EPL side Queens Park Rangers are facing "growing opposition to their new stadium plan with the current landowner Cargiant claiming it 'will not enter into any future talks with the club.'" The club's former sponsor owns a 30-acre plot on the Old Oak site where QPR hopes to "build a 40,000-seat stadium." Rangers "have support from all the major bodies required to build the ground" as soon as '18, but the landowner is "seeking to scupper their plans" (PA, 9/16). ... Australia has
built an artificial pitch at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane to "help its batsmen deal with spin-bowling on the slow tracks of the
subcontinent, where they have so often struggled in the past." The surface, which is
intended to "mimic the conditions in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has a
concrete base with artificial grass, clay and turf rolled into a
compact layer on top" (REUTERS, 9/16). ... Scottish Championship side Dumbarton has "kick-started plans to move from the Bet Butler Stadium." The club is proposing to "relocate from its existing Castle Road site to a new location at Young's Farm at the west end of town." A pre-planning application for a 4,000-capacity football stadium was "submitted to West Dunbartonshire Council." Along with the stadium, "dedicated training facilities, additional playing pitches for community use, and car and coach parking facilities will be included" (DUMBARTON REPORTER, 9/16).