ST HELENS | Langtree Park Stadium | 18,000 | Completed

[TommyGod]

Some pics from this week showing the spread of the red

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In order to get to the new stadium and neighbouring Tesco's a footbridge is being built over the St.Helens Linkway.

This is the ramp that's been constructed

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and this is the piling operation, the town centre can be seen in the background

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The final bridge should look like this

[Paul D]

That looks great from there,good too see the stadium nearing completion.

Originally Posted by TommyGod

[RMB2007]

Sounds like the rest of the stadium won't have any exterior cladding. Is that true?

[tommygunn]

That bridge is pretty cool well done St Helens you deserve this.

[TommyGod]

Originally Posted by RMB2007

Sounds like the rest of the stadium won't have any exterior cladding. Is that true?

Yes and No.

It appears that the plans have been varied quite a bit from what was originally planned, hence revised planning docs have had to be submitted for cladding the North stand.
This application is currently awaiting approval.

As for the West and East stands, Saints have said they plan to clad them, however they dont know if both will be clad for the start of the season.

My suspicion is that Saints are seeing how they get on with the North stand planning application, before going ahead with the other two stands applications.

I am also wondering if the cladding is tied in with stadium naming rights in some way. It might be that Saints plan to clad these other stands in such a way as to provide huge advertising signs for the stadium sponsors.

[trmather]

Originally Posted by tommygunn

That bridge is pretty cool well done St Helens you deserve this.

If you ever visited here and saw the town and the people then you'd realise we don't.

It's a place where civilisation goes to die.

Nice to see a good stadium here though I must admit.

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Ah, nothing like a bit of civic pride...

What can I say, 21 years of being stuck in this place gets you down

[TommyGod]

Courtesy of the official Saints website.

Seats going into the North Stand

[RMB2007]

Can't say I'm a massive fan of rugby league, but I certainly love the fact that many of the new stadiums include terracing. Wish it was the same for football stadiums in this country.

[ben77]

Well done St Helens, it's nice that they've tried to do something a little different. Looks like a business park from the outside but don't they all anyway!

[TommyGod]

Latest pics from Saints official website www.saintsrlfc.com

[Darloeye]

Looks good. Not a big fan of terracing in stadiums I like a good sit down.Looks like Rugby L/U are getting money to build new stadiums

[TommyGod]

latest aerial pic showing the stadium as it was about 2 weeks ago

[TommyGod]

Latest aerial view

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Fantastic...

[TommyGod]

Some pics i took today in the sunshine.

Less than a month to go now before the official handover date (subject to it not being behind schedule)

The view of the South stand and East terrace. The car parks are also going in.
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South stand seating

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The South west corner of the stadium showing the edge of the seating and the commencement of the western terrace

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landscaping going in between the Tescos and the new stadium.

On a nice day like today, i can imagine hundreds of fans decending on Tesco's, emptying it of cheap ale, then sitting out on the lawns supping their Special Brew or White Lightning

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This looks like the main vehicular entrance to the stadium, but its actually merely for Tesco's traffic. I imagine many people on foot will however walk down this tree lined boulevard to the new ground, having already enjoyed the culinary delights of the nearby McCee D's or Burger King.

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One thing that i have not seen elsewhere in the UK, is that they have made a feature of the Turnstile blocks. You cant fail to spot these dotted around the ground. They provide a clear focal point for fans.

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A "Stairway to Heaven" to see the Saints, has also been built in the North East corner of the stadium


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[TommyGod]

Heres a couple that a kind builder offered to take from inside the stadium

Shows the pitch all marked out and the uprights in place

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It appears the architects thought it would be nice to have a stadium built in Britain with the concourses exposed to the elements. As a result the North, East and West stands have been designed and built to have just a 4 metre perimeter wall around the outside.

This has raised quite a bit of concern from Fans and also it appears Saints themselves. Especially when pictures of flooded concourses after its rained have been shown.

As a result revised plans have recently been submitted to enclose these open stands

Unfortunately because the stadium was designed to be open. The East, West and North stands are not structurally strong enough to withstand the wind loadings of full enclosed cladding.

As a result the plan is to fit 50% Kalzip perforated cladding. This wont weatherproof the concourses but will offer more protection than an open back.

Here are pics of the plans

[RMB2007]

Sounds dumb. Surely the chairman and others at Saints would've known about the lack of cladding in certain areas/the potential problems this would cause ages ago? It's certainly an issue that should've been a matter of discussion when the architects were designing the stadium, rather than leaving it until the stadium was nearing completion.

[TommyGod]

Originally Posted by RMB2007

Sounds dumb. Surely the chairman and others at Saints would've known about the lack of cladding in certain areas/the potential problems this would cause ages ago? It's certainly an issue that should've been a matter of discussion when the architects were designing the stadium, rather than leaving it until the stadium was nearing completion.

Its just typical of Saints to let slip the potential of having a truely magnificent stadium by a planning and construction oversight, that means that three of the stands would appear to require major structural changes in order to take full cladding. This is of course something the club cannot probably afford to do from both a monetary and time perspective.

The compromise solution is better than nothing, but it will still leave most spectators exposed to the worst of the British weather, and with a stadium whose stands may resemble giant cheese graters.

[LeedsLad]

Not looking as identikit as I'd feared. So there are seats down both sides of the pitch with terracing at either end?

Just a shame about the outside cladding not protecting from the weather and not filling in all the corners... Otherwise looking forward to some cracking games there.

Making Headingley look bit worse...

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by TommyGod

Its just typical of Saints to let slip the potential of having a truely magnificent stadium by a planning and construction oversight, that means that three of the stands would appear to require major structural changes in order to take full cladding. This is of course something the club cannot probably afford to do from both a monetary and time perspective.

The compromise solution is better than nothing, but it will still leave most spectators exposed to the worst of the British weather, and with a stadium whose stands may resemble giant cheese graters.

I wouldn't worry that much Tommy. RL is pretty much a summer sport these days anyway.