Croke Park...there is a big chunk missing out of it!

G

gebbel

Registered User
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I was in Croke Park today for the 1st time since 1981 when I was a kid. Of course it's very familiar to me from TV, and we all agree that it is a very good stadium. I have a big problem, however, with the Hill 16 end and the fact that the stadium is not oval all round. It looks like they just ran out of money and didn't bother finishing it.
So I cannot agree with the "world class" tag that the stadium has been given. When they complete it, I will re-consider. And I don't care what they say, it does not look finished.
 

I do think its a marvelous stadium and in my opinion it is world class - but I do agree that the Hill 16 end leaves an unfinished look to it.
 
They can't do anything, there simply isn't the room.
Well maybe they can build over the railway but they need to buy up a row of houses on Clonliffe Road and that's going to cost millions.
 
micmclo said:
They can't do anything, there simply isn't the room.
Well maybe they can build over the railway but they need to buy up a row of houses on Clonliffe Road and that's going to cost millions.
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Irish Rail wouldn't allow it. Its a main commuter line and unlike landsdown it would have to close for more than the odd weekend and add to that the houses there as well. Jusr not enough space.
 
Stadium design and facilities have moved on since Croke Park. You have to remember that it is built to early 1990s specs and the oldest part of the "new" stadium are now 11 years old. Visit somewhere like Wembley and you'll see a huge gulf between it and Croke Park in terms of facilities etc.

Modern sports stadia are generally designed to last c.25 years, so it shouldnt be too long before the GAA have to start building again.
 
 

Actually Croke Park was designed and built to standards light years ahead of its time. It was the first of its kind in Europe. Croke Park placed a large part in the design of Arsenals new stadium and the facilities at Croke Park especially at corporate level are considered among the best in Europe. Both Wembley and Arsenal have copied from Croke Park in terms of the facilities they offer.
 

I think that you've being listening to too much GAA hype over Croke Park. Yes, it is a very nice stadium and it has a huge capacity, but it is nothing special in terms of world class stadium design and facilities. Stadium design has taken a huge leap forward in the past 5-10 years. Unfortunately for the GAA, Croke Park was designed shortly before the big leap forward. Croke Park is missing what are now standard items such as floodlights, electronically controlled lighting system including pitch perimeter displays, floating camera mountings, large widescreen high definition video displays, interactive features incorporated in LCD screens attached to arm rest of premium seats, escalators to get people up/down levels (CP has stairs, ramps, lifts only), pitch drainage and replacement system etc.
 
csirl - have you ever been to croke park ? doesn't sound like it.

there are floodlights all round the stadium, there are two large video screen either end, corporate levels have lifts/escalators, corporate level has tv's inside, i guess they decided if you were sitting in your seat you might want to watch the action on the pitch, pitch itself is one of the top ones in europe and they replace the pitch regularly (every 2 years ?) - not bad in my opinion.

Also, in terms of comparing Dallas Cowboys with Croke park - the GAA is still an amateur association, Dallas cowboys are a conglomerate (worth more than $1.5 billion) , paying their players more annually than what Croke park cost to build ! Also did you see the point about the Dallas cowboys stadium costing over 1 billion ?
 
csirl - have you ever been to croke park ? doesn't sound like it.
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I've been in Croke Park many times - it both the ordinary punters seats and in the corporate part.

The floodlights are somewhat temporary in nature - werent there originally and erected when needed, they are not "built in". Same for the 2 large video screens, both of which are past their sell buy dates.

I dont want to take away from the GAA - they have done a magnificant job for an amateur organisation in a small country. As you pointed out, the Dallas Cowboys are spending a 1 billion on their stadium. This is what it costs to build a genuine world class stadium with all the trimmings. The Cowboys being a big conglomerate who can afford to spend 1 billion. The fact is that a stadium like Croke Park is not in the same league as these very expensive modern stadia.

Visit both Wembley (another expensive "conglomerate" stadium) and Croke Park within a short space of time and you will notice the difference between the two in terms of facilities & comfort.

Again, I'm just pointing out the plain facts. GAA have got very good value for the money they did spend on Croke Park, it is well suited to their needs and the envy of the other field sports in Ireland.

I do agree with the OPs point. The GAA should clean up the Hill 16 end of the ground and integrate the design into the rest of the stadium. Even if they cannot expand due to the railway, there are things they could do to bring this part of the stadium up to the same standard as the rest of the ground. The days of crowds of people standing on terraces should be behind us. I'm sure that a clever architect could come up with something that could accommodate the Hill 16 capacity in greater comfort without needing to mess with the railway line.
 
Having been in various stadiums and arena's around the world and also in Croke Park on several occasions I can give an honest opinion on Croke Park.

It is a credit to an amateur organisation to build such a stadium, but in comparison to other stadiums it lacks a personality in my opinion. Its very concrete looking, both outside and inside, even down to the advertising around the stands, half of it is missing.

In Wembley for instance there are escalators to all levels for all spectators. There is fantastic indoor areas for catering, drinking and eating for everyone, not just those at premium level.

And this is not Croke Parks fault but why is there a train line running right under the Canal End stand and no trains stop there? Surely they could have put s small station there that opened on match days only?
 
Facilities at Croker for wheelchair users are pretty terrible. They are restricted to spaces where the view is guaranteed to be obstructed by other customers.
 
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