Great Stadium Great Atmosphere (Twickenham Rugby Stadium)

Member Name: mrbigbar7

Product:	Twickenham Rugby Stadium
Date:	14/01/09 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All seats have good views, good acoustics, great atmosphere

Disadvantages: Ticket prices tend to be expensive for some events

As other reviewers have covered the stadiums history I will focus this review on the 'Match Day' experience. I have been to Twickenham to watch games or rugby and concerts. I have sat on 3 sides (not the new south side yet) and at all levels and on the pitch during a concert.

As a rugby venue I think it is fair to say it the home of rugby and is a stadium built exactly to fit the bill. One of the great things about Twickenham is the way that it doesnt matter where you are sat it is nearly impossible to have a terrible view of the action. You can get fairly close to the action or you could be up at the top with an overview of the whole pitch. The higher up you are the better the view of the pitch for obvious reasons, and even when at the top you feel close enough to hear the noises the pack makes and also crunching hits. I really recommend this as a sporting venue as there is something about the place which allows it to have a totally different atmosphere from any where else. All the seats are coverered with roofing so there is some protection from bad weather, but this also has the effect of allowing the atmosphere to build especially during an England international with upwards of 80000 people singing in unison. The roof keeps the noise in and allows it to reverberate around the stadium building the atmosphere even more.

During concerts they tend to have the stage towards the newly developed South End and only have the biggest bands with big screens and bigger stages so everyone can see. I sat at the furtherst point from the stage during a Police concert and could still easily see the stage and band members walking around on it without too much difficulty, with brillaint sounds quality. As the seating at the stadium is roofed, it allows the noise of the band and the crowd to stay within the stadium so the sounds quality is very very good unlike some other venues where is disipates into the sky and you can hardly hear a thing.

One area where Twickanham comes into its own is the concessions and toilets, there are numerour bars and food stalls all the way around every level of the stadium which means you shouldnt have to que forever and miss any of the action for a drink or some food. The prices tend to be standard venue prices e.g. £3.20 a pint. I found the staff to be polite and the stewards to be helpful and not obnoxious. The toilets are also in very good condition and plentiful even with hundreds of people streaming in and out of then. The RFU seem to have invested a lot of money into their showpiece stadium and I think it has really works as a venue both for rugby and concerts.

The only drawback which I can think of is the fact that the ticket prices for some events particularly concerts tend to be very high - about £100 for seats which really should cost no more than £50.

Summary: Good venue, family friendly stadium