If it is that poor remedial work will have to be done either before or after UEFA testing. One of the benefits of annual testing is that its shows whether a pitch is deteriorating or just isnt being maintained.
I don't think the pitch is properly looked after in the Brandywell. Took a walk on it after a Harps game last season and was shocked at the surface. It's really awful. Rock hard.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
If it is that poor remedial work will have to be done either before or after UEFA testing. One of the benefits of annual testing is that its shows whether a pitch is deteriorating or just isnt being maintained.
Forgive me for quoting my own post - and taking the thread away from new ground redevelopment etc (the nerd in me can't resist!) - but there's a new book out on the history of Windsor Park and the author's twitter page hasd a couple of great photo's of a Belfast Roof at Celtic Park (home of Belfast Celtic, which also staged greyhounds and trotting) and Solitude:
Also one of the actual truss design, taken after a storm blew the cover off the Railway Stand (I assume) at Windsor:
https://twitter.com/joecassells1?lang=en
Indeed - D24Saint referenced it in post #6705:
Click on:
https://www.irishphotoarchive.ie/gal...000mCGvJrfO5gk
These barrel rooves must have been everywhere for a while (i.e. not just Ireland, but GB as well), but lived on longer here as grounds weren't updated so frequently (if at all!).
Last edited by EalingGreen; 11/04/2022 at 11:05 PM.
I wonder how come they're called Belfast roofs? They look more agricultural than industrial. Very popular design for haysheds.
The structural trusses of a Belfast roof were first designed in Belfast hence the name and were to support large roofs that hadnt support from weight bearing walls on all sides so were suitable for stands in football grounds....and hay sheds. I think we associate them more with farm yard barns because they are more about still these days (different materials but seemed to keep the old curved roof) than the original industrial buildings of that design or the old football stands in Ireland and UK. The trusses were wooden, so cheap but able to carry the weight of the roof, and probably why there are so few public use buildings of that style or design left. When steel RSJs became the standard rather than wood joists, flat rooves needed less material so were then cheaper. Nerd stuff!!
Last edited by Nesta99; 18/04/2022 at 9:10 PM.
Is this Solitude? I wouldn't recognise it at all. I presume this is facing where the stand currently is rather than being an image of the opposite side which is closed off - it doesn't look like there was ever anything in place there.
The stand in that photo looks better than the one that is currently there.
I phoned the speaking clock to hear a voice speak, it said - "At the tone you will be very much alone"
I must confess that I 'm not absolutely certain, now you mention it.
It does look like the old Olympia Drive (North) Stand at Windsor, cigarette advertising and all except that I don't ever recall it having those support stanchions. Also you should probably be able to see the corner of the Railway Stand (behind the goal to the right of the pic), while those trees(?) behind, and the setting generally don't look anything like The Village.
And by a process of elimination, if it isn't Windsor, then I can't think what other Belfast ground it could be if not Solitude. Looking at Cliftonville's website page covering the History of Solitude, there is an old photo which indicates it may be the terraced stand on the Waterworks side i.e. opposite where the old Main Stand is now:
https://cliftonvillefc.net/history-of-solitude/
P.S. With one of those teams playing in plain red shirts, aside from Cliftonville, only Portadown also wore that colour back in the day amongst the senior IL teams.
I may have missed it but what's up with the empty stand at the Drumcondra end of Tolka Park??
Heard it was fire damage myself. I'm sure there's a truth the lies somewhere between each.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Pretty sure someone on here said it was foundation issues…
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
I heard foundation issues myself, but how come the dressing rooms that are housed in that stand are allowed to be used then? Also noticed towards the end of the game between Pats and Shels in Tolka, when the tunnel is pulled out for the players (which blocks fans on the riverside from leaving the ground), they had to walk up into that stand and back down the steps the other side of the tunnel. Just strange that it’s in use in that way if it’s foundations are that dodgy, unless the issue is just to do with the stand supporting the weight of a stand full of people for a prolonged period of time
Paaatrick's Agletic
I don't know the technical ins and outs but on a basic level I've been told the stand can't hold 800-900 fans in the stand as there is a structural issue that could pose a risk with those numbers but the stand is cleared as safe for players/staff to use the dressing rooms and facilities underneath the stand. It's repairable but would cost a very hefty 6 figure sum so economical decision was taken to keep the stand closed to fans and continue to use it for dressing room facilities. The relatively small upgrades to the Ballybough end for away terracing and moving home supporters into the Riverside has been a winner so far
The Leinster Senior League needs a strong Bohemians
If the footings for the structure aren't good enough, then the wait of hundreds of people on top will be of significantly greater issue than the much smaller number at a lower level in the changing rooms.
I'm surprised it hasn't fallen foul to the hackneyed old rumour that is attached to numerous libraries all around the world (especially at universities). That they failed to include the weight of the books when they did the calculations for its load-bearing, so then couldn't build it as high as they'd originally planned after they started it. Maybe the Tolka stand didn't factor in the weight of the spectators on top ? Every 15 or so people will equal about a tonne of added weight (depending on how fat they are, age, gender etc)
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