help out. (I realise that is a tough ask and also that some of the supporters gave an incredible amount of time and skill when we needed urgent work on the ground last year)

I think there would be a lot of volunteers PT, if the people of Wakefield thought they were not wasting their time. I don't mean to be flippant in that remark it's just that as we don't own the ground and are not really likely to what's the point?
The great Peter Fox passed comment some years ago about Featherstone building a ground they could be proud of and compared it to Wakefield squandering money on players instead. How right he was!

" Wakefield squandering money on players instead. How right he was!"
Think the problem with that statement is, we had the pressure of trying to compete and stay in SL, and , we are still in there !!

Regarding the ground they also have plenty of room down two sides to be able to build on the stands bought from Scarborough FC, I believe,if all sides were surrounded like Post Office road is then it wouldn't be far off looking like BV,but I agree with you Vasty,they've made a good job of it.I'm sorry to say,but my dad was one of the many volunteers God knows who he's shouting for if Jordan plays on Sunday

Exactly right, when you're a team that's not bankrolled by a sugar father SL is a tough place to be financially; especially with a weak fanbase like ours.

Would you rather watch Trinity in poor facilities playing Super League ? or in decent facilities struggling to get promotion in the Championship ?

Super League wins the day at all costs for me.

Partly true, and I agree SL wins every time. However on the other hand without improved facilities we will never do anything other than struggle which will eventually mean championship rugby anyway. So it's a bit of a lose lose. To put it bluntly we can't have many lives left.

One thing I do believe is no serious attempt has ever been made to update BV or harness the obvious energy of some fans.

Not all the folk at fev where volunteers, there was a few dolies at least on work programs that where involved. Maybe some kind of link up with the dhss?

How about we look at setting up a register of skilled volunteers who can help, there must be hundreds who could help with this kind of thing.

Good idea mate and best of luck, i've had a horrific job getting people to sign petitions at BV in the past.

The stumbling for us for the last 10 years or so, has been the expectation of a new ground and not owning BV.
Fev have done superbly well with their facilities (especially being outside SL) but, we remain in limbo.

Best hope that one of us can scoop the lottery jackpot or that NM becomes a reality, both of which remain a dream (for now)

Perhaps if Super League hadn't been threatening to throw us out if we didn't get a new ground, then perhaps we could have spent more energy in developing Belle Vue.

I'm doing my bit.....I bought my lottery ticket

And me

It's all right having nice surroundings but a reliable source has told me there's a lot of standing water on the Rovers pitch and a possible postponement I hope he's wrong.