Croker v Aviva Stadium

Was at the Aviva yesterday - first time that Ive ventured to D4 since the new stadium was finished
Very impressive looking etc but to be honest I felt it falls short of Croker in terms of an "overall Package"

Now to be fair minus5 degrees in November compared to a sunny August bank holiday weekend double header and a 2/3 rds full stadium for a friendly is not an appropriate benchmark.

Given that it was designed 10 years plus after Croker - and had the benefit of a clean build as opposed to crokers 4 stages and at €230 for a brace of tickets(Though to be fair it wasn;t my €230) I was expecting more.

Parked in barrow street so approached from a "slatterys Direction" only to be told that I had another 20 mins walk to the Purple Entrance down the road. under the barrier, along the canal etc etc.

Had tickets for the premum area 304 - seats were good but given that I was on the 22 near the "100 seats" end of the ground the atmosphere was dead enough bit like being near the hill when its empty.

Thought the facilities weren't great in that area of the ground - The bar was 6 deep at halftime and seems way to small compared to the volume of people (the premium section is relatively bigger than Crokeras a & of the crowd) - It was easier to get a pint in the lower Hogan(non premium) on All Ireland day - also a tenner for two stout was steep
Catering seemed shoddy enough too - few cartons of chips on offer
There was a champagne wine bar with zero customers which seems a bit of waste of space.
All in all had expected more - Hard to say what could have been done better but its just not Croker

OMAR wrote:There was a champagne wine bar with zero customers which seems a bit of waste of space.

Did you not see me giving ya the two fingers from inside????

I have only been to the Aviva stadium once and the attmosphere was much better than anything I expeienced over several trips to croker.
Though having said that I have not been to an All-Ireland final.

I think its due to the way the roof is designed. It doesn't allow the noise to escape.

But to be honest both stadiums need to be have their North ends completed before they could hope to be classed anywhere near the best in Europe or the world.

In my opinion no matter how good the rest of Croker is the state of the hill just makes it all look sh*t in the same way the Havelock square end makes the Aviva look sh*t

I'd be with the good doctor on this one in terms of unfinished stadia. I was in the Aviva for the first time about 3 months ago (non-sports thingy - day time conference) and couldn't believe the size of the Havelock end. It is so paltry and the first thing that struck me is that you'd think they were building this magnificent stadium and then ran out of money near the end (Havelock End!). Croker too obviously has an element of the unfinished with the Hill end but it isn't a total disaster.

Croker is far more cavernous and less intimate than Aviva - as you'd expect from a 82K stadium over a 50K one - but thats not a complaint. You can't smoke anywhere in the Aviva - that is a complaint.

I was at the first 3 Autumn internationals there - missed Sunday and had to give away a €115 Premium ticket gratis . The atmosphere was not good (except v All Blacks in parts) - mainly due to poor fare, empty stadia cos of IRFU pricing and the fact that it is November! I will reserve real judgment on atmosphere till France and England in the 6 Nations. I think the potential is there for a good atmosphere though.

I was at every rugby international in Croker and only about 4 stood out in terms of atmosphere. 2 v England and 2 v France - the Autumn Internationals there were as dull as this years in truth. The first English game among the best sporting events I ever attended - the place crackled but we were looking at history, expectation and even apprehension - and then a bloody marvellous performance. Personally I think the stadium does not lend itself to soccer or rugby cos of the smaller playing areas.

With regard to atmosphere in Croker I feel lucky to be a Dub - thats not being smart. In the main (though early last year was poor), the atmosphere at Dublin games can be breathtaking - v Tyrone and Cork this year for example. I have been at other games with full enough houses that had good atmosphere but maybe your own team has to be playing to get fully in on the act. But to me there is little to beat a sunny day in a packed Croker with a full Hill a sea of blue (even with the odd gobshite among them) - that is summer for me.

Ps I reckon it was the Sligo cup final that the Doc enjoyed in the Aviva - because of the reasons just above - and the fact they won!!

Was at a fair few Dub games in Croker when I lived there where the atmosphere could only be described as unpleasant, more akin to soccer games but would agree overall that the buzz in Croker is 2nd to none. I'll do will to ever experience the energy of the 98 football final or this years hurling ever again

mossbags wrote:I'll do will to ever experience the energy of this years hurling ever again

How many programmes did you sell?

mossbags wrote:Was at a fair few Dub games in Croker when I lived there where the atmosphere could only be described as unpleasant, more akin to soccer games but would agree overall that the buzz in Croker is 2nd to none. I'll do will to ever experience the energy of the 98 football final or this years hurling ever again

My father was at the hurling final and he said that it was a brilliant atmosphere. I couldn't go so I gave him my ticket. I suppose I can't compare atmosphere properly till I've been at an all-Ireland final.

Dr.Shephard wrote:I suppose I can't compare atmosphere properly till I've been at an all-Ireland final.

I hope you are not waiting to attend a Final involving your own beautiful county!