Stadium Expansion

Possibly! Check this one out, it doesn't look like CGI to me

 

That still looks really tight on the pitch. Another suggestion for the different coloured seats might be: as they are in the "sunny side" it might be to stop photodegradation of the pigmented polymer - red and black are particularly notorious for this so a mix of colours might be there to stop them looking so ****. Also black seats (Udinese colours) might be very uncomfortable in the Italian sun so perhaps a mixture of colours?

 

Strangely, I don't mind that as much as the random coloured blocks that had no obvious connection with the club involved, like the Liverpool example. It's still an eyesore though!

And you're correct about making it look full with fans with the single, seemingly random, placement of differently coloured seats.
At the MCG in Australia they did it donkeys years ago (a little more conservatively though) and while watching cricket coverage they explained it was for TV purposes, so as to make the stands look less empty.

 

I remember it creeping into the Loo Town strip as a kind of sh*t/diarrhoea brown which didn't particularly surprise me ...

 

Not at the MCG Oxhey? They have in Brisbane, Perth and Hobart. At the MCG they just have the dreaded random blocks.


The first time i recall multi colourced seating, to hide low crowds, was for the Euro 2004 stadiums in Portugal. At least three of them had it.. Sporting, Leira and Aviero (where the entire stadium was a riot in a paintshop!)
Personally i prefer as least bright colours as possible.. St James's Park springs to mind.

 

Certainly something similar at the Gabba:

 

My mistake stevohorn. For years I've watched the cricket and just remembered it as Melbourne but as yourself and Jossy have correctly pointed out, it's the Gabba (Brisbane) that I was thinking of.

 

Always glad to correct people



Btw Orlando City now have LGBT rainbow seats. Perhaps we should have this in the SEJ stand?

 

Having spent 8 years living in Melbourne , visiting the MCG many times for Cricket , Soccer and AFL it was hardly ever not full. Not bad for 80k + stadium.

 

The latest aerial pic from our favourite, drone-owning, Watford fan, iAmAHornet: https://twitter.com/iAmAHornet/status/893494183939461120

 

Can't stand that **** they've painted on top of the Elton John Stand. Looks awful.

 

Interesting to see the slope in this pic. Not sure if it's somehow distorted by the angle of a drone pic but Occupation Road tails off pretty dramatically after the block at the back of the EJ ends.
As far as the pitch level is concerned note the "Watford" lettering in the seats of the GT. Look how many more rows are visible under the "W"
You can also see that clearly in any pic taken within the stadium.. if the angle is right.

 

Or is it that they taken a few rows off the top for the 'W' for additional wheelchair seating which makes it distorted?

 

I don't think it's a drone pic - the position lines up with the media box at the back of the SEJ stand.

 

According to someone on the enjoy the game Facebook group (yes I know but they supposedly spoke to Dave Messenger about this), the next bit of stadium development is going to be the Vic Rd end. Apparently they want to utilise the wasted space underneath (the old terrace was never dug out) and build higher too.

Sounds like a complete rebuild to me if true...

 

No it's always looked that way. Look at the bottom of the letters.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/wp-content/gallery/vicarageroad/vicarageroad5.jpg

It does however look different in different pics depending on angles etc.

 

Sorry i meant the drone pic in Jossy's post that i was quoting. I just threw in one of my own pics to emphasize the point.

 

I actually thought it looked like it sloped pretty badly. More than I remember last season but I guess that must be my memory playing tricks. Was sat at the very back of the SEJ.

 

I think you'll find that the pitch is dead level and that it is the rest of Watford that is a bit wonky. After all, we have the entire weight of the M1 corridor resting on our shoulders.

 

I think the height at which the pictures are taken exaggerates the slope somewhat. I've taken pics from the top of the SEJ before and it does seem greater, whereas when I've taken them from pitch level, it's a lot less noticeable. All to do with angles and camera lenses I suppose.

Look at this picture from today - you wouldn't know there was a slight slope unless somebody told you - and you could argue that it's the view from pitch level that is the most important being as we play on the ground (perhaps not when Wally was in charge....)

PS Stevohorn - pitch/grass assessment please!

 

I also took the opportunity today to have a peek around the back of the GT stand to see the progress of the new facade being built for the Directors entrance. Not the greatest pics ever, but some of you might be interested:

 

Well the slope is definitely there and i would say it's the higher up pics that tell the truer story.. especially looking at the level GT stand against the pitch level.
I think when down at pitchside the vast open expanse of turf tends to trick the eye. Dont know if you caught what i stated earlier about pitch cambers. Most modern pitches have some sort of camber on them but it's not possible to spot it unless you lie down.. and yes ive tested that
As for the overall look of the pitch.. well it's near perfect isnt it. There again it should be this time of year. The real judge is mid-season but i expect it will be pretty good then. I think we can all see improvements have been made by the new head groundsman and his team.


PS Occupation Road. Say looking at the drone pic it looks like it stays fairly level until after the external block ends. It's always sloped of course but i think they might have leveled it up somewhat at the top end during the stand construction. At least i hadnt noticed that before.

 

Actually scrap that. They cant have adjusted any slope on Occupation Road cause of the garages.

 

Was at Camp Nou tonight for Chapeceonese pre season friendly and can say the pitch looked great but in all truth not as good as Vicarage Rd on Saturday against Real Sociedad .

And was about twice as high up at Barcelona game and Vicarage still looked better . It was like a billiard table.

 

Not exactly stadium expansion - but the latest from head groundsman Scott Tingley - hexagonal nets!
https://twitter.com/tingers_123/status/894865047922626560

(pitch looks sublime as usual)

 

Probably me, but in the first picture it looks like distinct lines in the grass. Either some reinforcement or the lines made by the seed drill

 

Isn't a seed drill just a fancy name for a sleazebag's training session?

 

Not 100% sure, not without looking with a magnifying glass, but i think that might be the Desso strands you can see. The spacing looks about right anyway (2 cm's)

Having said that it does look the same as when you use an overseeder (which they did) but the spacing is normally a bit wider, as you can see in this pic..
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_qjWyMUbiVI/maxresdefault.jpg

 

Jeez, they put a second tier on the Vic Rd end quickly. Love that they put WFC back in the seats also

 

hehe.. Sadly they made the rest of it look like the Bescot Stadium

 

Until the word Watford in the seating is replaced by my favourite sportswear brand I am not stepping inside the stadium

 

Ellesse?

 

KiT?

 

This one?

 

I reckon we should depict Elton's face in the seats like they do with Tom Finney etc at Deepdale.

Place this in the away section and then whenever visiting supporters get lippy we can remind them where their arses are sat!