Football Stadia - Past, Present & Future

[Franchise FC]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

[AthleticoSpizz]

‘Soulless fans’ in a concrete nutshell

[Dirk Gently]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

No character, no individuality, nothing that distingushes them from any other stadium built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Just something that shows a lack of thought and lack of design - The gable that was the trademark of Archibald Leitch didn't add any extra functionlaity to the stands he built (apart from maybe a place to put a clock or badge) but making the effort and the extra expense to add a feature purely because it looked good and added to the character of a ground shows what gives a place "soul".

[Green]

Out of town, no pubs nearby (harvesters don't count)

[tmesis]

Soulless is when a new ground just looks much like any other new ground, with no distinguishing features, nothing aesthetically interesting about it, and normally compounded by being in a very dull location.


It's much rarer for older grounds to be described as Soulless, but Vale Park must be up there.

[RG30]

New Bramley Moor video.

https://twitter.com/Everton/status/1535637987773403138?s=20&t=yPkAIp7UrzeHzljRPe_vgQ

[Brum Royal]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

No character, no individuality, nothing that distingushes them from any other stadium built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Just something that shows a lack of thought and lack of design - The gable that was the trademark of Archibald Leitch didn't add any extra functionlaity to the stands he built (apart from maybe a place to put a clock or badge) but making the effort and the extra expense to add a feature purely because it looked good and added to the character of a ground shows what gives a place "soul".

So by that reckoning Craven Cottage, Hillsborough and Leyton Orient (name escapes me) are presumably from that architectural stable then?

[Hendo]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

No character, no individuality, nothing that distingushes them from any other stadium built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Just something that shows a lack of thought and lack of design - The gable that was the trademark of Archibald Leitch didn't add any extra functionlaity to the stands he built (apart from maybe a place to put a clock or badge) but making the effort and the extra expense to add a feature purely because it looked good and added to the character of a ground shows what gives a place "soul".

So by that reckoning Craven Cottage, Hillsborough and Leyton Orient (name escapes me) are presumably from that architectural stable then?

Brisbane Road, although I think it is sponsored by someone now.

[Dirk Gently]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

No character, no individuality, nothing that distingushes them from any other stadium built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Just something that shows a lack of thought and lack of design - The gable that was the trademark of Archibald Leitch didn't add any extra functionlaity to the stands he built (apart from maybe a place to put a clock or badge) but making the effort and the extra expense to add a feature purely because it looked good and added to the character of a ground shows what gives a place "soul".

So by that reckoning Craven Cottage, Hillsborough and Leyton Orient (name escapes me) are presumably from that architectural stable then?

The first two definitely as they're Leitch creations, although Brisbane Road is a bit less clear as the East stand there was bought from Mitcham Satdium in 1955 - it dates from 1935, and is a bit derivative. But it certainly has character compared to a more modern concrete creation.

[NathStPaul]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

And I don’t just want a list of examples, but what makes them such

Hear it a lot, but a lot of these places are simply buildings to house ‘entertainment’
What is it that is expected of them ?

Sadly it is this, hard to argue with anyone who calls our ground 'soulless'

[paultheroyal]

^^^^^

Beautiful - my second home.

[NathStPaul]

Can only assume you're referring to Costco.

[From Despair To Where?]

What I don't get is that Archivald Leitch was basically building stadia to a template 100 years ago, pretty much what modern stadium designers do now.

From what I can see "soulless" basically means there isn't piss lapping round your ankles and the concourse is bigger than a garden shed.

Basically, it's less about the stadium and more about the atmosphere.

[paultheroyal]

Its just nonsense throwaway words on a par with tinpot etc.

Each new ground is built on same methodology now. Some may look different than others but basically they all do the same thing. They all have excellent atmospheres if the fans allow it. When ours its fall its rocking. I have been to Fulham which some say is amazing and it was lacking atmosphere but i am sure on other days its amazing.

Basically use of these words is for a so called fan to say to another "we are better than you" etc etc - but its utterly baseless.

[Sutekh]

What I don't get is that Archivald Leitch was basically building stadia to a template 100 years ago, pretty much what modern stadium designers do now.

From what I can see "soulless" basically means there isn't piss lapping round your ankles and the concourse is bigger than a garden shed.

Basically, it's less about the stadium and more about the atmosphere.

Basically soulless is what fans call another club’s stadium when a) they don’t like the club concerned very much and/or b) they’re jealous as their own club’s stadium isn’t very good and/or b) there are no “watering holes” in the area.

[Dirk Gently]

What I don't get is that Archivald Leitch was basically building stadia to a template 100 years ago, pretty much what modern stadium designers do now.

From what I can see "soulless" basically means there isn't piss lapping round your ankles and the concourse is bigger than a garden shed.

Basically, it's less about the stadium and more about the atmosphere.

Partly, yes, but Leitch wasn't really building to a template. He was adapting it to what was appropraite and required for each club, and was developing the design as he built more and more. If you look at the Leitch stands at Highbury and Ibrox, for instance, there's a whole lot more about them than merely a place to watch football. There's detail, ornamentation and individuality - in some ways it's the differnece between a mid-Victorian Gothic town hall and a 1960s brutalist concrete council offices.

[ReadingGlasses]

Part of the problem with the Madejski Stadium is that it was fairly early on in a series of similar looking stadia being built. When it was new it stood out a bit from others around it, especially in the division Reading were in at the time. It may not have had any great original features, but things like a bowl without any pillars, loads of toilets, being partially sunk in to the ground, lots of leg room etc definitely made it noteworthy for visiting away fans.

Since then though there's been loads of others taking a similar route. There's plenty of other examples with a similar look and feel, and many of the features which were seen as a big improvement in the Madejski are now considered the basic minimum when building a new stadium. It no longer stands out, and on top of that, it's been around for long enough now that it's beginning to show signs of wear and tear.

Another big problem it has is in being so far out of the town centre. Part of what gives a ground "soul" to me is when it is embedded in the local community. Somewhere you can walk to from the town it represents, where fans live in the neighbouring streets, where there's loads of places to go before and after the game. I can see why visiting fans arrive at a stadium in an out of town business park and don't exactly see the glamour.

[Whore Jackie]

Actually think the Mad Stad is hard to beat from a watching football perspective. Great view from most areas of the ground, decent leg-room, pretty accessible toilets. Come across very few stadia that beat it on those factors.

But it's in a shit location and boring as you like from the outside. Way better than the New Den, which I believe was the first new all-seater, post-Hillsborough, but the Alfred McAlpine at Huddersfield and Reebok at Bolton (as were), both built just before the Mad Stad, invested way more in a decent architect (and steel) and it shows.

[AthleticoSpizz]

A bit too ‘old school’ me…..I want it both ways

I miss Elm Park with all of its smells, atmosphere and its faults, but I still get that moment of 1998 ‘wonderment’ each time that I enter the Madstad…it was one hell of a transformation for ‘lil Reading….pants location aside……the A33 Rose Kiln (with its bridges) hadn’t even been completed).

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Can someone help ,e understand what a ‘soulless’ stadium is ?

A stadium without soul