Favourite quirks of Scottish stadiums.

[The Mantis]

18 minutes ago, CityDave said:

I remember the Hilton Road side and how wide it was but then must have been about 2002 or 2003 the covered stand had been removed and the old entrance in the corner with a small rise up to the top of the back of the terracing. All that gone and rebuilt closer to the pitch.

Another thing I noticed was a black or very dark material like cinder used on the old terracing, maybe a by-product from the coal yards, am I right?. I've not seen this anywhere else. I don't think the use of this is allowed anymore.

Yeah that's a fairly common way of banking up grounds in the mining areas. I think when Whitehill did it to their ground it was stuff from the old Whitehill Colliery. Newtongrange's new stadium was built on an old bing.

[CityDave]

One from the West Juniors, one with a running track around it. The John Cumming Stadium home of Carluke Rovers, not much remarkable about this and visited on a wet and wild winters day. Up on a hill its quite exposed to the elements and has only a small covered stand to protect you from the elements. The team they were playing was Broughty Athletic whom had a couple of well known ex Scottish League players playing that day, though I'm not sure who...Steven Tweed might have been one?, it was ex Dundee players.

The old ground of Carluke Rovers with its striking entrance (a very strange looking building) would have been a good one to visit, thought about going but missed out and it ended up too late when the club moved to the sports stadium the following year.

 

Loch Park Stadium with that unusual looking building

Edited September 14, 2016 by CityDave

[CityDave]

In searching for photos for Carluke Rovers I found some which showed what the vandalism last year did to the 4G pitch and athletics areas there.

 

 

[invergowrie arab]

Mountains from grounds. Now we are talking. You get excellent views of Mayar, Dreish and Mount Keen from station park.

Memory might be playing tricks but I think you can see Ben Wyvis from Caley Thistle too.

[7-2]

That new Carluck ground looks like the worst possible place to hold a football match.

[CityDave]

4 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

Mountains from grounds. Now we are talking. You get excellent views of Mayar, Dreish and Mount Keen from station park.

Memory might be playing tricks but I think you can see Ben Wyvis from Caley Thistle too.

I might just have a look at this one, Ben Wyvis because it might be visible from quite a few grounds. Up north Brora and Golspie, and maybe along the Moray coast as far as Buckie or Whitehills. Or inland for the Forres and Elgin clubs.

Not sure about us, the Black Isle might be in the way from that angle. I don't think County either with hills and trees in the way.

[CityDave]

24 minutes ago, 7-2 said:

That new Carluck ground looks like the worst possible place to hold a football match.

It looks a bit exposed, but I think a visit to Forth Wanderers Kingshill Park in winter could be interesting.

btw that ball there still hasn't come down. 

Arctic tundra below

There's a few more, Neilston in the West Juniors looks like a baltic place in winter and Islavale (Keith) and Buckie Rovers (Buckpool) in the North don't have a lot of shelter.

[invergowrie arab]

28 minutes ago, CityDave said:

I might just have a look at this one, Ben Wyvis because it might be visible from quite a few grounds. Up north Brora and Golspie, and maybe along the Moray coast as far as Buckie or Whitehills. Or inland for the Forres and Elgin clubs.

Not sure about us, the Black Isle might be in the way from that angle. I don't think County either with hills and trees in the way.

I might be thinking of Culloden but I have definitely seen it from somewhere in Inverness.

[CityDave]

12 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

I might be thinking of Culloden but I have definitely seen it from somewhere in Inverness.

Ben Wyvis can be seen to the north-west from quite a few parts of Inverness as long as there is nothing in the way like buildings or trees. I often look at it as I'm walking into town along the river side to see if there is snow. 

I've never been in the South Stand at Inverness, maybe some who has could tell us if they could see Ben Wyvis from there?

Edited September 14, 2016 by CityDave

[alsy]

1 hour ago, invergowrie arab said:

Mountains from grounds. Now we are talking. You get excellent views of Mayar, Dreish and Mount Keen from station park.

Memory might be playing tricks but I think you can see Ben Wyvis from Caley Thistle too.

 

6 minutes ago, CityDave said:

Ben Wyvis can be seen to the north-west from quite a few parts of Inverness as long as there is nothing in the way like buildings or trees. I often look at it as I'm walking into town along the river side to see if there is snow. 

I've never been in the South Stand at Inverness, maybe some who has could tell us if they could see Ben Wyvis from there?

Not sure if you can see Wyvis from the South Stand, but I suspect not; iirc, I don't think you can see it while you're driving along the stretch of the A9 that runs alongside the stadium, as the Black Isle rises a bit too steeply. From the main stand on a clear day, though, there's a great view down the Beauly Firth to three peaks which I suspect are Sgurr a' Mhuilinn, Meallan nan Uan and Sgurr a' Ghlas Leathaid, just east of Achnasheen. Not quite Munro height, but more dramatic-looking than Wyvis.    

[Staggie52]

1 hour ago, CityDave said:

Ben Wyvis can be seen to the north-west from quite a few parts of Inverness as long as there is nothing in the way like buildings or trees. I often look at it as I'm walking into town along the river side to see if there is snow. 

I've never been in the South Stand at Inverness, maybe some who has could tell us if they could see Ben Wyvis from there?

I can see it fine from my seat in the East Stand at Victoria Park, sorry Global Stadium...

[Staggie52]

[7-2]

2 hours ago, CityDave said:

It looks a bit exposed, but I think a visit to Forth Wanderers Kingshill Park in winter could be interesting.

btw that ball there still hasn't come down. 

Arctic tundra below

There's a few more, Neilston in the West Juniors looks like a baltic place in winter and Islavale (Keith) and Buckie Rovers (Buckpool) in the North don't have a lot of shelter.

True. Looks a tad chilly but at least there are trees on the side away from the changing rooms and crowd hemming it in. Carluck's is just an expanse of nothingness! I can't see how you'd get any sort of atmosphere there especially when it's a multi use sports facility with a dreaded running track rather than a fitba ground. Having to see past the backs of everyone in the badly placed dugouts is just the icing on the cake.

[The Mantis]

2 hours ago, alternative maryhill said:

 

Not sure if you can see Wyvis from the South Stand, but I suspect not; iirc, I don't think you can see it while you're driving along the stretch of the A9 that runs alongside the stadium, as the Black Isle rises a bit too steeply. From the main stand on a clear day, though, there's a great view down the Beauly Firth to three peaks which I suspect are Sgurr a' Mhuilinn, Meallan nan Uan and Sgurr a' Ghlas Leathaid, just east of Achnasheen. Not quite Munro height, but more dramatic-looking than Wyvis.    

You certainly could see it from Telford Street Park but I'm doubtful about TCS. The prominent hill from the Kessock Bridge is Beinn a'Bhathaich Ard in Strathfarrar.

Edited September 14, 2016 by The Mantis

[Davie Bhoy]

Firhill home of Partick Thistle. I've been a few times but have only sat in the Jackie Husband Stand which is an excellent stand. The quirk factor has to be the old Main Stand which for a time wasn't used for supporters though its used for the club's offices and the club shop. As it seems with many old stands the entrance to the pitch for the players is from the corner. The North Stand behind the goal for a few years was only partially completed which gave the stadium a very lopsided appearance and the South terracing is now a grass embankment. I will be interesting to see how this stadium develops over the next twenty years.

The match below is from a 1st Division meeting with QotS in February 2008, this is the only match I have ever fallen asleep at. It was a cold day so I brought down my McMurdo Parka which is like a big duvet, sat in the JH warm and cosy and at some point during this dull game which incidentally finished 0-0 I nodded of for 10 minutes during the 2nd half, then woken suddenly by the Thistle supporters reacting to a bad foul which resulted in a red card for a Queen's player. Now how did I manage to stay awake sometimes watching ICT at home under John Hughes' last season???

 

 

Regarding Firhill. Just a couple of queries. I was in the main stand a few years back when we rented the stadium for our youth team to play it's matches there. Couldn't believe just how bad the main stand was & how out of date it was. Surely the old wooden stand is a clear fire hazard. So how is it allowed to be used for Premiership games...or any games in fact? Not mocking, serious question.

As for the vacant end behind the goal, I remember reading in the paper a few years ago there were talks/plans to build flats there with a small seating area under it for about 800 seats if memory serves me right. Whatever happened to that idea & does anybody have any artists impressions etc of how this was going to work. Couldn't get my head around how they would work this with the limited space there.

[sjc]

5 minutes ago, Davie Bhoy said:

 

Regarding Firhill. Just a couple of queries. I was in the main stand a few years back when we rented the stadium for our youth team to play it's matches there. Couldn't believe just how bad the main stand was & how out of date it was. Surely the old wooden stand is a clear fire hazard. So how is it allowed to be used for Premiership games...or any games in fact? Not mocking, serious question.

As for the vacant end behind the goal, I remember reading in the paper a few years ago there were talks/plans to build flats there with a small seating area under it for about 800 seats if memory serves me right. Whatever happened to that idea & does anybody have any artists impressions etc of how this was going to work. Couldn't get my head around how they would work this with the limited space there.

 

The main stand is a listed building.

[Davie Bhoy]

The main stand is a listed building.

Wasn't aware that it was but just because it's a listed building surely doesn't make it immune from having to reach the same fire safety standards as other grounds. Clearly something in the rules allows it but I don't understand why. Especially when we look back to the Bradford City fire you'd have thought that while the building still stands, they'd not be allowed to open it to the public.

[sjc]

5 hours ago, Davie Bhoy said:

 

Wasn't aware that it was but just because it's a listed building surely doesn't make it immune from having to reach the same fire safety standards as other grounds. Clearly something in the rules allows it but I don't understand why. Especially when we look back to the Bradford City fire you'd have thought that while the building still stands, they'd not be allowed to open it to the public.

 

Timber structures are allowed but there's a blanket ban on smoking which wasn't in place at Bradford back in 85. Certain degrees of fire protection can be applied to the structure such as paints which prevents their combustion.

[WILLIEA]

12 hours ago, CityDave said:

It looks a bit exposed, but I think a visit to Forth Wanderers Kingshill Park in winter could be interesting.

btw that ball there still hasn't come down. 

Arctic tundra below

There's a few more, Neilston in the West Juniors looks like a baltic place in winter and Islavale (Keith) and Buckie Rovers (Buckpool) in the North don't have a lot of shelter.

When I was a wee boy my father got posted to Shotts.

One day a few of us kids cycled over to Forth to see Bon Accord. It was a bleak bleak place. Made Shotts look civilisation???

The other thing that stood out to me as a primary school kid was that Forth played in pink, had never seen a pink strip before

[CityDave]

I find Fir Park unusual visually with those big oversized advertising boards on the stands. Its one of the best grounds for an away fan in my opinion, with excellent facilities and a good view of the pitch. I wouldn't mind getting into that East Stand for the atmosphere there, it always sounds good from the away stand. On wikipedia it is claimed that from the top deck of the South Stand you can see the Ochils and Ben Lomond.

Unusual pylons for the floodlights as well next to the South Stand.