Rugby stadiums: top trumps

[Yeeb]

Just wondered how others view rugby stadiums around the world , ratings out of ten are:
Capacity
View
Concessions & toilets
Stuff to do around the stadium
Stuff to do in the area
Ease of getting to venue
Overall

Purely subjective ratings of course ;)

Twickenham
Capacity 9
View 10
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 1
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 5
Overall 8

Millennium stadium
Capacity 8
View 6
Concessions & toilets 7
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 10
Stuff to do in the area 9
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 8

Aviva
Capacity 4
View 7
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 4
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 6


Murrayfield
Capacity 8
View 9
Concessions & toilets 7
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 1
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 6
Overall 7

Stade de france
Capacity 10
View 10
Concessions & toilets 7
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium -3
Stuff to do in the area 9
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 8

Kings park Durban
Capacity 7
View 9
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 9
Stuff to do in the area 6
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 9


Suncorp Brisbane
Capacity 5
View 10
Concessions & toilets 10
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 7
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 8

Newlands
Capacity 6
View 3
Concessions & toilets -1
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 0
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 3

Stadium Australia homebush
Capacity 10
View 7
Concessions & toilets 8
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium -1
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 5
Overall 6

Subiaco oval Perth
Capacity 6
View 2
Concessions & toilets 7
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 6
Stuff to do in the area 6
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 5


Telstra Melbourne
Capacity 6
View 9
Concessions & toilets 8
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 7
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 8


Ellis park & loftus (identical match day experience to me)
Capacity 7
View 8
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 1
Stuff to do in the area 6
Ease of getting to venue 5
Overall 5

[assfly]

RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi

Capacity - 2
View - 2
Concessions & toilets - 1
Stuff to do around the stadium - 5
Stuff to do in the area - 6
Ease of getting to venue - 9
Overall 25

Sounds awful, but the crowd and vibe during the matches is probably the most fun I've ever experienced. Kenyan fans are fantastic.

[Yeeb]

RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi

Capacity - 2
View - 2
Concessions & toilets - 1
Stuff to do around the stadium - 5
Stuff to do in the area - 6
Ease of getting to venue - 9
Overall 25

Sounds awful, but the crowd and vibe during the matches is probably the most fun I've ever experienced. Kenyan fans are fantastic.

Perfect addition to the thread, nobody else has heard of it let alone been there, it’s an utter shithole but you had a fab time - if that doesn’t encapsulate Rugby then nothing will !

[Yeeb]

I think if you could get twickenham stadium, in Kings park fields next to a beach, and plonk that into the centre of Cardiff, you’d have my perfect stadium. Perhaps add french cops and traffic management around it, and some Aussie strip clubs too.

The worst would be Newlands stadium, with Subiaco view (or homebush if you are sat up in the gods), with twickenham station, in St Dennis , with (I presume ) kiwi strip clubs around it, located in relatively dreary Dublin.

[Slick]

Needs a braying category

Also, Murrayfield must be one of the easiest stadiums in the world to get to.

[Biffer]

Needs a braying category

Also, Murrayfield must be one of the easiest stadiums in the world to get to.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. To have Murrayfield as 6 and Twickenham at 5 in that category is pretty ridiculous. Also, Twickenham is, in the words of an elderly London Scottish member I met once, 'full of arseholes'.

Also, wouldn't give the Stade de France 10 for the view, you can be a hell of a long way away in some seats.

[Kawazaki]

Eden Park
Capacity 7
View 2
Concessions & toilets 0
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium -10
Stuff to do in the area -20
Ease of getting to venue -30
Overall -51

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

AAMI Park, Melbourne.

Capacity 5
View 8
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 7
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 9
Overall 8

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Ashburton Showgrounds

Capacity 2
View 6
Concessions & toilets 4
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 2
Stuff to do in the area 5
Ease of getting to venue 10
Overall 4

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Sky Stadium, Wellington

Capacity 7
View 6
Concessions & toilets 7
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 7
Stuff to do in the area 9
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 7

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Capacity 7
View 9
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 9
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 8.5

[PornDog]

AAMI Park, Melbourne.

Capacity 5
View 8
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 7
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 9
Overall 8

If Landsdowne Road is getting a capacity rank of 4 from Yeeb, with a 55k capacity, then AAMi park is getting a 2 at best. Or, you know, Yeeb is not a reliable judge - one or the other. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is more likely.

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Capacity 10
View 4
Concessions & toilets 8
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 9
Overall 8

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Marvel Stadium

Capacity 8
View 6
Concessions & toilets 8
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 9
Ease of getting to venue 8
Overall 8

[Slick]

Stadio Olympico
Capacity 6
View 6
Concessions & toilets 8
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 2
Stuff to do in the area 1,000,000
Ease of getting to venue 3
Overall 1,000,025

[Big Nipper]

Eden Park
Capacity 7
View 2
Concessions & toilets 0
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium -10
Stuff to do in the area -20
Ease of getting to venue -30
Overall -51

Yes, it was the worst stadium I have ever watched a test at. Terrible all round

[Yeeb]

AAMI Park, Melbourne.

Capacity 5
View 8
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 7
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 9
Overall 8

If Landsdowne Road is getting a capacity rank of 4 from Yeeb, with a 55k capacity, then AAMi park is getting a 2 at best. Or, you know, Yeeb is not a reliable judge - one or the other. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is more likely.

Except I didn’t write AAMI park you nob, I wrote Telstra as that’s what I visited, had a 56k capacity so pretty close to Aviva new Lansdowne

[Yeeb]

Needs a braying category

Also, Murrayfield must be one of the easiest stadiums in the world to get to.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. To have Murrayfield as 6 and Twickenham at 5 in that category is pretty ridiculous. Also, Twickenham is, in the words of an elderly London Scottish member I met once, 'full of arseholes'.

Also, wouldn't give the Stade de France 10 for the view, you can be a hell of a long way away in some seats.

Been to murrayfield several times , the queues crowds etc are pretty bad and similar enough to twickenham, which at least has a Lexus garage you can take a piss on on the way back

[Chrysoprase]

Spoiler

Show

Needs a braying category

Also, Murrayfield must be one of the easiest stadiums in the world to get to.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. To have Murrayfield as 6 and Twickenham at 5 in that category is pretty ridiculous. Also, Twickenham is, in the words of an elderly London Scottish member I met once, 'full of arseholes'.

Also, wouldn't give the Stade de France 10 for the view, you can be a hell of a long way away in some seats.

Been to murrayfield several times , the queues crowds etc are pretty bad and similar enough to twickenham, which at least has a Lexus garage you can take a piss on on the way back

When were you last there though? There's a tram stop right outside the stadium now which makes getting to it from the town centre way easier.

[Biffer]

Needs a braying category

Also, Murrayfield must be one of the easiest stadiums in the world to get to.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. To have Murrayfield as 6 and Twickenham at 5 in that category is pretty ridiculous. Also, Twickenham is, in the words of an elderly London Scottish member I met once, 'full of arseholes'.

Also, wouldn't give the Stade de France 10 for the view, you can be a hell of a long way away in some seats.

Been to murrayfield several times , the queues crowds etc are pretty bad and similar enough to twickenham, which at least has a Lexus garage you can take a piss on on the way back

Nah. Queue for the tram can be bad immediately after the game (although it goes down very quickly) but there's something like 40 buses an hour from Murrayfield into the city centre, and they're queued up at both ends of the stadium. And there's a dozen pubs less than 10 minutes walk away, plus the whole Haymarket area 20 minutes walk away, and the city centre is ten minutes further on. to say it's comparable to Twickenham is bull.

[PornDog]

AAMI Park, Melbourne.

Capacity 5
View 8
Concessions & toilets 9
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 7
Stuff to do in the area 10
Ease of getting to venue 9
Overall 8

If Landsdowne Road is getting a capacity rank of 4 from Yeeb, with a 55k capacity, then AAMi park is getting a 2 at best. Or, you know, Yeeb is not a reliable judge - one or the other. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is more likely.

Except I didn’t write AAMI park you nob, I wrote Telstra as that’s what I visited, had a 56k capacity so pretty close to Aviva new Lansdowne

I didn't say you did you nob! (very touchy today aren't we?). I was just saying that according to the scale you introduced, that Jimmy's rating of 5 for AAMI park was inaccurate.

For what its worth, I don't see how you can give Twickenham a 9 but SdF a 10 either.

[Yeeb]

Spoiler

Show

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. To have Murrayfield as 6 and Twickenham at 5 in that category is pretty ridiculous. Also, Twickenham is, in the words of an elderly London Scottish member I met once, 'full of arseholes'.

Also, wouldn't give the Stade de France 10 for the view, you can be a hell of a long way away in some seats.

Been to murrayfield several times , the queues crowds etc are pretty bad and similar enough to twickenham, which at least has a Lexus garage you can take a piss on on the way back

When were you last there though? There's a tram stop right outside the stadium now which makes getting to it from the town centre way easier.

Pre kids so over a decade
Was also pretty fucked, don’t recall any trams, just tramps

Weirdly recall meeting some fan there who knew DAC, phoned him up an called him a cunt, and then had a row with the wife in Pizza Hut. Was utterly steaming !

[Yeeb]

If Landsdowne Road is getting a capacity rank of 4 from Yeeb, with a 55k capacity, then AAMi park is getting a 2 at best. Or, you know, Yeeb is not a reliable judge - one or the other. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is more likely.

Except I didn’t write AAMI park you nob, I wrote Telstra as that’s what I visited, had a 56k capacity so pretty close to Aviva new Lansdowne

I didn't say you did you nob! (very touchy today aren't we?). I was just saying that according to the scale you introduced, that Jimmy's rating of 5 for AAMI park was inaccurate.

For what its worth, I don't see how you can give Twickenham a 9 but SdF a 10 either.

Soz
You nob


Sdf somehow feels bigger , not sure quibbling over a point or two was worth mentioning though. Strictly speaking it should be the actual seating capacity off wiki or something but I couldn’t be arsed looking it up. Still pretty big !

Farthest away from a game I ever sat was homebush Olympic stadium, cheap seats, when Aus beat NZ in rwc03 - was blimming miles from the pitch and they looked like ants, wasn’t worth going tbf only I wanted to check out the opposition for the final.

[Chrysoprase]

Was also pretty fucked, don’t recall any trams, just tramps

Yeah, that's Embra for you

[Biffer]

Was also pretty fucked, don’t recall any trams, just tramps

Yeah, that's Embra for you

They're referred to as hipsters nowadays.

[Slick]

Was also pretty fucked, don’t recall any trams, just tramps

Yeah, that's Embra for you

I miss Monkey Magic from the Grassmarket

[Insane_Homer]

Kings Park Durban
Capacity 8
View 8
Concessions & toilets 3
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 3
Ease of getting to venue 8
Atmosphere 6
Overall 7

[Kiap]

For what its worth, I don't see how you can give Twickenham a 9 but SdF a 10 either.

Size is overrated <ahem> ... it's what you do with it.

In fairness, SdF is big and yet a 'but shut'. Twickenham? Dunno, might be better (been there, but too long ago to really comment) ...

In fairness, a bit like some of Yeeb's "on the pulse" ratings from the days of Sputnik. ;)

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Except I didn’t write AAMI park you nob, I wrote Telstra as that’s what I visited, had a 56k capacity so pretty close to Aviva new Lansdowne

I didn't say you did you nob! (very touchy today aren't we?). I was just saying that according to the scale you introduced, that Jimmy's rating of 5 for AAMI park was inaccurate.

For what its worth, I don't see how you can give Twickenham a 9 but SdF a 10 either.

Soz
You nob


Sdf somehow feels bigger , not sure quibbling over a point or two was worth mentioning though. Strictly speaking it should be the actual seating capacity off wiki or something but I couldn’t be arsed looking it up. Still pretty big !

Farthest away from a game I ever sat was homebush Olympic stadium, cheap seats, when Aus beat NZ in rwc03 - was blimming miles from the pitch and they looked like ants, wasn’t worth going tbf only I wanted to check out the opposition for the final.

Homebush isn't a great stadium for rugby. I knew many of the seats would be miles away when heading there for a Bledisloe Cup game so went for a value seat behind the sticks, about 15 rows back. I was very happy with that choice, and would recommend it.

[Kiap]

Farthest away from a game I ever sat was homebush Olympic stadium, cheap seats, when Aus beat NZ in rwc03

Yep, not rugby friendly as a venue from the cheap seats. Still isn't, despite some minor reconfig work in the past.

Better value elsewhere...

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

If Landsdowne Road is getting a capacity rank of 4 from Yeeb, with a 55k capacity, then AAMi park is getting a 2 at best. Or, you know, Yeeb is not a reliable judge - one or the other. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is more likely.

Except I didn’t write AAMI park you nob, I wrote Telstra as that’s what I visited, had a 56k capacity so pretty close to Aviva new Lansdowne

I didn't say you did you nob! (very touchy today aren't we?). I was just saying that according to the scale you introduced, that Jimmy's rating of 5 for AAMI park was inaccurate.

For what its worth, I don't see how you can give Twickenham a 9 but SdF a 10 either.

Giving a rugby stadium a 4 for a seating capacity of 55k is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Looking at the capacity of rugby stadia overall, 55k should be in the vicinity of 7 - 8.

[assfly]

Kings Park Durban
Capacity 8
View 8
Concessions & toilets 3
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 8
Stuff to do in the area 3
Ease of getting to venue 8
Atmosphere 6
Overall 7

Is Joe Cools still open? That place used to be good for a party after the match.

[average joe]

So is the parking lot, just watch out that you don't get kicked to death by some roided up surfer dudes.

[assfly]

So is the parking lot, just watch out that you don't get kicked to death by some roided up surfer dudes.

Classy.

[Hugo]

Aviva
Capacity 4
View 7
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 4
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 6

Of test match venues I've only set foot inside Twickers & the Millenium but its a shame how Aviva has none of the charm of old Landsdowne Rd.

I'd say its analogous to Arsenal's move from Highbury to Emirates, from a flawed ground with real character to a more modern but sterile new ground.

[Big Nipper]

So is the parking lot, just watch out that you don't get kicked to death by some roided up surfer dudes.

Classy.

Especially when you look at the scumbags who frequent Free state Stadium on a Saturday. Okes absolutely hammered on brandy and if you have a lady with you, be prepared for her to be ceaselessly harassed. Should you choose to stand up to these okes you better be prepared to have a drink poured out on you and your lady and to be threatened with violence.

lovely people in Bloem

[average joe]

So is the parking lot, just watch out that you don't get kicked to death by some roided up surfer dudes.

Classy.

That depends if the surfer dude has flipfops on or puma sneakers.

[Kawazaki]

Aviva
Capacity 4
View 7
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 4
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 6

Of test match venues I've only set foot inside Twickers & the Millenium but its a shame how Aviva has none of the charm of old Landsdowne Rd.

I'd say its analogous to Arsenal's move from Highbury to Emirates, from a flawed ground with real character to a more modern but sterile new ground.

People can confuse nostalgia for charm! I watched Ireland play Argentina in the old stadium 20 years ago. I was stood on the terrace area behind the posts on broken concrete with weeds poking through and the occasional flash of rusty rebar showing. It felt a Hillsborough disaster just waiting to happen. In short, it was a dump.

[Biffer]

Aviva
Capacity 4
View 7
Concessions & toilets 6
Stuff to do immediately around the stadium 4
Stuff to do in the area 8
Ease of getting to venue 7
Overall 6

Of test match venues I've only set foot inside Twickers & the Millenium but its a shame how Aviva has none of the charm of old Landsdowne Rd.

I'd say its analogous to Arsenal's move from Highbury to Emirates, from a flawed ground with real character to a more modern but sterile new ground.

People can confuse nostalgia for charm! I watched Ireland play Argentina in the old stadium 20 years ago. I was stood on the terrace area behind the posts on broken concrete with weeds poking through and the occasional flash of rusty rebar showing. It felt a Hillsborough disaster just waiting to happen. In short, it was a dump.

I was there in 1999, the stand looked like it was just waiting for a discarded fag end for it to go up like a firework.

[average joe]

So is the parking lot, just watch out that you don't get kicked to death by some roided up surfer dudes.

Classy.

Especially when you look at the scumbags who frequent Free state Stadium on a Saturday. Okes absolutely hammered on brandy and if you have a lady with you, be prepared for her to be ceaselessly harassed. Should you choose to stand up to these okes you better be prepared to have a drink poured out on you and your lady and to be threatened with violence.

lovely people in Bloem

Last time I went to Bloem stadium I was a kid. It was for a cricket game and the students made a fire with mielie stronke. They smoked up the place so bad the game was postponed for over an hour