Seaview (football ground)
Encyclopedia
Seaview is a football
stadium
in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
. It is the home ground of Crusaders F.C.
. The stadium holds 3,054. The stadium has a 4G pitch.
Seaview has also undergone considerable redevelopment in recent seasons, with new changing rooms, dugouts, main stand seats, and overall better general facilities being installed. Three new stands at either end of the ground and on its southern side were opened in July 2011 to replace the previous terracing.
in a Europa League tie.
The partially covered stand runs halfway along the side of the ground from the Shore Road/St Vincent Street corner and in June 2011 was converted from a terrace to an all seated stand for 1,100 spectators. The stand can be accessed from two new turnstiles on the Shore Road or from entrances on St Vincent Street, located at either side of the office block.
The two tier club offices were opened in 1970 after a fire destroyed the club's previous office location two years earlier. The main entrance to the ground floor is on St Vincent Street and leads directly into the club members bar, which has a big screen TV and fruit machines. The remainder of the ground floor is used for the club offices and board room and was formerly where the dressing rooms were located.
The first floor is largely made up of the main club function room, which has two bars, a dance-floor and big screen TV and also serves a small selection of meals on matchdays.
The original main stand was built in the early 1950s and was flanked by open terracing on both sides, but both the stand and terracing on one side was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the current elevated single tier stand. Originally, the stand was laid out with bench seating until the early 21st Century when one section was laid out in red plastic seats with the letter C spelled out in white. This looked like the beginning of a plan to lay the entire stand out in the same style spelling out the word Crues, but financial problems stalled the redevelopment with the completed section restyled as a family enclosure. The entire stand was converted to red seating in 2009, and the stand now spells out the name of the pitch sponsor, TAL, in white.
Although the stand is a single tier, it is elevated from the ground and is accessed by two staircases at either end while a third staircase in the middle is closed on matchdays. This is due to the lower concourse being redeveloped in 2009 as the technical area while new dressing rooms were built in the space under the stands. The stand seats 850 spectators
A small section of open terrace, which can accommodate fifty spectators remains from the original development of the ground in the 1940s and a small club shop is also located here.
The small uncovered terrace was laid to steps in the early 1950s but The need for development was highlighted in the mid 2000s when the perimeter exterior wall partially collapsed in a storm.
A small elevated viewing lounge for vips and invited guests of the club, with a small tuck shop located underneath once stood at the end of the terrace but this was demolished in May 2011 as part of a major redevelopment of the ground that saw a new 650 all seated stand erected. New turnstiles were also put in place from the St Vincent Street entrance and a disabled section was added. This too was opened on the night of the Fulham game.
There is also a burger bar regularly located in the concourse before the stand.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It is the home ground of Crusaders F.C.
Crusaders F.C.
Crusaders Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish association football club, playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1898, hails from Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview. Club colours are red and black. The current manager is Stephen Baxter, appointed in 2005...
. The stadium holds 3,054. The stadium has a 4G pitch.
Seaview has also undergone considerable redevelopment in recent seasons, with new changing rooms, dugouts, main stand seats, and overall better general facilities being installed. Three new stands at either end of the ground and on its southern side were opened in July 2011 to replace the previous terracing.
Location and access
Seaview Stadium was opened in 1921 as the home venue of Crusaders Football Club and is located on the Shore Road, approximately one mile north of Belfast city centre. The ground is flanked by The Shore Road behind one goal and the Belfast to Larne railway line behind the other. The main entrance to the ground is via St Vincent Street while the opposite side of the ground backs onto a goods warehouse yard from a side street off the Shore Road.St Vincent Street Stand and Club offices
The main entrance to Seaview Stadium is from its St Vincent Street side and is made up of two distinct structures, the club offices and a covered (partly uncovered) stand which was converted from a terrace to a seated stand in July 2011 and was oficially opened on the day of the visit of Fulham F.C.Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
in a Europa League tie.
The partially covered stand runs halfway along the side of the ground from the Shore Road/St Vincent Street corner and in June 2011 was converted from a terrace to an all seated stand for 1,100 spectators. The stand can be accessed from two new turnstiles on the Shore Road or from entrances on St Vincent Street, located at either side of the office block.
The two tier club offices were opened in 1970 after a fire destroyed the club's previous office location two years earlier. The main entrance to the ground floor is on St Vincent Street and leads directly into the club members bar, which has a big screen TV and fruit machines. The remainder of the ground floor is used for the club offices and board room and was formerly where the dressing rooms were located.
The first floor is largely made up of the main club function room, which has two bars, a dance-floor and big screen TV and also serves a small selection of meals on matchdays.
Main Stand
The main stand is situated on the opposite side of the ground from the club offices and is a single tier structure, covering half the length of the field, straddling the halfway line. There is also a small section of open terracing on one side and a small access space with gates and two entrances on its other side. The entrances are rarely, if ever, used and access is normally made from St Vincent Street, via the railway end of the ground.The original main stand was built in the early 1950s and was flanked by open terracing on both sides, but both the stand and terracing on one side was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the current elevated single tier stand. Originally, the stand was laid out with bench seating until the early 21st Century when one section was laid out in red plastic seats with the letter C spelled out in white. This looked like the beginning of a plan to lay the entire stand out in the same style spelling out the word Crues, but financial problems stalled the redevelopment with the completed section restyled as a family enclosure. The entire stand was converted to red seating in 2009, and the stand now spells out the name of the pitch sponsor, TAL, in white.
Although the stand is a single tier, it is elevated from the ground and is accessed by two staircases at either end while a third staircase in the middle is closed on matchdays. This is due to the lower concourse being redeveloped in 2009 as the technical area while new dressing rooms were built in the space under the stands. The stand seats 850 spectators
A small section of open terrace, which can accommodate fifty spectators remains from the original development of the ground in the 1940s and a small club shop is also located here.
The Railway End
The Railway End is so called due to it backing directly onto the Belfast-Larne railway line. However no halt or station has been built and as a result it is accessed from St Vincent Street.The small uncovered terrace was laid to steps in the early 1950s but The need for development was highlighted in the mid 2000s when the perimeter exterior wall partially collapsed in a storm.
A small elevated viewing lounge for vips and invited guests of the club, with a small tuck shop located underneath once stood at the end of the terrace but this was demolished in May 2011 as part of a major redevelopment of the ground that saw a new 650 all seated stand erected. New turnstiles were also put in place from the St Vincent Street entrance and a disabled section was added. This too was opened on the night of the Fulham game.
There is also a burger bar regularly located in the concourse before the stand.
The Shore Road End
Like the Railway End, the Shore Road End stood for over half a century as a shallow open terrace, which, for safey reasons had been reduced to a capacity of a few hundred. Thie end too was badly in need of redevelopment and was converted into a brand new stand that was part of the redevelopment of the ground. The new covered stand was also opened for the Fulham game, housing 633 spectators including eight disabled spaces.Artificial 3G pitch
In 2009 Crusaders installed a 3G artificial pitch, the first in the Irish League, which instantly paid dividends when theirs was the only Premier League game to survive the weather the following week.New Stadium plans
The club submitted plans in 2010 for a new stadium on Dargan Road, some half mile from the present location, however the club received a major blow to their plans when European funding was declined. The club intend to try and raise the £25 million necessary to build the 6,000 capacity all seater stadium with private funding and have widespread cross party political support for the plan. Part of the plan for the new stadium involves moving the two new stands at Seaview to the new location.External links
- IFCP photos from Seaview
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryHsJpny-qQ Ulster Groundhopper's video tour of Seaview as it stood in 2010