http://www.footballgroundguide.com/conf ... e_town.htm

if not, this is where the play offs in the Conference are a bit of an unknown - cos anyone can get in them but it's not until a team like Braintree wins them that the League has a problem.....

has this situation happened before? or do they have a plan in place? surely the play offs would be rendered null and void before a ball was kicked?

They probably wouldn't be allowed but they should be. Small but decent ground with plenty of terracing, some shelter and a clubhouse. Bit old fashioned but perfectly alright.

Preferable to the bland breeze block and sheet metal sterile boxes stuck out on a god foresaken edge of town trading estate that appears to be all the rage nowadays.

don't disagree with either of you - it's the fact that the rules ARE in place already!!! and there's no way around them to my knowledge,as grounds have to be passed for admission to the FL by the previous season!!!

I'm sure they changed it a few years ago where the club has to prove they can get the ground up to scratch within a couple of months.

Their pitch sounds like the biggest problem, constantly getting waterlogged. I'm sure the stadium is no worse than Accy Stanley's from that description.

I think you're correct PON. The FA relaxed the rules to allow their pyramid to work. Lower down the pyramid (ie Wearside League), clubs wishing to be promoted to the Northern League have to apply, then have their grounds inspected, and show plans/funding to get the ground up to grade. If they get promoted they have a certain length of time to get the ground done.

In theory clubs should be building for promotion, so in Braintree's case should know what needs doing. However if this is unexpected success, I don't know? If they win the play offs can they turn promotion down? I'm sure the FA/ Football League could refuse admission.

Taken from the Braintree website.

"The floodlighting at the Amlin Stadium has recently been upgraded to over 250 lux to meet the entry requirements to the Football League. This upgrade, together with six new turnstiles and a total refurbishment of the dressing rooms was completed in March 2007 at a cost of over £600,000 to meet the ground grading requirements for entry into the Blue Square Premier in 2011. A further £200,000 was spent on improvements to the Amlin Stadium, including additional turnstiles, toilets, terracing, etc., during season 2011-12 to secure The Football Association's 'A' Grade to ensure that the ground met the entry criteria for promotion to the Football League."

Seems the ground is okay.

fair play to them

Seems okay to me, safety more important than looks these days. Looks no worse than Maidstone or Cheltenham when they first got into league and of course Accrington. Remember when Kidderminster got refused entry yet bizarrely they were allowed to host a home game in 3rd round of FA cup in the same season. Also Halifax when they went out of league were actually worried that they would be accepted into Conference as at the time Conference rules on grounds were stricter than Football League.

ironically Halifax must have the most modern ground with the biggest capacity these days, of all the old traditional lower league clubs