Commiserations on an athletics stadium, from a Rotherham fan

[ottsands]

I am not a sensitive man . . .

Yes you are, you go to ballet

[ShanghaiHammer]

There won't be a running track there.

Why would there be? Because there have been murmured 'promises'?

Business people never break those, do they.

[davids cross]

Welcome to the original poster by the way.

Comparing The Don Valley (which I have been to on several occasions) to the Olympic Stadium is stretching the point beyond reasonable debate and enters the world of plain scaremongering. Even the diference between Crystal Palace Athletics stadium and The Don Valley is huge. And if you have a small crowd inside the Don Valley I can quite imagine there is no atmosphere, there is bearly a roof for starters. Get 15,000 inside Crystal Palace and the atmosphere is very good, get it up to 20,000 and it is excellent. It's all about design, the Don Valley is just a big open place. Wimbledon tennis lost the atmosphere when the roof was removed for the retractable work, despite the seats being in the same place. Put 45-60,000 people in an Olympic Stadium and to compare it to the Don Valley with 5 or 6,000 is a pretty unconvincing argument.....with respect.

[Yorkshire 'ammer]

I've been to the Don Valley to see Rotherham several times and I've never had a bad view of the action. The problem with the stadium and Rotherham United is that 75% of the seats are without cover and the ground is ridiculously oversized for Rotherham's needs. Any stadium that is over 80% empty for most games will feel cold and sterile. It would be a bit like us moving to a 150,000+ capacity stadium and only ever getting 30,000 through the door.

[davids cross]

Exactly Yorkshire. Any comparison is spurious. It's like a having a party in a huge mansion, taking the roof off and inviting your next door neighbour round as the only guest............ whilst it's pissing down with rain and wondering why there is no atmosphere on the dance floor..........

[carnage]

So to get this right, the pro people are using the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, and other such Olympic stadiums they have been to, and the anti people are using the Withdean and most probably now the Don Valley as well?

[Arch Dandy]

So to get this right, the pro people are using the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, and other such Olympic stadiums they have been to, and the anti people are using the Withdean and most probably now the Don Valley as well?

and still no one knows what the view will be like for football in the OS in 2013...

[Maroonmachine]

Shirley the crux of the matter here, is that it doesn't matter a jot what the Stadium itself is like, if you've not got at least 40-50,000 fans in it, and their not all making a right bloody noise!

The point is that our home support needs to be more passionate, not neccessarily in an 'Ultras' fashion, (although full marks for wanting to actually do something about it). To a large extent though, the noise the crowd makes, reflects the passion on the pitch too, and as we all know, there's been precious little of that recently!

All we can ask of the Davids is that they give us the retractable seating, which they do seem to be actively pursuing. If they do that, then the rest is up to us, the fans, to make it our new fortress. I for one can't wait!

[UpTheMillers]

It's like travelling back in time and looking on the Rotherham forum with everyone saying Don Valley wouldn't be that bad.

Certainly the emptiness a DV doesn't help atmosphere, and also while 75% has no roof, all the supporters do have a roof, it just isn't a good one, its a weird one, bit like the o2 arena roof material, not designed for acustics.

The worst part is the distance from the pitch. It's so much worse than just affection atmosphere, there's a disconnect with the action on it, you don't feel involved, it feels distant.

Looking at the OS site photo [above], it's miles further from the pitch than I realised! Those curved stands are a disaster for football, it certainly was not designed with football in mind at all.

[Maroonmachine]

Anybody here go to the Germany 1 - 5 England game in Berlin. They've got a running track, what was the atmosphere like there?

I know the fact that we beat them 5-1 probably helped a touch, but the point is it shows it can be done.

My only worry is yes we have the fan base, but does that fanbase have the commitment to turn out regularly and make the stadium look busy. The club will have to come up with some inventive ticket schemes to make this viable I reckon.

Appreciate your concern UTM, but at the end of the day the deal is done. There will be a day when we the fans, are sitting in those stands for the first time, and we've got to get on with it.

[GideaParkHammer]

Anybody here go to the Germany 1 - 5 England game in Berlin. They've got a running track, what was the atmosphere like there?

The atmosphere was pretty dead in Berlin.....as the game was played in Munich

[Maroonmachine]

Oops, so it was. That's got a track too though

I guess however you design a stadium though, with a stadium that big, someone's going to be a long way from the pitch.

[Pop Robson]

Our 6 pointer v Birmingham who had just beat us and costs us a Cup Final trip to Wembley with the possibility of European football next season, was a dead as a dodo.

There is no way the atmosphere will be better in the OS than it is at present.

[davids cross]

So to get this right, the pro people are using the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, and other such Olympic stadiums they have been to, and the anti people are using the Withdean and most probably now the Don Valley as well?

Hey, don't diss The Withdean, it's quite capable of hosting an Olympic Games........

[Side of Ham]

No need to commiserate us, it's made what was once a sh*thole of an area into something to be proud of, with us moving in that will more than likely continue along with the fact there will be a big f*ck off shopping centre with top end stores on the way to it, so it keeps it buzzing round there at all times of the year.I'm living 15mins on the tube away from it and the seats will be cheaper, and may now get to go with people who i'm close to and normally can't afford it, this is a big plus for me as for me i'd like to share those few great moments we do get with these people as that is what it's all about for me.What i've generally found even when out socializing is that it's the company you keep and surround yourself with not the place you decide to go to.

A question for you though has it had an effect on your following, as in has it lowered your hardcore following?

[Up the Junction]

Another image:



You can see why there's no atmosphere, the roof barely covers anything...

[Side of Ham]

You can see why there's no atmosphere, the roof barely covers anything...

Also where are the goals, that won't help the atmosphere 0-0 every game

[davids cross]

And further to guvs photo, this stadium at 20% full is never going to have atmosphere even if everyone is gathered in the main stand. ... And well done on the Olympic Stadium forum UTJ, it's keeps the eggheads off GD......

[poplargeezer]

I've been to Don Valley - and the guy is right - it is impossible to create any atmosphere there.

In spite of the differences between the 2 stadia - We have been warned!

[Side of Ham]

In spite of the differences????

It's like comparing Londis to Tescos

Get a grip man