The BBC Ten O' Clock News last night had a segment about the current Heineken Cup row - they had Rob Andrew talking to camera at Twickenham, which afforded a tantalising glimpse of part of the South Stand roof. Several roof panels have been added to the latticework on the west side, so I'm guessing the whole structure could be complete (but not glazed) by the EDF Cup Final on 15 April...

I'm guessing the whole structure could be complete (but not glazed) by the EDF Cup Final on 15 April...

Hang on, there's the long Easter weekend between now and then, so maybe not...

The EDF Cup Final is on BBC TWO on Sunday from 14:10, so we should get a good view of the current state...

I'm interested in who were the builders of this new stand?
Is this new stand going be done on time and budget?
maybe they should have built Wembley,don't trust Ozzies.

.....And those picture are awesome:cheers:

Mowlem, who seem to have been taken over by Carillion:

http://www.mowlem.com/group/group_national_building_twickenham.asp

From today's TV pictures (what a game!) the framework of the roof looked about 80% complete, so there's a fair bit of work still to be done before the Premiership and Heineken Cup Finals.

The next televised game is the Army v Navy fixture on Saturday 5 May.

I just found this picture on Flickr, taken by somebody who was at the Cup Final:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/462670288_c5a08625d9_o.jpg

Are we expecting the new area of roof to have the same yellowish tint as the other 3 sides of the roof? Will it be identical?

Are we expecting the new area of roof to have the same yellowish tint as the other 3 sides of the roof?

Give it a few years :) I'm just hoping they replace the opaque sections at the ends of the old horseshoe...

Taken yesterday (not by me):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/463825431_1c531303df_b.jpg

Are we expecting the new area of roof to have the same yellowish tint as the other 3 sides of the roof? Will it be identical?

I was thinking that, or they would change the rest to match-up, but that would probably be extra expense.

Looking really good with the roof taking shape now.

Is the rest of the roof meant to have a yellowish tinge, or is it just dirt?

^^ Yeah its just been stained over the years.

Another good one from the EDF Energy final:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/471082107_598ca919b6_o.jpg

TV alert - the annual Army v Navy game is on Sky Sports Xtra from 14:45tomorrow, giving a chance to see how the roof's coming along. You'd hope all the steelwork's finished now, just leaving the glazing...

Thanks for the updates CharlieP. Have to say its very odd looking at images like the one above with the continuous roof, suddenly Twickers seems far more closed in...

http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1FCB7392-A70B-4C61-B01B-2B2BD435A85A/0/PICT0002ab.jpg

Another good recent shot (I think taken last week, as the roof panelling isn't as advanced as Jaeger's, which is from the Army v Navy game on Saturday):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/491686059_53606510cb_o.jpg

Now, I've assumed all along that the roof would match that of the existing horseshoe, but looking at it, it seems as though the currently-installed panels could be the final finish - much lighter and with narrower dividing sections. It certainly looks a lot better, but you'd hope they would go the whole hog and redo the rest of the stadium that way...

PS The Guinness Premiership final at Twickenham is on Sky Sports 2 at 14:00 on Saturday.

OK, it looks as though I was mistaken - from close-ups on TV today, it looks as though the actual glazing hasn't started yet, so the South Stand roof will eventually look just like the rest...

The South Stand on Saturday:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/496696808_0bcc859736_b.jpg

^^ So is that glazing in the roof? Or just, erm, not glazing? ...Air?

It's hard to tell, but if you look at the original:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=496696808&size=o

it looks as though there is netting under most of the roof while work progresses. Look at the video screen, and then move right to the point where the back wall reaches the roof without leaving a gap. Looks like green netting to me.

TV alert - Heineken Cup Final, Sunday 14:00 Sky Sports 2.

Largest ever crowd for a club match.

Club Rugby Union match, Odsal, still holds the record for any Northern Hemisphere rugby match and world wide club rugby match.

102,569 - Warrington v. Halifax, RL Challenge Cup final replay, 5th May 1954

107,999 - St. George Illawarra v Melbourne, NRL Grand Final, 26 Sep 1999

:baeh3:

they reckon 120,000+ were @ odsal for that challenge cup final replay

http://www.rugbyrelics.com/images/Postcards/F9/116.jpg

This is all rather off-topic though - back to HQ...

Ah, bollocks, someone's posted loads of photos of the Heineken Cup Final to Flickr, but they're not sharing them... http://www.flickr.com/photos/murky/506555319/in/set-72157600237948227/ looks good but you can't enlarge it or link to it.

There's also a rather perky blonde who pops up quite a lot under the keyword "Twickenham" :yes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/murky/506554280/in/set-72157600237948227/ would give a good idea of what's going on with the South Stand roof, if only you could see the full-size version...

... looks good but you can't enlarge it or link to it.

Yet I found this through that link? It looks finished! :)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/gherkin007/twick.jpg

How you do dat?

Yes, it looks finished, apart from a temporary green wall in the south-west corner, and a couple of planks (crawling boards?) left on top of the roof. Looks pretty darn spiffing, but makes the original roof look pretty naff now...

That looks Impressive!

Just found this PDF (http://www.concreteengineering.com/PDF/featured%20articles/precast%20concrete%20scores%20at%20Twickenham_p38.pdf):

"...the roof is a steel truss infilled with purlins and a translucent cladding."

Er, purlins, anybody?

Oh, got it, it's the smaller horizontal metal strips we can see. Coincidentally I was up on my roof yesterday.

I was there yesterday and very nice it looked too. It's an upmarket Santiago Bernabeu.

So, can you confirm the status of the South Stand roof for all curious SSCers[1] desperate to know that's the final glazing?

[1] That would be me then.

I was in the North Stand :)

Useless git. :) I might have to go to England v Wales or England v France in August now...

the odsal pic looks more like 240k

Are you watching Man Utd? This is how you build a stadium in stages, i.e. how to keep a uniform bowl over three tiers. Unlike that monstrosity called Old Trafford :banana:

Old Trafford is not a stadium it is a football ground.
As it should be.
Once the Premier League fills up with super comfortable bowls, Old Trafford will be looked upon with more warmth.
It's no coincidence that the best match of the World Cup was played at the Westfalen Stadion, another hotchpotch construction but a proper football ground.

i prefer old trafford to be honest..has warmth, sense of being..character..good capacity..feels like it belongs to Man U.

Twickenham is beautiful, but I've heard it's a very boring day out as far as six nations games go.

Old Trafford is not a stadium it is a football ground.
As it should be.
Once the Premier League fills up with super comfortable bowls, Old Trafford will be looked upon with more warmth.
It's no coincidence that the best match of the World Cup was played at the Westfalen Stadion, another hotchpotch construction but a proper football ground.


:ohno: Dear oh dear.

Face it Old Trafford is a fuck up

^^TWICKENHAM!!! TWICKENHAM!!! TWICKENHAM!!! TWICKENHAM!!!

This is a TWICKENHAM thread! There are hundreds of Old Trafford slagging-off threads in the depths of these forums, so do your business in there!

As for Twickenham, the inside now looks perfect. I can't tell where the new stand starts and the original stand ends :)

P.S. (from flickr)
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/gherkin007/twick2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/gherkin007/twick3.jpg

Sunday was my first trip to Twickenham, it is a great stadium a few things stood out:

1) The noise
Bearing in mind that only parts of the sides had concentrated areas of fans of the clubs, the atmosphere at the start is very impressive.

2) The stadium looks like a European stadium
All that concrete and stairs, with open concourses looking out over the area reminded me of the Bernabou & Camp Nou

3) Alcohol
Being able to drink at your seat is so refreshing (and continental), plus there were plenty of bars serving which only really got busy at half time and 5 mins before kick off otherwise could walk up where we were.

4) Bus ride away.
Big long queue, sinking feeling setting in, but no the queue kept moving, back to Richmond promptly.

Only possible negative is the sound system which meant you could not hear what people were saying (or is that a positive!)

All in all I was very impressed, I never understood previously why people wanted Twickenham to host Football WC matches, now I can (obviously know difficulties exist, number of times can be used in agreement with residents etc) but a stadium with this space and infrastructure must be considered.

When have more time next week will attempt to post pictures!

Found this photo on Flickr, which is pretty compelling evidence that the South Stand roof will eventually match the others:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/527547339_b5c55c20dd_b.jpg

Notice how, presumably due to the angle of the sun, most of the South Stand roof segments have a blueish segment filling most of them, surrounded by a lighter border which exactly matches the dark border around the yellowed translucent panels in the East Stand roof...

There's no more rugby at HQ until 4 August, so the builders shouldn't be slowed down by safety considerations, and when England play Wales on that date the roof should be finished.

...and I've just bought tickets to that match, so will know for certain - watch this space for more photos :)

How come we are playing Wales during the Summer Charlie?

Warmup games for the World Cup in September:

4 August England v Wales (Twickenham)
11 August England v France (Twickenham)
18 August France v England (Marseilles)

8 September England v USA (Lens)

The same thing happened in August 1999 (England tonked Canada and USA and even played an "All-Stars" side at Anfield) and August 2003 (same fixtures as this year but Wales in Cardiff).

Drove past the stadium and oh my god the place is looking different. Out of nowhere glass curtain walling has appeared, so much so it detracts from the concrete of the rest of the stadium. Sadly no pics (i would have if i could)

The way people in SSC complain about the grey concrete of Twickenham, you'd think nothing could detract from it... :)

The way people in SSC complain about the grey concrete of Twickenham, you'd think nothing could detract from it... :)

I love that aspect of it.... it's one of the most intimidating stadiums I've been to

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/604005569_04f9fe4a30_b.jpg

Looks as though the South Stand roof is finished - we'll just have to wait for it to "weather" in...

^^ Or they change the rest!

england v wales, 4pm this saturday at twickenham - it'll be interesting to see the finished article. weird though seeing england play in the summer.

I'll post my photos here on Sunday :D

62-5, what a match!

The roof is just wrong, they have got to change the rest to match up.

presumably it'll 'improve' once all the fungus and moss properly establishes itself.

a great win for england today...wales were comprehensively annihilated.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44039000/jpg/_44039587_jw_getty416.jpg

^ I doubt fungus or moss will be enough.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1339/1016208755_1905b4083e_b.jpg

impressed by this post? - show your appreciation here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=507376).

this message was brought to you by edennewstairs in association with flickr and stella. stella, gets you fucking hammered.

The roof is just wrong, they have got to change the rest to match up.

Hear, hear. How much can a few hundred plastic sheets cost? It'll improve the pitch too - you can see how much more light reaches it through the South Stand roof...

Found this cracker on Flickr - still have to sort mine out.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1359/1016819690_9d46d1426a_b.jpg

Sssshhhhhheeeesus H Christ....!


That's one heluva shot.....:cheers:

We were sitting three rows from the front yesterday:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/1020714109_95c61f07c0_b.jpg

Jonny strikes again:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1134/1020778069_6f347ce841_b.jpg

I took this photo on the way to the stadium from Twickenham Station:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1329/1053685136_1d85512681_b.jpg

I've just seen a TV advert for Setanta Sport with Des Lynam and Thaila Zucchi, which seemed very, very familiar... :)

^Sultana sports!

Do you have any other exterior shots of Twickenham?

From last weekend, just these ones:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/1054561962_a5f545f168_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1003/1054563756_81f1af7efa_b.jpg

My photos from England v Argentina are earlier in this thread.

Nice shots Charlie.

Any more better shots of the new exterior?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3204921804_c9047ee549_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3344846821_676517e767_b.jpg

The new facade reminds me of Stamford Bridge. Pretty disgusting looking but makes a hell of a lot of money!

will be good to beat you there on Sunday..................wakes up and skulks off sheepishly!

how do people get from/to twickers? there seems to be no rail line and not many parking spaces. helicopter?

you get the packed train from waterloo to twickenham, then walk down the streets to the stadium (that street leading to the stadium on the right).

good pictures eddy. just think, the FA are apparently considering it as an england world cup venue. cor!

you get the packed train from waterloo to twickenham, then walk down the streets to the stadium (that street leading to the stadium on the right).

Or take the Tube or train to Richmond and jump on a free shuttle bus to the stadium. Or park in an enterprising primary school's car park for a fiver and walk.

good pictures eddy. just think, the FA are apparently considering it as an england world cup venue. cor!

In return can they bung us a few quid to finish the roof off with the smart new panels they used for the South Stand?

almost as big as croke park...nearly :P:banana:

Twickenham is bigger in size. Croke Park just holds slightly more people :D

If Twickenham had terracing in one of the stands it would hold far more than Croke Park :)

but croke park isnt a purpose built, rugby union only stadium :) Twickers is the largest of it's kind

If Twickenham had terracing in one of the stands it would hold far more than Croke Park :)

The original plan when the West-North-East horseshoe was designed (back in the 1980s) was to have the entire lower tier as standing room. The Taylor Report put paid to that.

Twickenham is better than Croke Park, only if Croker was completed would it be as good and we all know that will never happen

It's worth pointing out that there are a couple of big milestones coming up. The first match played at Twickenham was Harlequins v Richmond on 2 October 1909, and the first international was England v Wales on 15 January 1910.

Why does it look more impressive than Wembley on the inside ?

The new front entrance is certainly better looking than Wembley.

Pity they haven't cleaned the old roof.

Why does it look more impressive than Wembley on the inside ?

The new front entrance is certainly better looking than Wembley.

Pity they haven't cleaned the old roof.

I see you are spreading your optimism far beyond the olympic forums nowadays....

I have to agree partially though that it looks more impressive in pictures inside. This is probably since the seats have less room so the stadium is more intimate and enclosed on the pitch. In reality though Wembley is far more intimidating a stadium, when you are in the lower stands you have to look virtually directly up to appreciate the height of the facing stands.

Re the front, Wembley might look like an International HQ but the South Stand hotel etc of Twickers looks like a Broadway Malyan produced bastard child of St Georges Wharf.

Why does it look more impressive than Wembley on the inside ?

The new front entrance is certainly better looking than Wembley.

Pity they haven't cleaned the old roof.

It wouldn't make much difference if they did clean it - it's a completely different material and would still be as jarring. I don't know if they're ever going to replace it with the funky new glass that's in the South Stand - maybe next time it hosts a World Cup Final...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4961999944_6a3db3033c_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5795584375_002235ea40_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4442461785_abb4d867c6_o.jpg



if you want to see pictures of Twickenham stadiums including World major stadiums , Please visit below URL.


http://cafe.daum.net/stade/5Ay7/264


http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1929151-Twickenham-Twickenham.jpg

This stadium tho impressive inside is in need of some serious exterior cladding!

Would anyone know where I could get photos of the stadium pre 1990's redevelopment?

Found one here: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/work+%26+daily+life/art71677

But I guess you want photos from the 1980s or so.

Would anyone know where I could get photos of the stadium pre 1990's redevelopment?

I wholeheartedly recommend this book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twickenham-100-Years-Rugbys-HQ/dp/1905326769/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313591202&sr=1-1).

Here's some:

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/8596/oldtwickenham.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2109/inghilterra03b.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8972/twickenham1910620x413.jpg

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/808/twickenham1921620x413.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8596/oldtwickenham.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/3488/twick3b.jpg

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/7681/twickenham.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6554/twickenham3.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/8628/twickenham2.jpg

Without looking it up, those have to be Archibald Leitch stands, surely? All the hallmarks.

Agreed JimB, particularly the three covered stands

Thanks RMB2007, really gives you a sense of how the stadium has grown in parallel to the overall popularity of the sport over the years and, to a lesser extent, the money that goes with it

Without looking it up, those have to be Archibald Leitch stands, surely? All the hallmarks.

Got to be, surely...

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/7681/twickenham.jpg


that pic looks identical to the Bullens Road at Goodison

Aye, redtom. Same architect. He also designed the Gwladys Street and the old main (Mauretania) stand on Goodison Rd.

http://www.evertonfc.com/assets/_files/images/feb_10/efc__1265797524_ground1966.jpg
From evertonfc.com

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5992/goodisonpark0345mt.jpg
from austadiums.com

Archibald Leitch... the clues are in the cross bracing and the pitched roofs in the centre of the grandstands, usually with the club's logo on them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Archie-Archibald-Football-Designer/dp/1850749183/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313742596&sr=8-1

Leitch definitely designed the 1925 North Stand, but I can't find any evidence that he did the West or East, which came later - it could be that they were just "copies"...

He also designed the main stand at Ibrox and I think some of the stands at White Hart Lane.

You could see a post in my blog about Twickenham Stadium and Twickenham Fine Ales: http://posavasosderugby.blogspot.com/2011/11/twickenham-fine-ales.html (http://posavasosderugby.blogspot.com/2011/11/twickenham-fine-ales.html)