@beave - did you get a chance to wander the stadium and find the really good but also any silly things?
The stadium is really cool, usually I like just the standard rectangle box like Suncorp, Bankwest and Robina. They’ve done well.
yeah I had a wander, it’s light years ahead of the old one. The toilets are under the stadium and are absolutely massive, I can’t see there ever needing to be a wait to take a leak.
You can see the field from the concourse when you’re getting a drink or a feed due to the elevated 2nd tier. The northern open end is really good. Big areas at the top of that end to stand and watch the game and a huge bar behind the scoreboard.
There was a massive line up for beers on the eastern side all night and will be the focus of the whinges on social media, they’ll tweak their processes and get better at it.
There’s a few permanent merch buildings tucked away here and there around the joint which is nice as feels a lot more professional than having a tent or caravan selling shirts like at the old joint.
All in all it’s a fantastic stadium. I don’t live in Tvl anymore so i’m
not used to the humidity but I was drenched in sweat last night. The open end, if they’d fully enclosed the northern end, it would be unbearable imo for everyone in the crowd and on the field. I’m like you, i really like symmetry and ‘clean’ stadium designs but that northern open end gives the roof a chance to have some deviation in design, when you are walking towards it from a distance, the downward sweep of the roof on the eastern side looks cool and the fact you can also get a good view into it from the external is really nice.
It’s next level to Robina, you can see where the extra money was spent on this one, Robina is good but has that Ikea ‘flat pack’ feel about it, whereas this one you can tell there’s been a generational improvement in design.
The area around the stadium was a hive of activity before and after the game. Palmer st was a pretty popular dining area a few years ago and has suffered the same fate recently like a lot of Tvl where it’s pretty dead and a few places have closed down. xxxx opened a brewery on that street late last year ‘Tiny Mountain’ (taking the piss out of Castle Hill in the middle of the CBD) and my mates said the beer was pretty good. All the pubs and eatery’s looked busy as we were walking to and from the game so the stadium is already having its effect. The old one was way out in the suburbs and only had Brothers Leagues club next door so dining options before and after the game were very limited. The whole reason the site was picked was to try and revitalise the CBD and fingers crossed it does this but the signs were pretty positive last night already.
Once the current state of the world calms its tits, I highly recommend people come up to visit when their team is playing the Cowbs. There is a plethora of hotels within walking distance of the stadium, the weather is superb from mid april til September so it’s a good escape from the cold in the south.