Category — Soccer Stadia

Every now and then, as I search for Foto Friday candidates, I get a rare treat. This is one of those. Make sure to read the excerpt of the photographers description, then click the picture for the rest.

Photographer: Floyd Nello

Excerpt of photographer’s description:

I was a kid living on nearby Fishponds Road at the time, and on the following Sunday morning (August 17th) was outside playing with some friends when I could smell burning and can remember thinking that it was odd for someone to be having a bonfire on a Sunday morning. Shortly afterwards, news broke of a fire at Eastville Stadium. My Father and I went straight down there to find the South Stand had been gutted by fire and he took a few photos, including this one taken from the Tote End…

The fire was the beginning of the end for Rovers at Eastville, and although they signed a new five year lease with Bristol Stadium Company in 1982, they left the ground in June 1986 to ground-share with non-league Bath City. Rovers could no longer afford the spiralling rent at Eastville and the move to Bath basically saved the club.

There’s something so romantic about Craven Cottage. It’s no wonder so many Americans are drawn to Fulham F.C.

This picture says it all:

Photographer: imagesofgb4u

Photographer’s description: “Craven Cottage visible behind the line of entrances.”

I spent an hour last Friday watching and snapping pictures of the Field Turf installation at McMurray Field in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul. These fields were in desperate need of an overhaul; I have suffered a few scuffed knees and twisted ankles from tripping over pieces of concrete and rocks while playing on the old surfaces. The area is still littered with broken glass and sundry pieces of trash but I’m (stupidly) hoping that the new construction leads to a greater sense of civic responsibility.

Kudos to Mayor Chris Coleman and his staff. Whether or not the Minnesota Thunder build a new stadium in St. Paul, this is a huge step forward in terms of the city’s commitment to soccer. Here is a description of the project from the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department:

In mid October 2006 work began to transform two existing grass soccer fields and one softball field into three ultra modern synthetic turf soccer fields. The synthetic turf chosen is from Field Turf of Montreal, Canada and is the same type of turf you will see at some large facilties around the area such as Macalester College and the University of St. Thomas. Field Turf has designed the new soccer fields so they will drain quickly after major rainfalls.

The soccer fields will be as big as the existing space allows and have permanent soccer markings. New soccer goals and player benches are also planned. If funding allows, the existing baseball field adjacent to the new soccer fields with be fenced to provide some separation of the activities. It is anticipated that new turf fields will be ready for play early summer 2007.

The installation is being completed by TTI Sports, a St. Louis, MO company that specializes in artificial turf projects. The day I was there, they were putting the finishing touches on one of the fields by scattering the little rubber pieces that make the field softer. They were also laying down the turf for a second field. It was really quite a process to witness.

Below you’ll see a slideshow of the pictures I took.

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Photographer: NWT 2005

Photgrapher’s description: FAW Cup Quarter Final between Port Talbot and Swansea City. Port Talbot won 2-1 after extra time.

Photographer: John Wardell (Netinho)

I love the attention to detail in this model.

Last week, the U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Mexico 2-0 at University of Phoenix Stadium. Despite its name, University of Phoenix Stadium is not a stadium for a university. Instead, the naming rights to the home of the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals were purchased by the pretend online college, University of Phoenix.

The stadium is a state-of-the-art facility and is the only one in the world that has both a retractable roof and a retractable field. I just ran into a neat video overview of the stadium at ussoccer.com. The first part of the video is filled with a lot of boring technical stuff but if you fast forward to the end, you’ll get to see the field roll in.