Aviva Stadium Comments / Opinions / Discussion..

Sizzler

So anybody been to the stadium yet? Seems to be a lot of bad press about it since the Airtricity / Utd game last night, congestion problems, before and after and not very family friendly etc.

I was in the old west stand about half way up and my opinion was the stadium is class compared to what we had before, my own recommendation would be don't get a ticket for the lower tiers as the view wouldnt be that great, you can see so much more from the middle upwards and you don't seem very far away from the pitch at all. I had heard from people that the first few rows on the bottom tiers were a farce as they wee below pitch level and with stewards and paramedics etc. it was hard to see what was going on

I have to say the old north terrace is a BIG TIME disappointment, it gives the stadium that "almost finished" feel, even more so than croker! I know theres houses behind that stand but can't believe they couldnt do more, it really does take the edge of the stadium,but maybe thats just me!

stovelid

Won't see it until November but looking forward to it. Some of the lads in the office were at the game last night and were impressed by it.

You're always going to have congestion (as with the old Landsdowne) in that location.

SteM

stovelid wrote: »

You're always going to have congestion (as with the old Landsdowne) in that location.

Never come across anything like this before in Lansdowne. Probably it was because people were new to the place or maybe I got lucky in the past but getting to the east stand entrance from town last night was a pain. We were sent down through ballsbridge and up along the Dodder - there was major conjestion there after the match too.

Impressed with the stadium in general

Bad:
It got cold up at the top of the east stand later in the evening, I'd say it'll be bloody freezing there for some of the six nations games! The wind just blew through the perspex covering. Wrap up well in November. Doesnt seem enclosed like say Old Trafford (although it obviously is).

The cost of the food and drink was a piss take. €5.40 for a pint. I don't go to matches to drink or eat but had to laugh when someone told me the prices.

The position of the screens. From the top of the East stand the screen to the right can hardly be seen. The screen to the left is blocked by the structure of the building. It's like they've been put in as an afterthought to be honest.

Good:
Lots of leg room in front of the seats, the stewards weren't over zealous about making people sit down either.

Seems like there'll be a great atmosphere. When the place is full and everyones behind Ireland the place will be rocking. The noise doesn't just 'disappear' like it used to at the old Lansdowne. Obviously some thought has gone into this aspect of the design.

The place looked great when it was lit up - night time matches in the dark will be special.

SantryRed

SteM wrote: »

Bad:
It got cold up at the top of the east stand later in the evening,

You've got to be fcuking joking.

Mitch Connor

stovelid wrote: »

Won't see it until November but looking forward to it. Some of the lads in the office were at the game last night and were impressed by it.

You're always going to have congestion (as with the old Landsdowne) in that location.

the crowd control after the game was a shambles, and a bit dangerous imo.

Despite telling people they had to use Lansdowne Road station, and closing Grand Canal Dock as a result, they forced people away from the stadium towards the herbert road, up serpintine avenue, then back along the dart line towards the stadium (LOADS of people being told to head down an alley) then when we got to the end of that they turned us away from the station again telling us to move into a narrower alley, back up along the river back up towards ballsbridge, telling us that we could come back down Lansdowne Road to the station and we would be allowed in that way. Shambles.

Het-Field

The congestion was far worse in some parts of the grounds and outside of the Ground then I have ever seen it before. It verged on dangerous. The organisers seemed to have the "bright" idea of having a plan once the game was over. As far as im concerned the safest way is to ensure the Croke Park "Plan B" ensues, and allows people to walk at their own pace in any direction they seem fit. Insted the organisers sought to funnel the fans in the East Stand through a tiny tunnel beside the Herbert River, which was an accident waiting to happen. In the past the vast majority of people walked towards Lansdowne Road itself. This was safe, and it worked. It may have given rise to congestion, but it was never dangerous.

The major flaw inside the stadium is the lack of exit/entrance facilities which also created bottlenecks. On a blamy and jovial August evening that is one thing. However, just wait till the night arrives when Ireland struggle to beat a minow, or drop points against a weak team, or when the fans are wet cold and miserable. This is dangerous too.

Inside, the stadium is very nice. Bigger seats then before, plenty of bar/food facilities, a nice proximity to the pitch, and plenty of toilets. I dont particularly care that it is somewhat generic, and may be construed as "lacking character". It was no longer acceptable to expect fans to sit on wooden seats, stand on terraces, purchase food from non-permanant outlets, and to attend a game in stadium which wasnt properly linked which prevented ease of access if you wish to meet somebody after the game.

stovelid

In fairness, the whole idea of these fixtures was to test-drive the security and crowd-management so hopefully they'll get it together before the next fixture.

JimsAlterEgo

stovelid wrote: »

In fairness, the whole idea of these fixtures was to test-drive the security and crowd-management so hopefully they'll get it together before the next fixture.

you don't test drive it with peoples lives, I wasn't affected but a mate said a crush was starting where he was (one of those narrow alleys) and small kids were terrified

event

SteM wrote: »

Never come across anything like this before in Lansdowne. Probably it was because people were new to the place or maybe I got lucky in the past but getting to the east stand entrance from town last night was a pain. We were sent down through ballsbridge and up along the Dodder - there was major conjestion there after the match too.

Impressed with the stadium in general

Bad:
It got cold up at the top of the east stand later in the evening, I'd say it'll be bloody freezing there for some of the six nations games! The wind just blew through the perspex covering. Wrap up well in November. Doesnt seem enclosed like say Old Trafford (although it obviously is).

The cost of the food and drink was a piss take. €5.40 for a pint. I don't go to matches to drink or eat but had to laugh when someone told me the prices.

The position of the screens. From the top of the East stand the screen to the right can hardly be seen. The screen to the left is blocked by the structure of the building. It's like they've been put in as an afterthought to be honest.

Good:
Lots of leg room in front of the seats, the stewards weren't over zealous about making people sit down either.

Seems like there'll be a great atmosphere. When the place is full and everyones behind Ireland the place will be rocking. The noise doesn't just 'disappear' like it used to at the old Lansdowne. Obviously some thought has gone into this aspect of the design.

The place looked great when it was lit up - night time matches in the dark will be special.

are you kidding?

its cold

:eek:

Pro. F

The crowd control after the game sounds insane dangerous. Hopefully they sort it out before the next game.

Cypher_sounds

I was in the premium seating right on the halfway line it was great, lads the atmosphere there last night was amazing, unbelievable i never heard a beeter atmosphere, overall it was a great night, facilities are excellent, makes for a good enjoyabe time viewing soccer/rugby matches for the future.

Outside the stadium the crown waiting on the dart was unreal so got a taxi wouldnt fancy waiting an hour or so after a match

Pro. F

event wrote: »

are you kidding?

its cold

:eek:

Some stadiums are really sheltered from the elements, others aren't. The new Lansdowne looks like a really sheltered stadium, it turns out that it isn't - surely it was worth mentioning.

homerjay2005

Cypher_sounds wrote: »

I was in the premium seating right on the halfway line it was great, lads the atmosphere there last night was amazing, unbelievable i never heard a beeter atmosphere,

are you taking the p*ss? the atmosphere was f*cking sh*te last nite. you really need to start going to more games as last nite was really terrible, it was a friendly.

JimsAlterEgo

Why the fVck was there no announcements or messages on screen saying what restrictions were in place after the game? This is a disaster waiting to happen.

doncarlos

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

you don't test drive it with peoples lives, I wasn't affected but a mate said a crush was starting where he was (one of those narrow alleys) and small kids were terrified

In fairness they were only Man United fans so why not use them as guinea pigs, not like it was Irish fans or anything!

Mitch Connor

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

Why the fVck was there no announcements or messages on screen saying what restrictions were in place after the game? This is a disaster waiting to happen.

My gripe is that it is the opposite of what I was lead to believe would be the case.

I was told that prior to the game their would be restrictions and purple/red ticket holders would not be able to access their entrances from Lansdowne Road, but that after the game everyone was to use lansdowne road (instead of going to sandymount or grand canal - grand canal was to be closed). What happened was prior to the game you could go where-ever you wanted from lansdowne road station, but after the game you were led on a merry dance.

Cypher_sounds

homerjay2005 wrote: »

are you taking the p*ss? the atmosphere was f*cking sh*te last nite. you really need to start going to more games as last nite was really terrible, it was a friendly.

Your right i was only thinking of the actual atmosphere when the crowd got loud as regards the the loudness thats created in the stadium i wasn't talking about overall on the night from start to finish if you know what i mean, yes of course it was as you say, only when a goal was scored or the mexican wave and the 4th officials/announcer mistake there was the good atmosphere

JimsAlterEgo

Mitch Connor wrote: »

My gripe is that it is the opposite of what I was lead to believe would be the case.

I was told that prior to the game their would be restrictions and purple/red ticket holders would not be able to access their entrances from Lansdowne Road, but that after the game everyone was to use lansdowne road (instead of going to sandymount or grand canal - grand canal was to be closed). What happened was prior to the game you could go where-ever you wanted from lansdowne road station, but after the game you were led on a merry dance.

where did you hear that? Was it from an official source? Anyway they should assume nobody knows anything and make sure people have no option but to be aware what the plan is.

FreeOSCAR

+1 on the Crowd congestion....I've been to many Stadia around Europe and this was by far the most potentially dangerous I have ever seen it.

Was in the premium section and the queue for the one escalator we all had to use was ridiculous.

Prices where the usual you would pay in football grounds, no biggie there.

The RTE studio box stands out real bright just in the corner of the West/South stand so you can always see Bill and the lads

In the whole though, the stadium is fantastic, really like the North End section myself, gives it a unique feel and I think the away fans will be placed there and create a good atmosphere which certainly travels around the ground. It will be much better than Croker the graveyard.

One last point, the attendance was put at 49,000+ but there was no way in hell that it was that full. Below the RTE box was plenty of Empty seats, the East part of the West Stand was empty, 3/4 of the Corporate Boxes where empty and then the jots of unoccupied seats around the place as well.

Hope they ain't skewing the figures.

JimsAlterEgo

homerjay2005 wrote: »

are you taking the p*ss? the atmosphere was f*cking sh*te last nite. you really need to start going to more games as last nite was really terrible, it was a friendly.

exactly, it was a morgue for 90% of the time

Mitch Connor

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

where did you hear that? Was it from an official source? Anyway they should assume nobody knows anything and make sure people have no option but to be aware what the plan is.

Map on the tickets said to approach purple entrances from herbert road. Was told be a few people on here. On the tickets (or the info that came with them) it said about using lansdowne road after the game. Think that is the case, may have been the AA side yesterday. I was looking at a LOT of info.

homerjay2005

lansdowne is a huge bottleneck. there is nothing that can be done about crowd congestion, it happens. it is the duty of the cops and i think they handled it reasonably well.
i came out of the purple exit and was due to go back along the river, but the cops closed it as there was a huge crowd going through the small narrow tunnel under the bridge.

prinz

I don't think blame for the congestion problems should be put solely on the organisers. A lot of the fans didn't have a clue where they were going once outside the stadium either. You had people walking one way, then turning around and trying to push back against the flow of the crowd that sort of thing. Had no issues inside, apart from the amount of plonkers who couldn't find their seats at the start. Signposts everywhere and still there was a load in the wrong sections.

Lots of food and drink facilities was good. €5.40 for a pint isn't so bad. You'd nearly pay that in a lot of pubs in the city. Lot of toilets around too.

Atmosphere was a bit flat at times, but the rolling mexican wave looked brilliant.:D

SteM

SantryRed wrote: »

You've got to be fcuking joking.

Bonus points for selective quoting. Dope.

The Rooster

€5.40 for a pint is a rip-off, no matter where it is. €5.00 a pint in Croke Park.

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

+1 on the Crowd congestion....I've been to many Stadia around Europe and this was by far the most potentially dangerous I have ever seen it.

Was in the premium section and the queue for the one escalator we all had to use was ridiculous.

One last point, the attendance was put at 49,000+ but there was no way in hell that it was that full. Below the RTE box was plenty of Empty seats, the East part of the West Stand was empty, 3/4 of the Corporate Boxes where empty and then the jots of unoccupied seats around the place as well.

Hope they ain't skewing the figures.

To exit the premium sections, as well as the escalators there should be access to the stairways that the upper deck patrons are using. If not, that's a serious design flaw, but perhaps those exits just wasn't clearly marked.

Would the East part of the West stand be the front rows???

FreeOSCAR

The Rooster wrote: »

€5.40 for a pint is a rip-off, no matter where it is. €5.00 a pint in Croke Park.



To exit the premium sections, as well as the escalators there should be access to the stairways that the upper deck patrons are using. If not, that's a serious design flaw, but perhaps those exits just wasn't clearly marked.

Would the East part of the West stand be the front rows???

Nah i explained it wrong... if I was sitting in the East Stand, it was the top right hand corner of the west stand from the way I was facing, lots of empty seats.

The Rooster

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

Nah i explained it wrong... if I was sitting in the East Stand, it was the top right hand corner of the west stand from the way I was facing, lots of empty seats.

Grand, I was only messin!
btw, that would be the north end of the west stand so!

Raytown Rocks

They should have a word with their caterers, the hotdog buns were stale....:)

Mr Moon

Thought it was a nightmare to get into, no idea where the entrances for each section were, no signposts either, got to a green entrance and there was a guy on a tannoy saying green tickets only, and there was a sign with the letters on it, so kept on walking looking for a purple entrance (away from the stadium I might add) felt like we walked 2-3 miles out of the way to get into our entrance, and still no sign posting for it, just had to keep asking guards till we found the way!!

There was no point telling us what road to go to cause we don't know the area that well!! Should've been those AA signpost saying where to go!

Getting out was just as bad, but I was expecting that after the fiasco getting in, didn't know which way to walk till I saw the Dublin eye in the distant and said well at least we know where we are now!!

Anyway, inside the stadium is fantastic, thought the seats (albeit steep) we were in were fantastic, sat in row ff in the purple and could see everything!!

Still a load of dust from the building works, covered my bag and jacket that touched the floor. 9 euro meal deal for a hot dog and pint :rolleyes: but one of the lads we were up with bought 3 hot dogs he was only charged a fiver

Terrible atmosphere due do the game it was, but any competitive games will be sure to have a great atmosphere.

Now if they'd just finish off Croke Park

_Bella_

Went for the rugby match but impressions was the stadium will be great for the Ireland matches. It feels like quite am intimate stadium and we had a great view. I live very close to Lansdowne so I had no problem finding the entrance I needed to use. There was no problem getting out but I understand last nights match was different.

Third_Echelon

Just heard a few people on newstalk talking about the post game management last night getting to the dart... sounded pretty hairy in the tunnel that was mentioned...

All new stadiums have these problems when first open.

I was in Wembley not long after it opened, it was a shambles too. I was back a few years later and it ran like clockwork...

homerjay2005

Mr Moon wrote: »

Thought it was a nightmare to get into, no idea where the entrances for each section were, no signposts either, got to a green entrance and there was a guy on a tannoy saying green tickets only, and there was a sign with the letters on it, so kept on walking looking for a purple entrance (away from the stadium I might add) felt like we walked 2-3 miles out of the way to get into our entrance, and still no sign posting for it, just had to keep asking guards till we found the way!!

There was no point telling us what road to go to cause we don't know the area that well!! Should've been those AA signpost saying where to go!

really, i found it simple to get in. we literally walked straight in as we normally would and once we were inside the initial barriers, it was simple to move about, every stand and entrance was clearly marked. a little bit of checking out before hand goes a long way. they included directions for everybody and where to go, where to get off darts etc etc in the tickets but it is obvious 1000's of people just ingored them and tried to go what ever way they wanted.

Mr Moon wrote: »

Anyway, inside the stadium is fantastic, thought the seats (albeit steep) we were in were fantastic, sat in row ff in the purple and could see everything!!

there is a huge amount of room between the seats, far far better than croke park. its a bit like flying business class with quantas compared to cattle class with ryanair. my problem is that this means loads of space is wasted in certain sections and more seats could have been fitted in with better design! the stadium is actually huge, perhaps should have a bigger capacity.

anybody have any issues with restricted views?i heard people moaning going in that they were told the stadium had restricted views and i was thinking, what the f8ck are the whinging about already...can anybody confirm?

stovelid

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

you don't test drive it with peoples lives, I wasn't affected but a mate said a crush was starting where he was (one of those narrow alleys) and small kids were terrified

Didn't know that. Apologies. Hopefully it will be addressed pronto.

Cypher_sounds wrote: »

I was in the premium seating right on the halfway line it was great, lads the atmosphere there last night was amazing,

I heard it was pretty quiet from reliable sources.

Cypher_sounds

stovelid wrote: »

I heard it was pretty quiet from reliable sources.

As ive already said I was referring to when the crowd did get loud the atmosphere/noise level in the stadium was brilliant which im delighted with as i can imagine it will be fantastic to witness when the qualifiers/sixnations games come about, it was subdued for much of the game

Mitch Connor

homerjay2005 wrote: »

anybody have any issues with restricted views?i heard people moaning going in that they were told the stadium had restricted views and i was thinking, what the f8ck are the whinging about already...can anybody confirm?

i was in the east stand, in line with the goal-line at the south end of the stadium. Only problem i had with seeing anything was seeing around by the corner of the pitch and the east/north end - but that was only when people were standing and was easily rectified by standing myself so i had no issue with that - felt it was the same as any stadium I have been in when sitting in a similar area of the stadium.

I have spoken to others who were at the stadium and they have given out about sight lines with regards to seeing the TV Screen or seeing the top of the rugby posts. With rugby that can be very annoying (TMO on the screens, high attempts at conversions) but in football I can not see it being that big a problem - don't need to see that high over the pitch or the screen in reality. Obviously it would be great to be able to see a screen from whereever, but (from a football perspective) we survived the old stadium without screens and many stadiums around the world do not have screens.

Having said that, it is pretty unforgivable that the screens are blocked by part of the stadium design - it simply should not happen.

rossie1977

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

One last point, the attendance was put at 49,000+ but there was no way in hell that it was that full. Below the RTE box was plenty of Empty seats, the East part of the West Stand was empty, 3/4 of the Corporate Boxes where empty and then the jots of unoccupied seats around the place as well.

Hope they ain't skewing the figures.

all sporting events numbers should be taken with pinch of salt, was looking at the photos of last nights match and no way was there less than 1000 empty seats