Croke Park

[nemesis]

Is it really one of the best stadiums in Europe? I keep getting emails from boggers that I've had the misfortune to meet who claim that the English and French will be ''amazed, like'' when they come over in a few weeks.

Bollocks to that, i say. Croke park could have been amazing. But the Dubs, slackjawed layabouts that they are, couldnt get their shit together enough to finish the job. So we're left with three really nice stands and one concreted 'hillock' which smells of john player blues, social welfare recipients, and desperation.

So, is Croker better than the new Twickenham? Is it anywhere near the Nou Camp? And does Stade de France piss all over it's overpriced ''real Irish beef hamburgers'' and imitation Coca Cola?

You decide.

[Sound]

I was in the Camp Nou last year.

Croker kicks the shite out of it. But Wembley will piss on them all.

[Rebelred]

having been there plenty of times I have to say its a fantastic stadium. Does it really matter if the French or English are or arent in awe of it, no

[Fr. Turncoat]

Is it really one of the best stadiums in Europe? I keep getting emails from boggers that I've had the misfortune to meet who claim that the English and French will be ''amazed, like'' when they come over in a few weeks.

Bollocks to that, i say. Croke park could have been amazing. But the Dubs, slackjawed layabouts that they are, couldnt get their shit together enough to finish the job. So we're left with three really nice stands and one concreted 'hillock' which smells of john player blues, social welfare recipients, and desperation.

So, is Croker better than the new Twickenham? Is it anywhere near the Nou Camp? And does Stade de France piss all over it's overpriced ''real Irish beef hamburgers'' and imitation Coca Cola?

You decide.
True to a point. If they had been allowed to finish the job, it would be amazing. All the same it is an awesome stadium.

[Rebelred]

True to a point. If they had been allowed to finish the job, it would be amazing. All the same it is an awesome stadium.

unfortunately the railway line is in the way. Pity alright, but having the terrace there creates a better atmosphere I think

[exiledcorkman]

Been to alot of stadia in the Uk and Croker is ahead of them all. Its disappointing that the dubs demanded the hill be kept although there are other issues there with the train line behind it. A fully closed in stadium would have meant that the atmosphere would have been multiplied for big games, something is lost when you have one end wide open like it is at the moment...

[de mange]

A fully closed in stadium would have meant that the atmosphere would have been multiplied for big games, something is lost when you have one end wide open like it is at the moment...


have you ever been in croker packed out for a big game? to claim the atmosphere is lost because of the hill is bullshit of the highest order.. the place makes the hair on the back of your neck stand when its in full voice

havent been in a better stadium myself

also, as rr said.. who gives a fuck what the english and french think of the place.. gaa peole are mighty proud and rightly so

heres hoping the leinster jocks can find the place.. they are busy up here printing leaflets with directions to croker to be handed out on grafton street on match day beleive it or not

[wayne gayle]

At the time Croker was finished it was a top-class stadium. Now it's still a very good one but better ones have been built in the meantime.
Leg room for instance has increased in the stadiums built in the last two or three years. The Emirates stadium has a smaller capacity than Croker but much more comfort for spectators because of increased leg room.

[Rebelred]

At the time Croker was finished it was a top-class stadium. Now it's still a very good one but better ones have been built in the meantime.
Leg room for instance has increased in the stadiums built in the last two or three years. The Emirates stadium has a smaller capacity than Croker but much more comfort for spectators because of increased leg room.

never found leg room a problem in croker, for that problem, try Pairc Ui Caoimh ;)

[POL]

Look, its about time this cant about French lads being amazed by it was addressed, they will not be amazed, the couldn't give a shit that the GAA built it, this was a ploy used by the pro jock/soccer media to force/Shame the GAA into letting them using it, as if some Hooray Henry watching the game in England will say to himself, "aren't the GAA great"

[RonnyB]

have you ever been in croker packed out for a big game? to claim the atmosphere is lost because of the hill is bullshit of the highest order.. the place makes the hair on the back of your neck stand when its in full voice


Well said. Its unbelieveable the first time you walk up from under the stands out the steps. I remember the 1st time I was in the modern version with the new Hogan looking across at it from the Cusack stand it was unreal. For me seeing the place on TV does'nt even come close to giving you the impression of what its like.

God I cant wait for the summer months again.

[toffeebhoy]

have you ever been in croker packed out for a big game? to claim the atmosphere is lost because of the hill is bullshit of the highest order.. the place makes the hair on the back of your neck stand when its in full voice

havent been in a better stadium myself

also, as rr said.. who gives a fuck what the english and french think of the place.. gaa peole are mighty proud and rightly so



Couldn't agree more. ANd while it would look better fully closed off, keeping the hill was the right thing to do.

[RonnyB]

Couldn't agree more. ANd while it would look better fully closed off, keeping the hill was the right thing to do.

Well you still could have a terrace on one tier & seating above it then but whatever about the way it looks, its modern & the atmosphere is unreal.

[Rebelred]

Well you still could have a terrace on one tier & seating above it then but whatever about the way it looks, its modern & the atmosphere is unreal.

Allianz Arena in Munich allows them to do that, terrace the bottom tier and seating on the upper levels, or put seating in place on the bottom tier if needed.

[Proinsias]

It is an excellent stadium without doubt, however it isn't *that* much better than the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, if at all. With the roof closed, it's a brilliant venue and there's very few bad seats there, you're very close to the action.

[POL]

anyone who says the atmosphere is lost over Hill16 is a shit talking pseudo jock nerd who never set foot in the place.

[Actin The Sham]

Have they decided to fit bucket seats in Hill 16 yet? Apparently it could hold 6,000 temporary bucket seats giving a theoretical all seater capacity of approximately 74,000 as far as I know.

[Langer Dan]

The millenium stadium is a fart better stadium. No matter where you're sat youve a great view of the action.

If you're up on the thiRd tier in Croker, you can forget about it.

[POL]

sure everything is better in ENGLAND

[Actin The Sham]

sure everything is better in ENGLAND


The millenium stadium is in Wales.


Typical Dub parochialism coming out again.

[Langer Dan]

sure everything is better in ENGLAND

Cork is shite ,parochial and backward

save it for pints with the goys in Kielys, You've shown your true colours.

A disgrace.

[Rebelred]

the biggest problem fans will have at croker is being so far away from the pitch! The rugby and soccer pitches will look lost in the middle of it

[homer jay]

the biggest problem fans will have at croker is being so far away from the pitch! The rugby and soccer pitches will look lost in the middle of it

a gaa pitch is 146m x 69m wide. a soccer pitch is 110m x 73m wide. a rugby union pitch is around 140m x 65m wide. i don't know exactly the dimensions of the pitch at croke park, but there shouldn't be that much for the rugger. and the soccer can't be any worse than italian football. i'm sure they have it well planned out.

[west cork rebel]

The first time i went to Croke Park, i was gobsmacked, it is a great stadium, but of course there have been better stadiums built since, no one has mentioned the new Arsenal stadium, I've never been there, but boy on TV it does look good.

I am proud of Croke Park, and I do hope that the English and French do enjoy their time there, no too much of course I still want us to win.

[POL]

save it for pints with the goys in Kielys, You've shown your true colours.

A disgrace.

nice editing Fitzy

[Rebelred]

a gaa pitch is 146m x 69m wide. a soccer pitch is 110m x 73m wide. a rugby union pitch is around 140m x 65m wide. i don't know exactly the dimensions of the pitch at croke park, but there shouldn't be that much for the rugger. and the soccer can't be any worse than italian football. i'm sure they have it well planned out.

correct me if I'm wrong, But I was sure a rugby pitch was 100 metres, try line to try line, with the area behind the goal being whatever is available. Also its about 65 - 70m in width

http://www.richmondrugby.ne t/pitch.goal_size.html

Croker is a maximum dimension GAA pitch (144.5 m long and 88m wide)

http://gamesdevelopment.gaa .ie/page/information__specifi cations.html

there's going to be oceans of room between crowd and sideline

[ho chi feen]

I was in the Camp Nou last year.

Croker kicks the shite out of it.

Disagree, and I've been to both many a time.

[west cork rebel]

http://www.richmondrugby.ne t/pitch_size.JPG

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39420000/gif/_39420559_gaa_pitch_ dimensions2_298.gif

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Football_pitch_metri c.svg/450px-Football_pitch_metri c.svg.png

you can see for yourself there.

[ho chi feen]

The millenium stadium is in Wales.


Typical Dub parochialism coming out again.

WhhooooOOOOOOOOOSHHH H!

[homer jay]

correct me if I'm wrong, But I was sure a rugby pitch was 100 metres, try line to try line, with the area behind the goal being whatever is available. Also its about 65 - 70m in width

http://www.richmondrugby.ne t/pitch.goal_size.html

Croker is a maximum dimension GAA pitch (144.5 m long and 88m wide)

http://gamesdevelopment.gaa .ie/page/information__specifi cations.html

there's going to be oceans of room between crowd and sideline

yeah, its around 100m try line to try line. i actually don't know where i got the 69m wide for the gaa pitch, was reading the wrong pitch dimension or something. sorry bout that fadder. the open areas will probably be filled with advertising anyway. it'll be interesting alright with the subs bench being that bit further away from the sideline.

there were some big distances from the stands to the sidelines & goal lines at usa '94.

[Actin The Sham]

a gaa pitch is 146m x 69m wide. a soccer pitch is 110m x 73m wide. a rugby union pitch is around 140m x 65m wide. i don't know exactly the dimensions of the pitch at croke park, but there shouldn't be that much for the rugger. and the soccer can't be any worse than italian football. i'm sure they have it well planned out.


The maximum size for a soccer pitch for an international game is 110m x 75m. But the minimum is 90m by 64m.

I heard a story where somebody lined the pitch for the visiting team at 90 x 64 for their practice sessions and their ground familiarisation training, and then come the match night the dimensions were the full 110 x 75. This may be an urban myth, but I think it happened to a club side in European football, but obviously to the maximum limits for club matches which are different to international matches.

[megatron]

im tellin ye now lads the atmosphere from the sideline of an all ireland final was one the best moments of my sporting life, it was simply jaw dropping experience, ye can have ye're nou camps and ur wembleys but nothing will beat a full house croke park on all ireland day and here the reason why, u go any soccer match and the crowd will provoke the other crowd, u go to croke park for an all ireland semi final or final and the crowd will shout and roar till every bit of air in ur lungs are gone and there shouting for their team not provoking fans why, because gaa fans respect the other fans, ie cork gaa fans respect kilkenny fans, kerry fans respect cork fans etc etc, i have never seen a fight between cork fans and kilkenny fans there is a bit of banter and thats about it gaa fans are the best supporters u will never see gaa hooligans on the news

[Sharkey]

The millenium stadium is a fart better stadium. No matter where you're sat youve a great view of the action.

If you're up on the thiRd tier in Croker, you can forget about it.

i've been up there on four occassions for games and while they wouldn't be the best seats in the house i had no problem tracking the sliotar so surely they'd be able to follow the rugby/soccer ball.