Stadium Updates (All Clubs)

[nigel-harps1954]

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.

[Nesta99]

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.

[EalingGreen]

Thank you for posting this. Though I've never been to visit Tolka, it was still a treat for an old stadium nerd like me!

Two points of interest (I hope) to fellow nerds:

1. The old Main Stand has what is known in the trade as a "Belfast Roof" (i.e. barrel-shaped). This passage from a feature on the old Railway Stand at Windsor Park explains further:
"The roof of the stand is known worldwide throughout the construction industry as the ‘Belfast Roof’. Prior to the advent of cheap steel systems this type of roof was the most economical way of providing a clear span roofing of sheds and warehouses. So there you have it – the railway viewing area was no more than a shed in those days."
https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threa...0-000.1198933/

As I understand it, this design used to be pretty popular in football grounds in Britain and Ireland, but if Tolka may not now be unique in retaining one, they must be very few and far between these days.

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

[TonyD]

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

The old stand in Richmond Park used to have one of those Belfast roofs as fa as I can remember. That stand was demolished and replaced in the early 90’s when Pats moved out for a couple of seasons.

[EalingGreen]

The old stand in Richmond Park used to have one of those Belfast roofs as fa as I can remember. That stand was demolished and replaced in the early 90’s when Pats moved out for a couple of seasons.

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!).

[punkrocket]

I wonder how come they're called Belfast roofs? They look more agricultural than industrial. Very popular design for haysheds.

[Nesta99]

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!!

[JC_GUFC]

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:

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.

[EalingGreen]

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 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.

[Kingdom]

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.

Fortwilliam church spire in the background of the colour photo?

[EalingGreen]

Fortwilliam church spire in the background of the colour photo?

Good call.

Thinking some more, the only reason not to think it's Solitude is that there was a crowd in that day!

[Shinkicker]

I may have missed it but what's up with the empty stand at the Drumcondra end of Tolka Park??

[D24Saint]

I may have missed it but what's up with the empty stand at the Drumcondra end of Tolka Park??

Ive heard two tales one was planning issues the other was foundation problems. Not sure what is the accurate version.

[nigel-harps1954]

Heard it was fire damage myself. I'm sure there's a truth the lies somewhere between each.

[joey B]

Pretty sure someone on here said it was foundation issues…

[2 Year Contract]

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

[sbgawa]

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

This is the problem i believe , a couple of thousend fans jumping up and down celebrating a Shels home win .......wouldn't have been a problem this year

[total hoofball]

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

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

[EatYerGreens]

I heard foundation issues myself, but how come the dressing rooms that are housed in that stand are allowed to be used then?

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)

[EalingGreen]

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)

Sometimes the old ways are the best:



I think I read somewhere that those were all WW1 veterans, called in because they knew basic drill.