Personally I'm really surprised the NXL went to Basildon, one of the biggest complaints from those that are now involved when they were Millennium customers was that "it is not London" and they had been there too many times. If it was "ten grand" cheaper than Barleylands, then either the venue paid them to be there or Barleylands had considerably hiked their price over what they used to charge MS!
The MS did look at the Olympic park, but negotiations broke down, the price I was told would be in six figures for security alone and that was holding the event in the car parks, not the park itself. It's not even a very nice part of London. Those old enough and not suffering from Alzheimer's will remember the MS event at the NEC Birmingham, that was in the overflow car parking, very well situated for access but apparently European teams struggled to get there, Pretty steep bills for those staying in the hotels at the NEC and ground that would have been unplayable had it not been for the 2 inch thick XL Turf. Or Crystal Palace with the local 'yoof' running through the car parking making smash and grab raids and no hotels in the immediate vicinity.
Ardingley (Gatwick) was an OK venue, but probably more than the NXL wanted to pay for, but had plenty going for it, I'm sure the conversation has been had with @Ainsley about holding it at CPPS, the reason it hasn't may be to do with the lack of spare space around his fields and the need to hire extra ground from the College for extra car parking/camping etc. It may be his landlords who are reluctant, or it may be there isn't enough cash involved for amount of extra reparations post event to keep the place in the condition you all have come to expect it to be maintained in. It may be the lack of amenities in the local area, only those involved in the discussions will know.
The NXL can't be blamed for the heatwave, at least players were allowed to take their own food and water on site, Those falling in to the above category may like to cast their minds back to Amsterdam, held in similar weather, where all bags were searched on entry to the venue and all food and water confiscated by security. Everybody was then left to the mercy of the vendors on site and their prices.
As for injures sustained, maybe @Marc0 or @slam can enlighten us to the tally, I believe they were bot reffing the event.
The MS did look at the Olympic park, but negotiations broke down, the price I was told would be in six figures for security alone and that was holding the event in the car parks, not the park itself. It's not even a very nice part of London. Those old enough and not suffering from Alzheimer's will remember the MS event at the NEC Birmingham, that was in the overflow car parking, very well situated for access but apparently European teams struggled to get there, Pretty steep bills for those staying in the hotels at the NEC and ground that would have been unplayable had it not been for the 2 inch thick XL Turf. Or Crystal Palace with the local 'yoof' running through the car parking making smash and grab raids and no hotels in the immediate vicinity.
Ardingley (Gatwick) was an OK venue, but probably more than the NXL wanted to pay for, but had plenty going for it, I'm sure the conversation has been had with @Ainsley about holding it at CPPS, the reason it hasn't may be to do with the lack of spare space around his fields and the need to hire extra ground from the College for extra car parking/camping etc. It may be his landlords who are reluctant, or it may be there isn't enough cash involved for amount of extra reparations post event to keep the place in the condition you all have come to expect it to be maintained in. It may be the lack of amenities in the local area, only those involved in the discussions will know.
The NXL can't be blamed for the heatwave, at least players were allowed to take their own food and water on site, Those falling in to the above category may like to cast their minds back to Amsterdam, held in similar weather, where all bags were searched on entry to the venue and all food and water confiscated by security. Everybody was then left to the mercy of the vendors on site and their prices.
As for injures sustained, maybe @Marc0 or @slam can enlighten us to the tally, I believe they were bot reffing the event.
