THOMOND PARK BEAUTIFUL OR UGLY???

guns4fun

J ust wondering what your thoughts are on the new Thomond park stadium,do you think it's an eyesore or eye candy.
The rugby fans will look at this as their Mecca and probably have a bias opinion.
I am a rugby fan and think it's blot on the landscape.
what do you think...
Alan

Raiser

I like it - Its visible from a lot of vantage points and I like the way it looks from just about anywhere.

- How do ye think it compares with Cardiff Arms Park, located pretty much in the very Centre of Cardiff?

padma

As I live beside it, and although I watch the odd rugby match but am not a great fan I'd have to say I like it, though a part of me thinks they should have made it larger. I love the way when you approach Limerick it stands out. The way it should.

pollypocket10

I think it is a very nice stadium. Sometimes when I'm driving past in the morning the sun catches it just right & it glistens beautifully. Gives me an overwhelming sense of awe to see that and as a soda cake and rugby fan it makes me really proud.

Kess73

I like it, but never can understand how some make it out to be a big deal to have a stadium in a town, as in trying to make out that it is a tourist attraction for non rugby fans.

Captain Average

I'm utterly biased, but I love the stadium. Love walking up towards it on a match day, it looks great.

daveob007

while I do agree that it is ugly it's hard to see how they can build any stadium that looks nice.
It is a very imposing sight and can be seen from all over but I do think it's like a wart on the Limerick skyline,just pity the people who live close to it regarding traffic crowds etc.
Aviva is not much better,Thomond park is probably a great work of engineering and serves its purpose well but from a visual point of view it's just a big ugly lump of steel and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Kess73

Captain Average wrote: »

I'm utterly biased, but I love the stadium. Love walking up towards it on a match day, it looks great.

See this I can totally understand. The buzz that a home fan gets when walking towards "their" stadium on matchday is a great feeling.

Will have the same feeling myself this weekend when I get home to see my team in red lining out against the greatest evil known to man.:)

padma

The traffic doesn't really disrupt things too much, as a local we get a stamp from the Guards.

Kess73

daveob007 wrote: »

while I do agree that it is ugly it's hard to see how they can build any stadium that looks nice.
It is a very imposing sight and can be seen from all over but I do think it's like a wart on the Limerick skyline,just pity the people who live close to it regarding traffic crowds etc.Aviva is not much better,Thomond park is probably a great work of engineering and serves its purpose well but from a visual point of view it's just a big ugly lump of steel and sticks out like a sore thumb.

I could be wrong but I always thought that parking and traffic seems far more chaotic when the Gaelic grounds is hosting a big game than when Thomond Park is doing so.

daveob007

padma wrote: »

The traffic doesn't really disrupt things too much, as a local we get a stamp from the Guards.

the new tunnel has sorted out a lot of the traffic for the rest of the city,it used to be a nightmare trying to get near the area and the rest of limerick was always backed up also.

daveob007

Kess73 wrote: »

I could be wrong but I always thought that parking and traffic seems far more chaotic when the Gaelic grounds is hosting a big game than when Thomond Park is doing so.

true but thomond is situated in a bottleneck area,close to lit and gaelic grounds is on the main road with more escape options.

guns4fun

It seems taht Limerick city council and the planners don't have a clue anyway,just look at the town hall,,big ugly steel and glass built beside king Johns castle which is a lovely sight,traffic and road planning is a joke also with bus lanes where there is no bus route,,Condell rd.
The new Limerick tunnel is great for people coming from Clare trying to avoid traffic during matches and concerts,what used to take me over an hour to get to work is now a matter of 20 mins or so,,well done on that one.
slightly off thread here so getting back to the Thomond park issue.
works well for what it is buy not very nice to look at..

Jofspring

It's neither Beautiful nor Ugly, don't think those words suit it. It's a stadium not a monument. It looks excellent when coming into the city from loads of different places. Personally i like it. It certainly makes Limerick really look like a city. Without it the view of our city on a height would be pretty boring.

sleepyman

Kess73 wrote: »

I like it, but never can understand how some make it out to be a big deal to have a stadium in a town, as in trying to make out that it is a tourist attraction for non rugby fans.

Have to agree with you there.I often wonder do the likes of Hull & Wigan list their respective rugby league/football grounds as a tourist attraction?
I think the stadium itself looks well-I like the fact you can see it from so many vantage points.
I'm sure it is worth a lot to the local economy(they always seem to say a heineken cup match is worth a few million anyway)
It does look a bit like Huddersfields Towns McAlpine Stadium though.

phill106

Dont know about beautiful, but i do like it. Coming down the hill from king johns castle direction towards it, seeing it get larger and larger is pretty impressive.

Kess73

sleepyman wrote: »

Have to agree with you there.I often wonder do the likes of Hull & Wigan list their respective rugby league/football grounds as a tourist attraction?
I think the stadium itself looks well-I like the fact you can see it from so many vantage points.
I'm sure it is worth a lot to the local economy(they always seem to say a heineken cup match is worth a few million anyway)
It does look a bit like Huddersfields Towns McAlpine Stadium though.

That is pretty much my point. I grew up in the UK so stadiums are pretty much a regular thing in every city and large town, with most being far bigger than Thomond Park, yet to anyone not interested in the team or sport those stadiums are just something that is there.

Yet over here I often hear of how Thomond Park is a worldwide attraction to be seen by all tourists.

FutureGuy

I think it looks fantastic tbh. Whenever I see a glimpse of it on the skyline, it's looks great.

Haven't been in there as I'm not a big rugby fan.

Jofspring

Kess73 wrote: »

That is pretty much my point. I grew up in the UK so stadiums are pretty much a regular thing in every city and large town, with most being far bigger than Thomond Park, yet to anyone not interested in the team or sport those stadiums are just something that is there.

Yet over here I often hear of how Thomond Park is a worldwide attraction to be seen by all tourists.

I agree with you. Same goes for Croke Park and Landsdowne Road. We always here about how teams are blown away by these stadiums as are bands or artists that play in them. They are not blown away, there are hundreds of stadiums around the world as good if not better than what we have. Some countries have multiple world class stadiums. The likes of professional Rugby and Football players play in stadiums like ours regularly. As do acts like U2 etc.... I'm sure if most tourists visited Thomond Park they would be baffled as to why its a tourist attraction.

JerryHandbag

From a design pt of view its nothing special but then modern architecture doesnt really cut it for me

I think its great that Limerick now has a top class stadium that hosts soccer & rugby internationals, as well as concerts

osarusan

Whenever I'm in it (which will only be for football games) it has been great, otherwise the question never enters my head.

Actually, I've had a few foreign friends stay with me since it was rebuilt, and it's nice to be able to point it out as we drive past and give a little of Munster's history.

krudler

I like it, I've been in a few big stadiums and its one of the nicer ones.

bullets

I've never actually seen or been in the place to date.

I've zero interest in your average sports like Rugby, Football,
GAA etc and so far have had no interest in going there for Rod Stewerd or Elton John.

Other than a band playing there that I may like I cant
see a reason for me ever visiting the place.


~B

jonski

Jofspring wrote: »

It's neither Beautiful nor Ugly, don't think those words suit it. It's a stadium not a monument. It looks excellent when coming into the city from loads of different places. Personally i like it. It certainly makes Limerick really look like a city. Without it the view of our city on a height would be pretty boring.

That about sums up my thoughts on it . I would add , that although I am not a rugby fan and have never been inside the stadium , I do feel proud of it and I am not even sure why .

Story_Bud

Its a meh stadium for us irish it magnificent but cant stand the two stands at the goal posts .. i understand why its like that but hopefully in the future it be fixed ... and with lots of ???.

Mrmoe

I like it. A lot of stadiums around the world look as if they came flat packed and were assembled with an hex key. The history of the ground also has a big part to play in it.

Limerick_Lass

Ya I think its great stadium, its not too big to loose the atmosphere. Also its bringing money into Limerick people, rugby fan or not.

phog

I'm a big rugby fan anyway but I think it's great.

The fact that it can be seen on some of the approch roads makes it even better. Then the way the designers kept the terraces so that you still have that closeness to the players makes the stadium world class.

Stab*City

phog wrote: »

I'm a big rugby fan anyway but I think it's great.

The fact that it can be seen on some of the approch roads makes it even better. Then the way the designers kept the terraces so that you still have that closeness to the players makes the stadium world class.

The only world class stadium in ireland is croke park. I must say i do like thomond park though. Been in it loads and always have a good experience.. as for it being a tourist attraction:pac::pac::pac::pac: if the castles and the old part of limerick cant attract tourists these days how the hell do they expect a big hunk of metal to.. also considering every other city it the world has had a "world class" stadium since the 70's! i dont think the tourists really care.

Mr Tim Buktoo

Kess73 wrote: »

That is pretty much my point. I grew up in the UK so stadiums are pretty much a regular thing in every city and large town, with most being far bigger than Thomond Park, yet to anyone not interested in the team or sport those stadiums are just something that is there.

Yet over here I often hear of how Thomond Park is a worldwide attraction to be seen by all tourists.

its not just about the stadium, its the history that goes with it. the whole munster brand. beating the all blacks in 78 etc etc.

TestTransmission

it's far from being a world class stadium,its embarrasing people would say that,they obviously havent travelled much