Who Has The Best EL Stadium ?

[fanatic]

just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on which EL Club has the best Stadium, in terms of facilites, seating, pitch etc.. and overall look ?
being a derry fan i used to think we had one of the best grounds !

Havent been to many grounds in years, but Dalymount looks very improved, although the camera angles dont always show the full picture !

[Roo69]

just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on which EL Club has the best Stadium, in terms of facilites, seating, pitch etc.. and overall look ?
being a derry fan i used to think we had one of the best grounds !

Havent been to many grounds in years, but Dalymount looks very improved, although the camera angles dont always show the full picture !

Tolka by far.

Dayler has one great stand, the rest is falling down, the X is much the same, very out dated, and as for ours................. :eek: well, at least we have one of the best playing surfaces

[patsh]

Dayler has one great stand, the rest is falling down, the X is much the same, very out dated
The only thing you can really complain about in the Cross is the pitch at the moment.
The 2 stands are grand, St. Anne's end is fine, a roof would make it excellent, and the Shed is a decent covered terrace area.

[Poor Student]

Flancare Park looks the nicest on TV in some ways. It is neat and modern and the stands match.

[fanatic]

i agree with Flancare Park, looks good on TV.

I would love to see the seated stand in the brandywell extended right around to the other side, although i think that will never happen !

[Peadar]

I would love to see the seated stand in the brandywell extended right around to the other side

You can't even fill the seats you've got, what are you going to do with all the extra seats? :rolleyes:

[tiktok]

1.Tolka :eek:
2.The Cross
3. Flansiro

(althought the Jodi is the best stand in the league by a mile)

All the cross is missing at the moment is a good pitch and a club bar

[Copa Mundial]

Tolka is probably the best stadium overall.

Turners Cross will be vastly improved once the proposed new stand replaces the shed.Pitch needs a big improvement and the atmosphere is very good when the 'supporters' arnt booing their team.

The Jodi stand in dalymount always produces a good atmosphere.

Bray has the best surface in the country at the moment.

Flancare would be great if they fill it a little more.Pitch getting better also.

Richmond is a nice compact ground that always looks the part when theres a decent crowd.

Galway have improved their ground over the past few seasons.

[Éanna]

The Cross is definitely the best IMO, Tolka is a dump, the seats just manage to hide it. Flancare 3rd

[wws]

Richmond Park and Drogs are the only two that vaguely resemble football grounds because of their old style terracing - they're also the correct capacity for el attendances - the empty flancare seats and tolka look atrocious on tv and contribute to a poor "badly attended" image that the game has. the jodi stand is the best structure - outside of that theres nothing to write home about

[bigmac]

ours is terrible. The stand is fine except it's the width of the track and a long jump area away from the pitch so there's no atmosphere I'd say the front row of seats is about 25 to 30m from the sideline plus the pitch is woeful! It was never properly layed as the "stadium" was built for athletics so the pitch was just an area they grassed over. possibly the bumpiest surface in the league!
Belfield park isn't bad either - easy access and occasional good atmosphere (due to away supporters unfortunately).

[pete]

I always like Dalymount (more so now we started to win there) as has best facilities of any ground. OK i know the otherside is a kip but no need to use that for eL games. Has best stand as has good view & is comfortable, easily accessable & inviting bars & chipper ok too.

Tolka looks good on tv but noit so comfortable. Main stand is very tight if got long legs, terrible view from Ballybough, Riverside ok but dusty seats & don't think can see goal line from new stand...

[patsh]

Richmond Park and Drogs are the only two that vaguely resemble football grounds because of their old style terracing -
Yes indeed, those grounds would be the business.......
if this was 1905, not 2005...........:rolleyes: :p

[Slash/ED]

OK i know the otherside is a kip but no need to use that for eL games.

Easy for you to say, you don't get dumped in that kip every time you play there.

[Drogman.]

Yes indeed, those grounds would be the business.......
if this was 1905, not 2005...........:rolleyes: :p

Ah no to be fair I've had this conversation with plenty of other fans before and fair enough United Park is not exactly start of the art :eek: but it is a real football ground where you can feel the atmosphere around. I mean the only thing that you can feel at Tolka is Ollie's breath as he attacks the away support :confused:

[patsh]

Ah no to be fair I've had this conversation with plenty of other fans before and fair enough United Park is not exactly start of the art :eek: but it is a real football ground where you can feel the atmosphere around. I mean the only thing that you can feel at Tolka is Ollie's breath as he attacks the away support :confused:
I'm not having a go at Drogs, but there is a wall behind one goal, an area, just wide enough for a walkway behind the other goal, two "cowshed" terraces, ad that stand. It's terrible, be honest!

Not as bad as Richmond park though.....Ah dem were de days, jemser, when we had tree trunks for goalposts and an ould pigs bladder for a ball........:D

[LFC in Exile]

The Cross is best. Tolka really good but too many seats obstructed by poles. The pitch at the Cross is not great. Also, in terms of atmosphere the Cross takes it. :ball:

[wws]

agree with drogman - patsh most be of the opinion that the mere presence of any form of plastic seats maketh the football ground - im afraid as football fans experiencing a match - the opposite is the case. Droghedas ground is great for supporters and so to is Richmond Park - nice enclosed areas and ample terracing - two of the best EL grounds - the rest are ill suited to their use or just have too much open seated areas - which is the el football equivilent of a waste of space!

[patsh]

agree with drogman - patsh most be of the opinion that the mere presence of any form of plastic seats maketh the football ground - im afraid as football fans experiencing a match - the opposite is the case. Droghedas ground is great for supporters and so to is Richmond Park - nice enclosed areas and ample terracing - two of the best EL grounds - the rest are ill suited to their use or just have too much open seated areas - which is the el football equivilent of a waste of space!
As a matter of fact, I always stand at games, and will NEVER sit, whether there are plastics seats there or not. But I'm not a "real fan" according to your posts anyway, so it doesn't really matter....:rolleyes:

Richmond Park is a sh*thole - FACT.

[pete]

Richmond Park is a sh*thole - FACT.

I would go that far but only has 2 sides realistically as the shed has shockingly bad view & other end is a mud bank. Camac terrace is only recent but stand is handy enough.

[patsh]

I would go that far but only has 2 sides realistically as the shed has shockingly bad view & other end is a mud bank. Camac terrace is only recent but stand is handy enough.
OK, I'll rephrase that for the more delicate amongst us.....;)

Richmond Park is a dump - FACT.

:D

[harpskid]

Tolka is definitley the best overall, while Flancare looks class on the box.

Turners Cross isn't far behind either and the Jodi in Dalymount and the stand in the Brandywell are good.

Terryland Park and the Showgrounds have good stands as well, while Kilkenny have a nice one behind one of their goals at Buckley Park.

And the rest :(

[Poor Student]

OK, I'll rephrase that for the more delicate amongst us.....;)

Richmond Park is a dump - FACT.

:D

The stand is very nice and extending it around the Inchicore end will give the ground a bit of respectability.

[patsh]

The stand is very nice and extending it around the Inchicore end will give the ground a bit of respectability.
I'm sure it will be lovely.
Until then,
Richmond Park is a dump - FACT.

:D

[GalwayFrancis]

Terryland Park and the Showgrounds have good stands as well, while Kilkenny have a nice one behind one of their goals at Buckley Park.

And the rest :(

wait til terryland has its nice new stand on the other side... approx 2500/3000 ppl. should be nice.. bout 4000/4500 setaing then.. the rest is neat and clean unlike some of the stadiums around ireland, it also has one of the biggest (if not the biggest) carparks in the el

[Dr.Nightdub]

Tolka - with a decent crowd in (by decent I mean 7000+), it'd be the best by a long shot; with no-one in the Ballybough end and the home support split between the main and Subbuteo stands, it just looks too big for its intended purpose
Dalymount - one state of the art stand in what is otherwise a pile of rubble
Turners Cross - used to like it until some lunatic made the decision to put away fans at pitch level down by the corner flag, opposite to where we used to go; St Anne's End badly needs covering
Brandywell - one good stand, lacking a bit of elevation but still a good racket can be made and you don't feel too far back from the pitch despite the dogtrack (compare it to Santry)
Drogheda - love that wee away terrace, like WWS said, a proper football terrace where you can get some atmosphere going
Waterford - awful, simply awful
Flancare - stand looks good, other three sides look like they were bought third-hand from some condemned stadium in eastern Europe
Bray - shoulda got them to leave the set for "Michael Collins" behind, then it'd look like a football ground
UCD - it's hidden behind a ten foot wall for sound aesthetic reasons; a total abomination of a place

Richmond - stand is fine for midgets who want to sit or grown ups who want to stand; Shed can occasionally be great for atmosphere but the view is utterly poxy cos of the hoolie fence; Camac is the least bad option and that's the best that can be said for it. Some day, some day...

[Supersaint3]

have to agree re the drgos ground, united park ain't great but atmosphere-wise it is top notch, Richer well ok it's not exactly hosting the next uefa cup final but on an eL level it is a fine vantage point in the most part to watch a game from, and when it's full it looks inspiring (fan view....TM) but Eanna mate the cross??? one of the top grounds.............. for getting chased all the way to the train station from....... :rolleyes: ;)

[JC_GUFC]

I've been to every ground in the league at this stage!
Best stand in Jodi - best overall is Tolka - X close behind. Flancare looks very good but is pretty ****e in my opinion.

However the ground with the most potential has to be Monaghan - I heard rumours that if they get promoted they're going to have a covered terrace on that hill behind the goal!!!! The terrace alone would hold about 20000! :D

[Réiteoir]

I've been to every ground in the league at this stage!
Best stand in Jodi - best overall is Tolka - X close behind. Flancare looks very good but is pretty ****e in my opinion.

However the ground with the most potential has to be Monaghan - I heard rumours that if they get promoted they're going to have a covered terrace on that hill behind the goal!!!! The terrace alone would hold about 20000! :D

nearly as big as Dortmund's :D

[1 9 2 8]

Best first division stadiums
1. The Showgrounds (http://ifgrounds.com/showgrounds01.jpg) :D
2. Terryland Park (http://ifgrounds.com/terrylandpark01.jpg)

The rest are a joke

Another picture of The Showgrounds (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.garvey/showgrounds01.jpg)

[pete]

However the ground with the most potential has to be Monaghan - I heard rumours that if they get promoted they're going to have a covered terrace on that hill behind the goal!!!! The terrace alone would hold about 20000! :D

They should change their jerseys to black & white so when terrace full of cows will looks like massive home support :D

Once the two ends behind the goals covered the X will be best ground with 8000 (almost all) covered seats.

[GalwayFrancis]

Best first division stadiums
1. The Showgrounds (http://ifgrounds.com/showgrounds01.jpg)

nice stadium, if ye could just extend that new stand around the rest of the stadium, what would the place hold then?

[A face]

The best stands in the league are ... Jodi, The RSC and main one in Flancare, they are all the perfect elevation/angle to see the game.

The best ground for away fans IMO is Dalymount ... good food, good bars, good stand, easy enough to get to (when you are in Dublin) and a good standard of football normally !! ;) ..... i actually cant understand why the FAI have never tried to improve that ground bring it up to a 30,000 seater or something.

Also ... the car park by the shopping centre is only asking for a multi-story car park where fans drive in and pay at an entrance at that side of the ground.

The cross is definitely the best for atmosphere !! :p

[Slash/ED]

The best ground for away fans IMO is Dalymount

It's also the worst by far, depending on which part of it they put you in.

[A face]

It's also the worst by far, depending on which part of it they put you in.

But we are always in the Jodi so its fine ... I suppose Shels fans all end up in the crèche though !! :eek: :p

[1 9 2 8]

nice stadium, if ye could just extend that new stand around the rest of the stadium, what would the place hold then?
I'd say around 6,000 or so :confused: ... I think Harps new stadium will look something like that

[Gerrit]

i already opened a thread on EL stadions (and for the record also one on IL stadiums)

This thread is under MY copyrights :eek: :D

[dancinpants]

They should change their jerseys to black & white so when terrace full of cows will looks like massive home support :D

Once the two ends behind the goals covered the X will be best ground with 8000 (almost all) covered seats.

A half empty X on match days in the very near future so!!! ;) . Bye bye atmosphere!!!

But I agree with Nightdub, with the right atmosphere Tolka is hard to whack. But that usually takes a Cup final that doesn't involve Shels.

[Snoop Drog]

United Park needs dramatic improvements if it is to continue to be an el ground (it may or may not continue as there is talk of a new stadium). But it holds the honour of having the highest percentage of covered seating or terracing of any soccer ground in Ireland (including Lansdowne!)

Or at least I think it does... :cool:

Lie. Damn lies. & statistics.

[Buller]

Wait a sec.. we're all forgetting about that pile of rubble in tallaght! When completed it will be a modern 6,000 all-seater stadium fully covered, expandable to 10,000. I think that'll be up there among the best! Lets just hope rovers are still around to play in it..
Have a look at these...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/stad%20picci%203.bmp

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/shams-tallaght.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/sham-talaght.jpg
:cool:

[LFC in Exile]

Wait a sec.. we're all forgetting about that pile of rubble in tallaght! When completed it will be a modern 6,000 all-seater stadium fully covered, expandable to 10,000. I think that'll be up there among the best! Lets just hope rovers are still around to play in it..
Have a look at these...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/stad%20picci%203.bmp

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/shams-tallaght.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.bull30/League%20of%20Ireland/Shamrock%20Rovers/sham-talaght.jpg
:cool:

We have great plans too. In fact we're one step ahead because we actually own our ground.

What makes you think wehad forgot the pile of rubble - we were just talking about actaul grounds. :)

[Réiteoir]

i already opened a thread on EL stadions (and for the record also one on IL stadiums)

This thread is under MY copyrights :eek: :D

You got the layout from a thread on English stadia on another site ;) :D

[CuanaD]

Best seating/pitch - Longford's Flansiro
Best single stand - Boh's Jodi Stand
Best facilities? Depends where the cheepest pint o plain is :D

[Anto McC]

Is it possible to make a poll out of this.

[Bosco]

I'm sure its been done before,this topic tends to come up evry 6 months or so.

[harry crumb]

Dalymount is definately the best stand. Tolka is excellent too overall. Waterford's stand is good but is too far away. Give me Waterfords stand and put it where the Shed is, in Turners Cross.

Turners Cross could be the "best little stadium" in the land in 2 years time if things go to plan.

[sonofstan]

Think all this is fairly subjective - I like Richmond and united park, hate Flancare and sorta tolerate Tolka; some of this is for objective reasons - atmosphere when we go to Drogheda is always good, as is Richer, though the stand is for midgets - Flancare may have matching seats all around but I think I'd rather sit in Connaught St. ( tho' that said, like most Bohs fans, I've never sat in connaught St) - Waterford is awful and so is Belfield, though the walk is nice .

[anto eile]

my two cents:

tolka-
ballybough end, crap view no cover
main stand, decent enough, good facilities, nice bar, ok view-bar the poles, good atmosphere.riverside, good atmosphere too many empty seats. away fans create all the noise for tv games, as the cameras are just above.new stand.looks brutal and disjointed.decent atmosphere though but camera never sees it

ucd- awful. always a game for sitting down with no atmosphere and just watching the game,really need to smuggle a few cans in to enjoy it.the grass bank is embarrassing.shame though as thers plenty of room to make a great 5-6,000 seater ground out of it.

richmond- crap on 3 sides.main stand is alright.good for atmosphere for away fans, but overall its a disgraceful "stadium"-no proper segregation exits.shed is not aligned with pitch,and offers terrible view

dalymount-jodi has decent facilities.but theyr not modern,the stand was just built above the bars/dressing rooms etc, the old facilities were kept as they were. a good stand though and gives good view. bad for atmosphere though. connaught st is by no means acceptable as a stand.its a complete health hazard.its disgraceful even for EL terms, and thats saying something
shed,goodview, good for nostalgia and atmosphere, but again its a disaster facilities-wise, the back terrace is a mud and wooden plank bank

drogheda- good for atmopshere with the sheds.but the tiny stand is a joke.the bar is good though.its a good size ground for EL,but is hopelessly outdated.
what happened to the plans for a new ground????

bray-shed side is a joke. grass hill is embarrassing.main stand is decent enough for a view and comfort but lacks facilities.comes across dire on tv

turners x- could do with turnstyles behind the main stand as a separate ad new exit/entrance. shed looks disjointed but good for atmosphere.should be good when its finished fully.small stand looks ridiculous but its decent eenough with walkway behind it.st annes needs toilets and roof,then should be best ground all-round.

rsc- 3 sides are a joke. main stand is one of the best in the elague facilities wise.when approiaching from behind it looks like a real modern stadium.however the distance from the pitch and lack of atmosphere is discouraging.the other 3 sides are embarrassing.

terryland- nice new stand. tidy enough ground.needs another stand on the uncovered terace side. grood ground for atmosphere

sligo-good for atmosphere.new stand is impressive.great potential to round off the other 2 or 3 sides of the ground with stands behind goals and maybe redevelop the small stand too.

finn park-thankfully Harps are building a new ground,its badly needed.though finn park is good for atmosphere,always helped by the copious amounts of alcohol consumed on the trip

brandywell-main stand is very good. the other 3 sides are dire-looking.the dog track doesnt help.good for atmosphere-thouhg the long trip means plenty of berr means lots of singing

monaghan- possibly the only ground in europe where cows outnumber fans. mostly an abomination.but decent main stand ie facilities(ie bar) though

dundalk- kip.old wooden stand needs to be torn down.if theyd a spare E4M it would be ideall for 10-12000 capacity stadium

kildare- one tiny stand.not good enough for premier div anyway

athlone- thankfully theyr getting out of the kip st mels,the new ground looks like it will be very nice

longford- looks good, but the 2 entrances and lack of facilities on 3 sides,and lack of roof too, take away from it.looks tidy, but on closer inspection its not nearly as decent as it loks at first sight.all credit to culchie bohez though theyv made huge strides in improving their facilities

cobh- never been there cant comment

limerick- same as cobh

buckley park- one nice stand.other parts of the ground are a joke though



thats my extensive tuppence

[Cosmo]

'Drogheda - love that wee away terrace, like WWS said, a proper football terrace where you can get some atmosphere going'

Drogheda is the most ideal ground in the country for away supporters - ye have your own little shed which can help create a great atmosphere and as said before old proper terracing.

I like Dalyer and the cross tbh.

I hate flancare and for some reason tolka gets on my tits

[wws]

lookingh at this thread its fair to say theres like two distinct schools of thought on this subject

1) the shiney happy seats brigade - these EL ground afficionados marvel at a completely empty flancare park when they see it on tv and somehow come to the conclusion that three sides of open seating (with absolutely no fans on them) in the middle of nowhere looks "deadly" on telly! For these people its all about the seats and what "looks good". Essentially when they think about a ground they want looks and would probably be happiest in it on their own with their trainspotting pad ticking off the UEFA licese 'media room' from their list.

group 2)

the old schoolers - these people dont give a toss about plastic seating, how it looks on telly or how the aesthtics will appeal to premiership "barstool" fans watching on TV - as they dont much like sitting down anyway - give them a terrace so they can jump up and down - plonk it as near to the action as possible - so they can abuse players and officials - stick a roof on it so they dont get soaked and can amplify their noise and these people think its a class "stadium"


the reality is there isnt even a stadium in the el if you put the best bits of all them together......but I'm still in group 2!!!

Drogheda for me followed by Richer....end of! :D