A CONCERT by American supergroup Eagles has been thrown in doubt in a row over who pays for the repair of the Portman Road pitch.Ipswich Town still hope to host the group on Saturday, June 20, but if talks break down completely it is unlikely the club will put on any summer gigs this year.

A CONCERT by American supergroup Eagles has been thrown in doubt in a row over who pays for the repair of the Portman Road pitch.

Ipswich Town still hope to host the group on Saturday, June 20, but if talks break down completely it is unlikely the club will put on any summer gigs this year.

Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans wants the promoters to pay for the resurfacing of the pitch which will inevitably be damaged by Eagles playing at the ground but they have refused, saying it was the club's responsibility.

Groundsman Alan Ferguson has encountered problems in the past trying to get the pitch ready for the early August kick off.

Town have not had concerts at Portman Road for a couple of summers, enabling Ferguson to get the pitch someway towards its former award-winning glory

It is understood that both parties are refusing to budge on the matter, although negotiations to put on the concert which would attract in excess of 20,000 fans are still ongoing.

A large number of Eagles fans have shown a big interest in booking tickets and the group, that includes Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy J Schmidtt, and had planned to play in Ipswich in between gigs in Belgium and Galway as part of their European tour.

The six-time Grammy award-winners have enjoyed world-wide with such hits at Hotel California. Lying Eyes, Take it Easy and Desperado, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.