So, who is friend and who is foe of Bath Rugby's home, The Recreation Ground?
For years the shady, secretive cabal that calls itself the Friends of the Bath Recreation Ground has set about attempting to trash the club's hopes of remaining on the site.
While voicing off in the shadows and claiming to stand up for other users of the site and for the rights of nearby residents, these ‘friends’ have actually succeeded in undermining the fabric of Bath life.
Although their goal may not be to rip the guts out of Bath’s economy, that would be one of the catastrophic consequences if their campaign succeeded.
In short, the self-proclaimed friends could bring the city as well as the rugby club to its knees.
If you think I exaggerate, don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the man who knows more about the economic life of the city than anyone. He is Andrew Cooper, Bath’s city centre manager, who upon taking up his new post declared that the departure of Bath Rugby from the city would be "economic suicide".
What form would this suicide take? Here’s a scenario.
Imagine a family of four from Leicester. Dad loves his rugby and is encouraging his son to take an interest in the Tigers too. Mum and daughter like their shopping trips and enjoy a day out together. (Sorry about the nuclear family stereotypes here, but bear with me).
While dad books two tickets for Leicester’s away match against Bath, he suggests that – given how close the ground is to the pretty Georgian city’s fine shops – they make a family day out of it. Mum and daughter jump at the chance, and the family arrive in Bath armed with their wallets and purses and ready to spend.
If Bath Rugby is forced off The Rec and unable to develop an alternative stadium close to the city centre, then that will be a grave body-blow to the city’s vitality and prosperity. The buzz in Bath on match days would be gone. So too would the cash of visitors. Wanting Bath Rugby out of Bath is naive, self-destructive and ignorant. It is also deeply disrespectful of tradition, riding roughshod over Bath’s historic connections with the sport.
That the Friends of the Bath Recreation Ground – who never release details of their meetings, minutes or membership – have been allowed to get away with abusing the noun ‘friend’ for so long has rankled with me for ages. They are friends of neither the city or the rugby club.
And that’s why I’m delighted a more semantically accurate and constitutionally transparent group has come along.
Enter Peter Downey, Richard Wright and Gavin Douglas, who between them have launched the Real Friends of the Rec.
The association’s explicit aim is for a new sports stadium to be built at The Rec. And, in sharp distinction from the other ‘friends’, if you want to read more about their objectives, you can do so easily by visiting http://www.realfriendsoftherec.co.uk/
Take a look and sign up as a member. In so doing, you’ll be able to count yourself a true friend of the city and Bath Rugby.
No comments:
Post a Comment