Nostalgic memories of floodlights

[Codner pharmaceuticals]

Driving through Dublin just now i had spine tingling memories of walking down the Old Shoreham Road and catching the first glimpse of the lights.

http://www.iolfree.ie/~bohsfans/images/Dalymount/shed.jpg

 

[catfish]

I still miss the sight of the Goldstone floodlights when approaching Hove by train.

 

[Curious Orange]

Ah, drench lights - not many grounds have them these days... Windsor Park is another one I can think of, and there are probably a few more grounds in Scotland too. I can't think of any other English ground that had them other than Brighton though?

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

i remember the southampton fan who climbed to the top of the north-east corner,must of had a great view

 

[Cian]

Ah, drench lights - not many grounds have them these days... Windsor Park is another one I can think of, and there are probably a few more grounds in Scotland too. I can't think of any other English ground that had them other than Brighton though?

Having been in that ground (Dalymount Park, Dublin) in a storm, I'm amazed it still has them! The tramway end towers were shaking like crazy.

 

[slinky]

made me think of the old ground, and youtubed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxPW19rO1OI

brought a tear to my eye...

 

[Notters]

What you doing in Dublin Bro?

Had the same feeling when we went to Dumfries last year, sob.

 

[wxmbadger]

In peace Type Racecourse ground into google and feast your eyes on those beauties

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

What you doing in Dublin Bro?

Had the same feeling when we went to Dumfries last year, sob.

Wow, that could be the Goldstone

 

[Codner pharmaceuticals]

What you doing in Dublin Bro?

Pimping myself for work for the new company!

 

[mune ni kamome]

What you doing in Dublin Bro?

Had the same feeling when we went to Dumfries last year, sob.

I'm jealous. Last year I went to Annan and Dumfries. Had a walk round the town centres and was hoping for a quick peek at the football grounds as you do. Couldn't see either of them from where I was

 

[Curious Orange]

In peace Type Racecourse ground into google and feast your eyes on those beauties

Not quite the same nostalgia for us I'm afraid - the Racecourse has English style floodlights, whereas the Goldstone had Scottish style drenchlights... bowed in prayer at the four corners of the church of the Albion.

 

[Fef]

Not quite the same nostalgia for us I'm afraid - the Racecourse has English style floodlights, whereas the Goldstone had Scottish style drenchlights... bowed in prayer at the four corners of the church of the Albion.

Drenchlights - that's a new one one me. Care to explain the difference?

 

[Curious Orange]

Drenchlights - that's a new one one me. Care to explain the difference?

Oh, that's easy.

Floodlights are mounted on pylons that are vertical, including the head, and the lights are angled down. With drenchlights the head of the pylon itself is angled down too - it subtly changes the spread of light.

 

[mune ni kamome]

Memory plays tricks but I think it was Luton in the 70's where I first saw a ground without floodlight pylons. Didn't seem right I remember.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

I remember the first game under floodlights at the Goldstone. From memory, it was a German team rejoicing in the name of Worms.

Up till then midweek games such as cup replays were played in the afternoons, ideal for sneaking in at half time after school

 

[ROSM]

I remember the first game under floodlights at the Goldstone. From memory, it was a German team rejoicing in the name of Worms.

Up till then midweek games such as cup replays were played in the afternoons, ideal for sneaking in at half time after school

I thought it was a Danish team called Frem?

I did a lot of research into the floodlights at the Goldstone as I tried to get a preservation order on them to prevent their demolition and effectively make the goldstone site a nightmare for development. I spoke to many people (English Heritage etc) and was given a great deal of support by Simon Inglis who was a journalist specialising in writing about English Football grounds. he assisted on getting listed building status to the east and west stand at Highbury.

Sadly we were advised, the closest we could get was that Floodlights could be dismantled and would have to be erected elsewehere - they didnt have to stay in their location. It actually would have caused more issues to the consortium who wanted to build the new stadium so it was not progressed.

I have the original plans for the floodlights - rescued by History Man, from a skip when the goldstone was demolished.

 

[Storer 68]

Ah, drench lights - not many grounds have them these days... Windsor Park is another one I can think of, and there are probably a few more grounds in Scotland too. I can't think of any other English ground that had them other than Brighton though?

Not many clubs had drench lighting in England at all. It was a scottish based product so Scottish football was the obvious market .

And we were very late in putting up floodlights

 

[Cian]

Not many clubs had drench lighting in England at all. It was a scottish based product so Scottish football was the obvious market .

And we were very late in putting up floodlights

They aren't even common here - Dalymount has them as it hosted Internationals under lights in the 80s. Most grounds here got floodlights in the early 1990s paid for by Sky in a compensation deal broked with UEFA the year Sky got UK top division rights (Irish games were held on Sunday daytimes to avoid clashing with radio coverage, with Sky having a game every Sunday daytime that didn't work). Whoever Sky contracted installed four pylons along both sides of the ground. A few clubs had been saving for floodlighting themselves and threw the money towards it and got far brighter ones in, they've got more bulbs on the heads.

Off the top of my head Turners Cross in Cork *might* have drench units.

 

[xenophon]

http://stadiumfloodlights.tumblr.com/