Bowl development

[Schumi]

They've started actually doing something there BTW. There's a big drilling yoke set up behind the stand.

[pineapple stu]

What do yee recon? Should we move straight away or wait for the new season?
Not really pushed either way, I suppose, although we should go all out for a big ending for Belfield Park and a big start for the Bowl, like Athlone did. Free entry, etc.

I suppose in that regard, maybe September/October might be better. Have two big games in a row and you might encourage a few people to think of UCD games as a regular occurrence.

Maccer mentioned the possibility of a friendly with Charlton back when the plans for the improved Belfield Park were drawn up. I think it was more a case of "I know someone there" when I mentioned it to him though. Still, he didn't baulk at the idea. Worth pursuing, I reckon. Try for the biggest team knocked out in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

[Bald Student]

Did anyone else know about Phase II? Is it a vague plan to get people off our backs or a real one?There was a pre-planning meeting about it in the county council about 6 months ago but it's still well over a year from starting.

[CollegeTillIDie]

It would be best to have the first home game of the new academic year, so we can attract Freshers, in the Bowl. So that's late September right lads?

[BohsPartisan]

It would be best to have the first home game of the new academic year, so we can attract Freshers, in the Bowl. So that's late September right lads?

Only thing you'll attract freshers to anything with is free drink.

[John83]

Only thing you'll attract freshers to anything with is free drink.
Which the college alcohol policy won't let us do.

[Schumi]

Free 'cola' so. I'm sure Student Mullet can sort that. :D

[John83]

Or the Bald Beer Baron of Belfield.

[Bald Student]

Or the Bald Beer Baron of Belfield.I understand that he's taking orders for tonight and is after finding a giant bottle of coffee-stout. Any takers, you could probably mix it with some chocolate-stout to make some form of stout frappuchino?

[Schumi]

Ooh, giant. :)

[BohsPartisan]

Which the college alcohol policy won't let us do.

Must have changed since my day so. Filmsoc used to host some great bashes. One year there was free Southern Comfort.

[Bald Student]

Must have changed since my day so. Filmsoc used to host some great bashes. One year there was free Southern Comfort.Unfortunatly Nazi McDowell changed all that.

You might remember there was a Prime Time special on people getting drunk in town a few years ago and the government decided that the best way to solve this was to restrict alcohol on campus so that more students would go drinking in town. It's called 'Liberal Politics'.

[BohsPartisan]

Shame. You needed a good bit of Alcohol inside you around UCD so as not to let the drab modernist architecture send you round the twist.

[pineapple stu]

Free 'cola' so. I'm sure Student Mullet can sort that. :D
Hold on a sec - Student Mullet brews the cola? I always thought that was Bald Student!

Nice tonight actually. An aftertang of those coffee cremes you get in Roses, although a lot stronger. Probably would have had more only I was driving.

[John83]

Passed the Bowl today. They seem to be doing a good bit of work right beside the stand. There's a lot of soil where once there was grass just there, and some heavy machinery. I should be passing it regularly, so I'll keep an eye on it.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Anyone seen it recently? Pics?

[Poor Student]

I saw it yesterday. There's a barrier set up around the edge and materials and heavy machinery sitting around. There's was no work taking place when I went to look (around 1pm) and I couldn't get close enough to see if anything has been actually done.

[Bald Student]

The new perimeter fence went up today and the walls of the new buildings are built but no roof yet.

[Poor Student]

Just passed by it there. As Bald Student said there's a new perimeter fence. It's runs about a yard parallel to the old one and is of a more sterner quality. It won't do much to block the game from being viewed clearly from outside the stadium's boundaries though. The work men are working away early this morning and the machinery are digging out the areas on either side of the stand to make room for the extension. Also as pointed out there are walls being built at the back of the stand to add in facilities.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Oh that's all we need. Going from having poor crowds to having people being able to watch free of charge just by standing outside the venue :(

[BohsPartisan]

Hooray, my new favourite away ground!

[Poor Student]

Just been down to have another look there. Not a whole lot of progress since last time per se but the site is a lot messier. I think the only identifiable work is a bit more building of the back of the stand. I presure the units and stuff are going in there.

[John83]

They've laid something to the left of the main stand, though perhaps its just a work surface. They've also knocked the fence at the Cascarino (Richview) end and replaced it with a temp fence to widen the service road there slightly.

[CollegeTillIDie]

So is September looking likely or just a pipe dream? After all the rugger boys need a home ground too by the end of the Rugby World cup !

[Bald Student]

So is September looking likely or just a pipe dream? After all the rugger boys need a home ground too by the end of the Rugby World cup !It'll be finished by September and it'll be up to the soccer club where to play 'til Belfield Park is knocked.

[Poor Student]

It'll be finished by September and it'll be up to the soccer club where to play 'til Belfield Park is knocked.

I heard on Friday that we still don't have a clue when it'll be finished.:confused:

[Schumi]

There's steps added to the right of the stand as of Thursday, where the seats will added I assume.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Anybody see the UCD team/squad 2007 poster promoting giving Racism the Red Card?
Looks like it was photographed in the Bowl.

[DmanDmythDledge]

If it's of interest to anyone here (http://www.ucd.ie/campusdevelopment/developmentprojects/belfield_bowl.html) is an article on the college's website about the work on the Bowl. There is also a picture of the stand from behind before work on it began, with the dressing rooms behind. Doesn't look too attractive.:(

Also here (http://www.ucd.ie/sport/images/changingroom.jpg) is a picture of our state of the art dressing rooms.:)

[Schumi]

Pictures taken on Saturday (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v239/SchumiUCD/Bowl/15th%20July/).

[DmanDmythDledge]

The pitch looks in good condition. Probably get decimated once the rugby starts though.

[Bald Student]

The pitch looks in good condition. Probably get decimated once the rugby starts though.If it can't survive a game every fortnight there's something seriously wrong.

[pineapple stu]

Particularly bearing in mind the football will be on the Friday and the rugby on the Saturday, so the pitch will have the longest time possible to recoup.

Where do the other rugby teams play?

[DmanDmythDledge]

If it can't survive a game every fortnight there's something seriously wrong.
Well I was taking account the traditional tropical winter we always have.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Particularly bearing in mind the football will be on the Friday and the rugby on the Saturday, so the pitch will have the longest time possible to recoup.

Where do the other rugby teams play?
They used to play on a big pitch between the Hockey Stadium and the Architecture Faculty Building called Richview which is sort of North West of the Sports Centre. I think some of that is now a car park . Not 100% sure.

[Schumi]

Seats have been added to the left side of the stand extension. I'll get a photo tomorrow.


They used to play on a big pitch between the Hockey Stadium and the Architecture Faculty Building called Richview which is sort of North West of the Sports Centre. I think some of that is now a car park . Not 100% sure.The rugby pitches around there have all been dug up, I assume to be reseeded.

[Bald Student]

The rugby pitches around there have all been dug up, I assume to be reseeded.
An all weather rugby pitch is being put in.

I was jogging past the bowl yesterday and they'd started on the floodlights as well.

[Poor Student]

Seats have been added to the left side of the stand extension. I'll get a photo tomorrow.


Are they blue?

[Schumi]

Are they blue?

Yes. They're the same as the ones in the rest of the stand.

[Poor Student]

Have a look at this: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ucd-planning-euro450m-facelift-to-create-community-campus-1043545.html

It's the kind of thing Albert Speer would have designed to appease Hitler. I wwonder if a sexed up Belfield Bowl has a place in all this? It's a long way down the line though. Bye bye to the running track.

[Bald Student]

Have a look at this: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ucd-planning-euro450m-facelift-to-create-community-campus-1043545.html

It's the kind of thing Albert Speer would have designed to appease Hitler. I wwonder if a sexed up Belfield Bowl has a place in all this? It's a long way down the line though. Bye bye to the running track.There's a new running track to be built behind the sports' centre. To be honest, the old track had had better days and is no real loss.

The plans for this included various plans for sports facilities including the running track and a 5,000 seater stadium. I don't think Hugh Brady has any desire to spend money on this type of stuff so it'll depend on whether the county council makes them a mandatory part of the planning permission.

I was over by the bowl today. It looks almost finished. The floodlights are on site and the mountings for them are set. The pitch-side fence and hard standing have started and they're all that's left, apart from kitting out the insides of the shops and toilets.

[Schumi]

I was over by the bowl today. It looks almost finished. The floodlights are on site and the mountings for them are set. The pitch-side fence and hard standing have started and they're all that's left, apart from kitting out the insides of the shops and toilets.I took a few photos over there this afternoon, I'll post them up in a few minutes.

[John83]

Have a look at this: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ucd-planning-euro450m-facelift-to-create-community-campus-1043545.html

It's the kind of thing Albert Speer would have designed to appease Hitler. I wwonder if a sexed up Belfield Bowl has a place in all this? It's a long way down the line though. Bye bye to the running track.
"The new campus will be vehicle free, with buses stopping at the perimeter, and the surface car parks that are now near the entrance will be replaced with multi-storey and underground facilities to include the space currently used as the running track"
About bloody time. 20 acres of car parks. No wonder they keep building on sports fields.

[Schumi]

Latest Bowl photos (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v239/SchumiUCD/Bowl/25th%20July/). I had the camera zoomed in a bit much on the panorama shots so it's a bit thin!

[Poor Student]

It's a lot neater looking than Belfield Park but it's too small of a structure to be the whole ground (even though it has more seats than we need!). Maybe the place will look more filled out when the other work is done?

[Schumi]

It's a lot neater looking than Belfield Park but it's too small of a structure to be the whole ground (even though it has more seats than we need!). Maybe the place will look more filled out when the other work is done?
I know what you mean but it's a bigger structure than the stand in Belfield Park.

[Poor Student]

I know what you mean but it's a bigger structure than the stand in Belfield Park.

Yeah, it's more rows backwards (perhaps twice as many?) but it's definitely narrower isn't it?

[Bald Student]

It's a lot neater looking than Belfield Park but it's too small of a structure to be the whole ground (even though it has more seats than we need!). Maybe the place will look more filled out when the other work is done?It's a nice neat little stand to start with. It leaves plenty of scope for more to be added around it but whether that ever happens is anyone's guess.

One thing I don't like is the two walls behind the uncovered sections. They close off the standing area to the back. Leaving them out would have opened up a nice little bit of terrace like the St. Annes end in Cork.

[Schumi]

Yeah, it's more rows backwards (perhaps twice as many?) but it's definitely narrower isn't it?About the same width I'd have thought.

There are 14 rows, I think, compared to 8 in Belfield Park so a bit less than twice as high and the capacity is a bit less than twice as well (1500 v 850 or so) so the width should be about the same.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Does anyone else think it looks crap? The stand seems to go back rather than up if you know what I mean so the back of the stand would be not that close to the pitch.

When is the cover going on the new parts of the stand?