How may grounds have you been to which are of near 21st century standard?

[ShotgunGold]

me too!

bragging about French toilets seems a bit rich to me

and burning question IZAL or Andrex and should we deduct points for none available?

I certainly don't think any club should be given a B licence if Andrex is not readily available.

And once again Castleford and Wakefield come out as favourites for the chop with their bog-standard bog paper!

[ParisSurtout]

Panoramic field views are to be had from at least one sideline stand at

1. Suncorp, Brisbane

2. Dairy Famers, Townsville,

3. Skilled, Robina,

4. Energy Australia, Newcastle,

5. Canberra,

6. Blue Tongue, Gosford,

7. Parramatta Stadium,

8. CUA Stadium, Penrith

9. Shark Park, Cronulla

10. Sydney Football Stadium

11. ANZ Stadium, Homebush (Souths, Canterbury, Wests)

12. WIN Stadium, Wollongong.

13. Kogarah Oval, Kogarah.

14. AAMI Stadium Melbourne.

I am not sure about Brookvalle Oval, which is due to be renovated.

So all NRL clubs have a large area for decent panoramic views.

Suncorp, Skillled, Sydney FS, and ANZ have panoramic views for the entire 360 degrees of the stadium.

Edited August 1, 2010 by ParisSurtout

[ParisSurtout]

I certainly don't think any club should be given a B licence if Andrex is not readily available.

And once again Castleford and Wakefield come out as favourites for the chop with their bog-standard bog paper!

No NRL club would dare offer its fans the decrepit stadia known as Belle Vue, The Jungle, The Willows, or Knowsley Road.

The closest things to these were North Sydney Oval and Redfern Oval, which have been abandoned decades ago.

At least St Helens is finally moving into the 21st century, as I hope will Salford Reds --- all just one year behind Les Catalans Dragons.

[nath155]

Just a bit of a twist on the old "how many grounds have you been to?" topics we've had in the past.

How many grounds in the northern hemisphere have you been to to watch rugby league which have a panoramic view of the playing field from at least one sideline stand, and which have decent toilet facilities (extensive urinals and sit down closed cubicles for men, and multiple sit down enclosed cubicles for women)?

I have been to most of those:

KC in Hull

DW in Wigan

Galpharm in Huddersfield

Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan

Ernest Wallon in Toulouse

Elland Road in Leeds

The Stoop in London

Twickenham in London

Wembley in London

Murrayfield in Edinburgh

Milllenium in Cardiff

how could you miss out bell vue at wakefield we even have 2 bottle bars i mean come on.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Just a bit of a twist on the old "how many grounds have you been to?" topics we've had in the past.

How many grounds in the northern hemisphere have you been to to watch rugby league which have a panoramic view of the playing field from at least one sideline stand, and which have decent toilet facilities (extensive urinals and sit down closed cubicles for men, and multiple sit down enclosed cubicles for women)?

What a stupid criteria.

Panoramic views?! They're available at every ground in SL you idiot. Tell me one ground that doesn't offer a panoramic view...

Or extensive urinals and multiple sit down enclosed cubicles for that matter...

[Wolford6]

I've been to the Rungrado May Day Stadium, and that my friend is what you call a damn stadium!

I'd never heard of it before so I checked it out on Wikipedia, got sidetracked and was surprised to learn that the ten biggest stadia in the USA are for college football teams, rather than for NFL teams.

[DAZROVER1985]

What a stupid criteria.

Panoramic views?! They're available at every ground in SL you idiot. Tell me one ground that doesn't offer a panoramic view...

Or extensive urinals and multiple sit down enclosed cubicles for that matter...

I think you can get panoramic views from pretty much every stadium in the championships from at least one sideline aswell, every one ive been to this season anyway.

[Dave T]

The fact is that all of these other than Gilbert Brutus are dual use or triple use (football, rugby union, rugby league), with Wembley being multi use and Tickenham being primarily rugby union and Elland Road primarily soccer.

So of all the Super League clubs stadia only Gilbert Brutus is a dedicated rugby league stadium with modern facilities appropriate for the 21st century. It will be joined by the new St Helens stadium in 2012.

How many have a decent restaurant or seated cafes, as well as a large bars?

None for the general fan (DW and Galpharm have modern restaurant facilities for the special elite), Wembley and Twickenham for members, but Gilbert Brutus in 2011 and St Helens in 2012 will have modern restaurant and bars for all premium seated fans.

Alll of this shows how backward rugby league is in looking after their fans' convenience. Bravo only to Les Catalans and St Helens. Shame on the rest.

HJ has good views and nice toilets and is a RL stadium. It doesn't have a cafe (seems yoy make up the criteria to suit) but it does serve food and drink like any other place, and people can pay a reasonable amount to have meal at the ground and get top seats.

It also has an advantage of being built right near town which has plenty of places.

Why did I bother with a serious reply to this post?

[Ullman]

You are MeatLoaf and I claim my

[thirteenthman]

So why is it when I see the NRL on tv, most of the speccies look like drowned rats during a game, all wearing ponchos?

We've visited Sydney twice, been to 4 NRL matches at different venues and it rained every time. The only one where we wouldn't of got wet was the ANZ Stadium. That is a fantastic facility. Most of the suburban grounds consist of stands down the 2 sides and a mound of grass* at each end. Even the SFS is notorious for its lack of cover in bad weather.

We went at Easter this year and went to see Cronulla v Parramatta. Shark Park has basic cover on 2 sides of the ground mainly for those sat in the expensive seats in the main stands. The rest of the ground is uncovered. Not only did we see, to quote the TV reporter the following day, the worst game in 20 years, but it absolutely poured down. I mean monsoon type rain. My wife refused to wear a poncho, so spent much of the second half under cover just under the stand, but seeing very little of the match. To top it all off the trains weren't running so we had to get the replacement bus instead.

We love Australia, love Sydney and love watching the NRL, but we'd never go to Cronulla again. Not without a bloody big umbrella anyway.

*I believe the Aussies call them 'hills'. There's supposed to be plenty of atmosphere on them. There was plenty of atmosphere at the Fletcher Street end at Wilderspool, but it doesn't mean I would've recommended it to anyone

[DiH68]

We love Australia, love Sydney and love watching the NRL, but we'd never go to Cronulla again. Not without a bloody big umbrella anyway.

*I believe the Aussies call them 'hills'. There's supposed to be plenty of atmosphere on them. There was plenty of atmosphere at the Fletcher Street end at Wilderspool, but it doesn't mean I would've recommended it to anyone

Atmosphere? At an Aussie game!!! You must be mistaken...

[ParisSurtout]

What a stupid criteria.

"a" is singular and "criteria" is plural." In the English language they are meant to agree.

I won't call you stupid because I know that your mind has been focused lately on deeper issues, like how many grounds you have been to where you have sat in all stands. The world has been waiting to know the answer to that one for decades!

Panoramic views?! They're available at every ground in SL you idiot. Tell me one ground that doesn't offer a panoramic view...

Or extensive urinals and multiple sit down enclosed cubicles for that matter...

Try Belle Vue for a start. Then try the Willows for seconds...

Oh, and before you start calling other people idiots, try learning the difference between "criterion" and "criteria." You are a native English speaker I take it.

Edited August 1, 2010 by ParisSurtout

[ParisSurtout]

We've visited Sydney twice, been to 4 NRL matches at different venues and it rained every time. The only one where we wouldn't of got wet was the ANZ Stadium. That is a fantastic facility. Most of the suburban grounds consist of stands down the 2 sides and a mound of grass* at each end. Even the SFS is notorious for its lack of cover in bad weather.

We went at Easter this year and went to see Cronulla v Parramatta. Shark Park has basic cover on 2 sides of the ground mainly for those sat in the expensive seats in the main stands. The rest of the ground is uncovered. Not only did we see, to quote the TV reporter the following day, the worst game in 20 years, but it absolutely poured down. I mean monsoon type rain. My wife refused to wear a poncho, so spent much of the second half under cover just under the stand, but seeing very little of the match. To top it all off the trains weren't running so we had to get the replacement bus instead.

We love Australia, love Sydney and love watching the NRL, but we'd never go to Cronulla again. Not without a bloody big umbrella anyway.

*I believe the Aussies call them 'hills'. There's supposed to be plenty of atmosphere on them. There was plenty of atmosphere at the Fletcher Street end at Wilderspool, but it doesn't mean I would've recommended it to anyone

.

Shark Park is widely regarded as a disgrace to the NRL. It is the NRL's equivalent of Belle Vue, relatively speaking. But just to think about the comparison between those two grounds, shows the gulf that exists between the NRL and SL in terms of spectator facilities. Shark Park desperately needs improvements, but it is (barely) tolerable when it is not raining. However any Australian ground in the condition of Belle Vue would have been condemned to closure on health grounds, by any relevant Australian governing entity, decades ago.

Edited August 1, 2010 by ParisSurtout

[ParisSurtout]

HJ has good views and nice toilets and is a RL stadium. It doesn't have a cafe (seems yoy make up the criteria to suit) but it does serve food and drink like any other place, and people can pay a reasonable amount to have meal at the ground and get top seats.

It also has an advantage of being built right near town which has plenty of places.

Why did I bother with a serious reply to this post?

You may have replied because your subconscious advised you that the thread posed a serious question for a sport that is trying to make a profit from various income streams which include spectator attendances.

HJ is reputedly a good stadium but I have not attended a game there. Good work from Warrington to have created such a stadium. But it is in the minority group of those clubs that do cater reasonably well for their fans.

Edited August 1, 2010 by ParisSurtout

[West Country Eagle]

Bramall Lane

Stobart Stadium

Halliwell Jones

JJB/DW Stadium

Galpharm

You get a pretty good view standing on the side at Odsal, ditto most stadiums in SL.

You even get great views at Mount Pleasant, Post Office Road, Leigh Sports Village, Barrow etc.

Pointless thread.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Shark Park is widely regarded as a disgrace to the NRL. It is the NRL's equivalent of Belle Vue, relatively speaking. But just to think about the comparison between those two grounds, shows the gulf that exists between the NRL and SL in terms of spectator facilities. Shark Park desperately needs improvements, but it is (barely) tolerable when it is not raining. However any Australian ground in the condition of Belle Vue would have been condemned to closure on health grounds, by any relevant Australian governing entity, decades ago.

Leichardt used to be pretty similar to Belle Vue but I'm not sure if the Wests Tigers still take the odd game there.

[thirteenthman]

Leichardt used to be pretty similar to Belle Vue but I'm not sure if the Wests Tigers still take the odd game there.

Leichardt has been improved, not sure what they did, but I seem to remember them spenfing a bit of money on it. The Tigers were playing there on Saturday when a disgraceful refereeing decision robbed Cronulla of the points. But that's a topic for another forum...

As for Shark Park being barely tolerable when its not raining, well, so is Belle Vue. The difference being that Wakefield are planning to move to a new ground, something that Cronulla have no intention of doing.

[MrPosh]

I believe, under the criterion of 'Panorama', Odsal is the best stadium in the world of rugby.

So you all got that wrong, didn't you?

For the record, there were at least three grammatical errors in the post by PS that criticised Wellsy's English.

[goldcard]

Wilderspool wasn't that bad a place.

Maybe borderline 19th/20th century, but that's quite near 21st.

Can't think of any that rate pre-18th century, which is only 3 away really.

[ParisSurtout]

I think you can get panoramic views from pretty much every stadium in the championships from at least one sideline aswell, every one ive been to this season anyway.

The discussion was of Super League stadia. Nevertheless good work by those Championship clubs (e.g. Leigh and Halifax?) that have a panoramic view from a t least one sideline.

Bramall Lane

Stobart Stadium

Halliwell Jones

JJB/DW Stadium

Galpharm

You get a pretty good view standing on the side at Odsal, ditto most stadiums in SL.

You even get great views at Mount Pleasant, Post Office Road.......

At Post Office Road the stand on the sideline where the club reception area and the players' change rooms are, has no elevation and hence no panorama. I know because I have sat there. As for the opposite side I don't remember. I do know that the highest view in the stadium is from the standing room only, and uncovered grassy hill behind one of the goal posts, near the car park.

Pointless thread.

Not pointless. There is a point that I have explained often about catering to fans and increasing the clubs' gate revenues.. You just haven't understood it.

Edited August 2, 2010 by ParisSurtout

[mick wilson]

I'd never heard of it before so I checked it out on Wikipedia, got sidetracked and was surprised to learn that the ten biggest stadia in the USA are for college football teams, rather than for NFL teams.

The stadium here for UT in Austin, Texas holds approx 103'000 and rising as their always adding to it.

[Kiwi-Capper_merged]

At Post Office Road the stand on the sideline where the club reception area and the players' change rooms are, has no elevation and hence no panorama. I know because I have sat there. As for the opposite side I don't remember. I do know that the highest view in the stadium is from the standing room only, and uncovered grassy hill behind one of the goal posts, near the car park.

That's quite clearly the description of Post Office Road by a man who couldn't find it!

[thirteenthman]

Wilderspool wasn't that bad a place.

Maybe borderline 19th/20th century, but that's quite near 21st.

Can't think of any that rate pre-18th century, which is only 3 away really.

My first ever experience of RL was stood in the Fletcher Street end at Wilderspool. It didn't put me off though...

[boxhead]

Leichardt used to be pretty similar to Belle Vue but I'm not sure if the Wests Tigers still take the odd game there.

Its a secondary ground nowadays but still gets some games.

Redevelopment here

http://www.leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/Leichhard...provements.html

[boxhead]

I was using Sydney clubs to base it on not the 2 you mentioned, my bad

No problem.

Sydney only averages less than 8 rainy days per month (more than 1mm) in the League season so I guess they take their chances with open areas.

Most grounds are not full each week and grounds like Parramatta Stadium offer reasonable undercover areas.