Favourite quirks of Scottish stadiums.

[Hedgecutter]

Best thing about Pittodrie's uncovered seating (the roof can't extend the full length because of the grand old skool floodlight in the way) is that it's cheaper to get a ticket for, so you just walk straight to the covered section once in. I enjoy the corner view from the X/Y though, so actually go there anyway unless the weather's pish.

Harmsworth Park at Wick has that ridiculous slope of a pitch.

Claggan Park at Fort William has a beer garden right behind the goals (you technically pay into the ground and then leave it through a wee gate, hence not consuming booze in the ground).

... Unlike the '59 Club at Rothes which is nothing more than a garden shed in the corner of the ground which has been converted into a supporters' drinking den.

Cliftonhill for that stupid roof extention. It's like a kid wanted to build a ground out of Lego, but was short of pieces so had to raid random bits from the police station set.

Borough Briggs for the grassy mounds behind the goals which are excellent for lying down on and having a P&B picnic.

Formartine's North Lodge Park for being in the middle of nowhere, not even a pavement on the country road leading to it.

[shootingboots]

Here's an old pic from Pittodrie. 1950s.

 

[Hedgecutter]

Here's an old pic from Pittodrie. 1950s.

 

The site of that gas thing is now flats, where I'm posting this from. [emoji6]

Fun (well, depressing) fact: The Germans tried to bomb that thing and missed, so the pilot (in probable rage) decided to open fire on folk in the adjacent cemetery, killing some and leaving a whole line of giant bullet holes, still preserved in the granite headstones as if it happened yesterday:

[The Mantis]

Really enjoyed visiting Lochee at the weekend. Been to most of the main Juniors East and West but a pleasant surprise. Pies and Lorn roll but never tried the soup.

Here's a stairway on the south side from the old days:

If you like Lochee you'd like Lesmahagow too:

[CityDave]

A real definition of playing out in the sticks, Findon Park formally the home of Parkvale FC on the outskirts of Portlethen to the south of Aberdeen. You have to travel for a wee bit down a country lane by car to visit it or as I did walk for half a mile along muddy dirt track between farmers fields.

 

[Davie Bhoy]

Just going from personal experience.

Ibrox has none, you sit in the corner and see the whole pitch. Tynecastle has none, sit behind the goal and see the whole pitch. Victoria Park, placed behind the goal and see the whole pitch. Dens, put behind goals and see the whole pitch. Pittodrie, a wee mesh fence but you can still see the whole pitch. Fir Park, behind the goal can see the whole pitch. Rugby Park and Firhill, posts which cut out 1/15th of the pitch. 

Celtic Park has a concrete wall that cuts out a chunk of the pitch, including one of the goals. I paid £26 to watch the game on the large screen in the stadium. Value for money wise, its a terrible stadium.

Its not just the concrete wall but its the position of the seats, facing the goal and touchline for some reason instead of facing the pitch, so you end up having to twist your body just to face the play. I agree with you on the away ends of all you mention, I have sat or stood in all of them and they are not a problem. Dens if there are very few of us, they tend to put you in the Main Stand far side near where the players come out onto the pitch. This is not perfect but its still better than Celtic Park.

There really isn't an argument there from objecting Celtic fans, we experience it, they don't.

Like I said though, I'm not talking about just the bit the away fans sit in. I'm just talking about for some fans in general. Ibrox does have an awful restricted view as you can see it the picture. Funnily enough, the Rangers fans are about the only fans I never hear moan about the seats that are affected by the restricted view seats at Celtic Park.

My point is that fans moan about it, but Hearts just played at Firhill at the weekend where they are put in an out of date main stand that has restricted views & yet it's not an issue. You also have fans watching their team at home over 19 games & they never moan about the restricted views their own grounds have. This is why I find it a touch hypocritical when people complain about the restricted view at Celtic Park.

CityDave, you're also wrong because our own fans do experience it. I've been in there for a friendly game years ago v Sporting Lisbon & I agree that the seats affected were awful. I just got up & moved seats. So I can empathise with the away fans as it was an awful view. However since then, Celtic took those seats out of use, leaving just the backs remaining. You can actually see the angle from my seat facing it of the seats out of use. There are still a number that have a restricted view but not nearly as bad as those ones did & it is just a small number. Not all the seats in that away section are affected.

In addition to saying our fans don't experience it, you have to remember that the main stand has another pillar on the other side of the stand where the Celtic fans are, so they do experience it.

[CityDave]

Bo'ness Utd - When is a Main Stand not a Main Stand? A view towards the North Enclosure with a dugout like standing area below pitch level and a closer look at the North Enclosure.

Edited August 30, 2016 by CityDave

[CityDave]

40 minutes ago, Davie Bhoy said:

CityDave, you're also wrong because our own fans do experience it. I've been in there for a friendly game years ago v Sporting Lisbon & I agree that the seats affected were awful. I just got up & moved seats. So I can empathise with the away fans as it was an awful view. However since then, Celtic took those seats out of use, leaving just the backs remaining. You can actually see the angle from my seat facing it of the seats out of use. There are still a number that have a restricted view but not nearly as bad as those ones did & it is just a small number. Not all the seats in that away section are affected.

In addition to saying our fans don't experience it, you have to remember that the main stand has another pillar on the other side of the stand where the Celtic fans are, so they do experience it.

I'm wrong, but you agree with me???

If you read my posts properly you would read that I have no issue with pillars, its with that Main Stand wall that blocks the view of the far side of the pitch. Stop fixating on the pillars please, you'll get no sympathy. And that isn't a pillar in the stand at Ibroke its a large no smoking sign, they need telt and reminded. You can get a small view of the away section opposite in that photo, looks like the only thing that could be blocking a view of the pitch is the line of stewards making sure the hundred or so away fans behave with 40k or so Rangers fans on all sides of them. There has been one football ground where the bloody stewards get in the way of your view of the pitch, can you guess where?

 

[lubo_blaha]

A real definition of playing out in the sticks, Findon Park formally the home of Parkvale FC on the outskirts of Portlethen to the south of Aberdeen. You have to travel for a wee bit down a country lane by car to visit it or as I did walk for half a mile along muddy dirt track between farmers fields.

 

For a club who have a fairly remote ground, it's strange that they have their social club right in the centre of Aberdeen on King Street.

Just googled them and noticed that they have recently merged with Stoneywood FC.

[BucksburnDandy]

3 hours ago, CityDave said:

A real definition of playing out in the sticks, Findon Park formally the home of Parkvale FC on the outskirts of Portlethen to the south of Aberdeen. You have to travel for a wee bit down a country lane by car to visit it or as I did walk for half a mile along muddy dirt track between farmers fields.

 

 

37 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said:

 

 

For a club who have a fairly remote ground, it's strange that they have their social club right in the centre of Aberdeen on King Street.

Just googled them and noticed that they have recently merged with Stoneywood FC.

 

 

Parkvale merged with Stoneywood after the owner of Findon demanded that they pay £70,000 to play there this season. Crazy.

 

Stoneywood have just newly built a very non descript ground at the top end of Market Street in Stoneywood, right across the road from Aberdeen Airport. It's a bloody wind tunnel.

[CityDave]

8 minutes ago, BucksburnDandy said:

 

 

Parkvale merged with Stoneywood after the owner of Findon demanded that they pay £70,000 to play there this season. Crazy.

 

Stoneywood have just newly built a very non descript ground at the top end of Market Street in Stoneywood, right across the road from Aberdeen Airport. It's a bloody wind tunnel.

Maybe the owner wanted to build a house on that spot?.

Is this the ground that has the drainage issues over the last couple of seasons or is this a completely different new one?.

Edited August 30, 2016 by CityDave

[RandomGuy.]

Daviebhoys utter refusal to accept the blatant fucking fact that the away fans at Celtic Park have an utterly brutal view is infuriating. Stop trying to argue with folk who actually have to suffer the fucking thing.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

1 minute ago, RandomGuy. said:

Daviebhoys utter refusal to accept the blatant fucking fact that the away fans at Celtic Park have an utterly brutal view is infuriating. Stop trying to argue with folk who actually have to suffer the fucking thing.

The most irritating thing about it is that Celtic have generally had plenty of empty seats in recent years.

There may well be restricted view seats for home supporters but they'll generally be empty 

If they were giving the best 59,500 seats to their own fans and leaving the rubbish ones to the visitors that wouldn't be very nice of them but one could hardly complain about them looking after their own fans first.

As things stand they seem to be doing it out of spite

 

 

[Steve_Wilkos]

The fact that the Inverness Cat Tickler fans have boycotted their stadium since it was built is certainly quirky. 

[CityDave]

The coldest football stadium in the Scottish Leagues and with a nice open view of North Lanarkshire.

Edited August 30, 2016 by CityDave

[1320Lichtie]

The coldest football stadium in the Scottish Leagues and with a nice open view of North Lanarkshire.

Not like that anymore, 4 sided now

[CityDave]

3 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

 

Not like that anymore, 4 sided now

That was taken 8 years ago. I'm not sure how adding a gymnasium on the north side of the ground would help in insulating from the cold. Its a nice stadium but without having much in the way of character. But sheeit its bloody freezing in the winter. I'd put Rugby Park and Forthbank in the freezing zone as well Station Park can be a bit brass monkeys. The grounds away from the coast are coldest, worse if they are prone to a freezing wind and Broadwood is one of the high in altitude grounds in this country. I think there are a couple of Juniors grounds that can be bad. I know up in the Highlands Keith's Kynoch Park is a bit exposed and up near the edge of a hill. 

[1320Lichtie]

^^ never been to Gayfield in January

[Mik]

I've never sat in the away section at Celtic Park so can't personally say what the view is like - but being on P&B for the last ~8 years i've learned that it's apparently one of the worst away days, which annoys the life out of me for some reason..

That said, surely it's the exact same view as the South west corner? There's definitely some restricted view seats there, but surely not that many?

 

 _{(inb4 "you've never been in celtic park in your life").}

[DA Baracus]

Last game played at the 'old' East End Park (i.e. when it was mostly terracing);

 

What you can't see is the North terrace featuring 'the cage', which as anyone who visited East End when it was mostly terracing will remember was the thing that separated the home and away fans in the North terrace. The North was covered, like the home end terrace (now the Norrie McCathie stand), but as you can see the away end (the Cowden end) was uncovered (although fans could have walked round to the away section of the North which as stated was covered).

No idea why we're wearing the away top in this match.