Jump to content

Worst place to play or see a game


stu_bean
 Share

Recommended Posts

Am I the only person that likes Brown and Gold/Yellow?

GC at Haysi was 2001.   Obnoxious GC fans and the trend continued in 03. 

2010 Coeburn would have been a solid D1 team but they we're at the very bottom of D2 and had the pleasure of visiting GC in Round 1. The Blue Knights weren't bad, GC was just great.

Ralph Cummins was THE best field I've ever seen. They also had the worst visitor locker room.

 

TW is a beautiful setting but that's about all I can say good about the place.

TV is bad all around. 

Holston has a really crappy field and the grass was always WAY too long.

Elkhorn City's field was terrible. Some fields have some of base line on the playing surface but Elkhorn had the entire infield on the football field. 

Centrals parking situation is terrible but with the position of the school idk that there's a solution. Ridgeviews parking situation is great, as is the field. It's everything else that sucks. 

 

A lot lot of the new stadiums have been mentioned. It seems like they're designed to set and watch games like soccer moms, not to be a part of the action. I see good and bad in that but for football fans it's terrible. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

Marion everything is bad from the field with part of baseball infield on it to visitors dressing 

Agree with ST Paul infield made up a large portion of the field. Saw a kid trip over the lip of the infield and was wide open for a TD pass LOL

Clintwood visitors dressing room worst ever

Agree with Holston not sure what is going on there

Hurley awesome with the Cliff but the field isn't much and everyone sits on the same side

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
15 hours ago, redtiger said:

Am I the only person that likes Brown and Gold/Yellow?

GC at Haysi was 2001.   Obnoxious GC fans and the trend continued in 03. 

2010 Coeburn would have been a solid D1 team but they we're at the very bottom of D2 and had the pleasure of visiting GC in Round 1. The Blue Knights weren't bad, GC was just great.

Ralph Cummins was THE best field I've ever seen. They also had the worst visitor locker room.

 

TW is a beautiful setting but that's about all I can say good about the place.

TV is bad all around. 

Holston has a really crappy field and the grass was always WAY too long.

Elkhorn City's field was terrible. Some fields have some of base line on the playing surface but Elkhorn had the entire infield on the football field. 

Centrals parking situation is terrible but with the position of the school idk that there's a solution. Ridgeviews parking situation is great, as is the field. It's everything else that sucks. 

 

A lot lot of the new stadiums have been mentioned. It seems like they're designed to set and watch games like soccer moms, not to be a part of the action. I see good and bad in that but for football fans it's terrible. 

 

The longer we're at Ridgeview the more I hate everything about it. Loved the grass at Ralph's house. The worst fields I've ever played on were St. Paul and Hurley. I hate watching games at Ridgeview 163 feet from the field, I could see about as good from my porch at home. Gate City fans back in the day were the worst I ever saw. They seem better now for whatever reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
On 7/14/2017 at 9:30 AM, swva_havok_fan said:

LMAO about Richlands... :)

As I mentioned on the basketball thread, never got to make that trip to Pocahontas back in the Haysi days.  One of these days when I am around Bluefield, I am going to take a drive out of the way down to Pocy just to see what I can see.

My five worst:

1. Galax (sorry sixcat) -- Terrible seats home/away, long concession lines because there's not enough of them

2. The stadiums of the Cumberland District with the exception of Eastside and Thomas Walker -- J. I. Burton = sucks, Twin Springs = middle of nowhere, no cell signal, sucks, Castlewood = meh, Rye Cove = see Twin Springs, plus cow pasture and rock quarry field, Ervinton (now defunct) = horrible

3. Wise Central -- Not nearly enough seating to be a new stadium.  Parking is abysmal.  Get there at least 2 hours before kickoff or be faced with having to walk up the steep hill from the Walmart.

4. Elkhorn City, Kentucky (now defunct consolidated to form East Ridge)  -- A softball/football field.  Seemed like half of the field was made up of sand.  Never have the words "Three yards and a cloud of dust" been more truer

5. Holston -- Not really a bad stadium or seating, but severe drainage issues.  Shouldn't have to wade across a small lake to get to your seat.

 

Won't get an argument from me. Galax could have done much more with the field, seating, restrooms and concessions with the staggeringly rediculous amount of money they are spending on the turf and storm water collection system. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
10 hours ago, big ugly vol said:

The longer we're at Ridgeview the more I hate everything about it. Loved the grass at Ralph's house. The worst fields I've ever played on were St. Paul and Hurley. I hate watching games at Ridgeview 163 feet from the field, I could see about as good from my porch at home. Gate City fans back in the day were the worst I ever saw. They seem better now for whatever reason.

You encountered the GC bandwagon fans back then. Anytime GC is supposed to be good they come out. Likely be awhile before you see them again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
On 7/14/2017 at 9:30 AM, swva_havok_fan said:

 

Rye Cove = see Twin Springs, plus cow pasture and rock quarry field,

 

Rock quarry field is a thing of the past. Its been bermuda for a decade now I would guess.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think one of my favorite things about this thread is how blessed we have been in SWVA athletic facility wise.

 

I have covered sports over the past few years in places such as Western Nebraska and WAY Upstate New York and it prides me a little to say that even the worst in SWVA is still better than some of the places I have seen. 

Example - Most schools in Upstate New York comparable to Richlands don't even have lights and very limited if any seating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
3 hours ago, cityofRaven said:

I think one of my favorite things about this thread is how blessed we have been in SWVA athletic facility wise.

 

I have covered sports over the past few years in places such as Western Nebraska and WAY Upstate New York and it prides me a little to say that even the worst in SWVA is still better than some of the places I have seen. 

Example - Most schools in Upstate New York comparable to Richlands don't even have lights and very limited if any seating.

But on the other hand, all stadiums and fields around here are crap if you start looking out Texas way.  Some of the places I saw looked like a small college stadium and they were for high schools.  As far as quality of place, other than Grayson Co I think we have some great ones around considering the economy as a whole.  An incident anywhere can give a place a bad name (GC for me) or a history of results (Mitchell).  The good thing is good and bad experiences make for some great conversations on here.

I love going to new stadiums and the experience that is to be had.  New opinions to form, good or bad.  Let's see which category Riverview, Hurley, and Ft Chiswell get put into for me in the next two seasons!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
5 hours ago, stu_bean said:

But on the other hand, all stadiums and fields around here are crap if you start looking out Texas way.  Some of the places I saw looked like a small college stadium and they were for high schools.  As far as quality of place, other than Grayson Co I think we have some great ones around considering the economy as a whole.  An incident anywhere can give a place a bad name (GC for me) or a history of results (Mitchell).  The good thing is good and bad experiences make for some great conversations on here.

Texas is full of schools with over 2,000 students and an abundance of oil money.

Two key things SWVA is lacking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

My kids aren't even middle school age yet.  I don't know the ones that went down there but I was sitting in the stands and it happened right in front of me.  The year escapes me when this happened but I venture to say it was about 10 yrs ago.  Also I point out the fact that the students harassing them were weaving in and out of them instead of going around them.   GC has 3/4 of the stands and plenty of room to walk around to concessions without having to go through the visitor section...

I also would point out that a few years back some students were gathering on the Sullivan Central side (they were visitors) and a crowd of about 20 started marching over to our side with flags.  Don't know what they were going to try and start but couldn't have been good.  A group of teachers/parents/something came over from their side quite quickly and marched their butts back over to their side.  I commend them for that.  My experience at Sullivan Central was very pleasant but a bad group can happen anywhere anytime.  There is a difference between creating a situation and a a situation just happening.  Those elementary/middle school kids down there at GC were trying to create one.

Respect should be shown no matter who, what or where.  Anybody here can tell you my love for Richlands is about the same as getting a root canal and rectal exam at the same time lol.  But last year some boys at Richlands, on their side I might add, asked my boy if he wanted to play football with them even though he was decked out in Bulldog colors.  That is the way it should be, respect shown for ALL! Be it players, cheerleaders, band members, or just general fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I wish Ole Tob was still alive so he could tell you some experiences from Richlands and Tazewell back in the day...lol. Stuff like that happens everywhere. Some are just at a much higher level. Nothing I've seen in SWVA can compare to some stuff I've witnessed in other areas of Virginia. Trust me, SWVA can't hold a candle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
1 hour ago, GC_Quincy said:

I wish Ole Tob was still alive so he could tell you some experiences from Richlands and Tazewell back in the day...lol. Stuff like that happens everywhere. Some are just at a much higher level. Nothing I've seen in SWVA can compare to some stuff I've witnessed in other areas of Virginia. Trust me, SWVA can't hold a candle.

Don't think you have to go far though.  My dad drove a school bus back when they could fresh out of high school.  He drove the bus to away games and said the absolute worst anywhere was Big Creek.  Beer bottles being thrown at the players and the bus.  No surprise it's the one place I wan't allowed to go to an away game when I was in high school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
38 minutes ago, stu_bean said:

Don't think you have to go far though.  My dad drove a school bus back when they could fresh out of high school.  He drove the bus to away games and said the absolute worst anywhere was Big Creek.  Beer bottles being thrown at the players and the bus.  No surprise it's the one place I wan't allowed to go to an away game when I was in high school.

Can vouch about Big Creek from my experience of going there for a football game.  I had a custom van back when the Blues last played the Creek ( I think is was around 77 to 79,  can't quite remember)  and I had some friends ride over with me to watch the game.  When we came out after the game, one of my side mirrors was broken and my door was keyed.  My van had a nice paint job too,  man I was so angry it was probably a good thing I didn't find or see who had done it. 

I had had issues at some other away games before, mostly mouthy fans,  but never had my vehicle messed with.  Anyways,  my insurance fixed it,  but that was over the top and I never took my Van to an away game again after that.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
4 hours ago, Bigrhsfan said:

Can vouch about Big Creek from my experience of going there for a football game.  I had a custom van back when the Blues last played the Creek ( I think is was around 77 to 79,  can't quite remember)  and I had some friends ride over with me to watch the game.  When we came out after the game, one of my side mirrors was broken and my door was keyed.  My van had a nice paint job too,  man I was so angry it was probably a good thing I didn't find or see who had done it. 

I had had issues at some other away games before, mostly mouthy fans,  but never had my vehicle messed with.  Anyways,  my insurance fixed it,  but that was over the top and I never took my Van to an away game again after that.  

Oddly enough, my family has had their R stickers and Richlands car flags stolen/ripped off/broken at Graham multiple times. Not sure why. This was back mostly in the last few years of the 2000s and first few seasons of this decade. It wasn't really a competitive rivalry. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
17 hours ago, Bigrhsfan said:

Can vouch about Big Creek from my experience of going there for a football game.  I had a custom van back when the Blues last played the Creek ( I think is was around 77 to 79,  can't quite remember)  and I had some friends ride over with me to watch the game.  When we came out after the game, one of my side mirrors was broken and my door was keyed.  My van had a nice paint job too,  man I was so angry it was probably a good thing I didn't find or see who had done it. 

I had had issues at some other away games before, mostly mouthy fans,  but never had my vehicle messed with.  Anyways,  my insurance fixed it,  but that was over the top and I never took my Van to an away game again after that.  

Last game in the RHS-Big Creek series was in 1982 at War.  Owls had no answer for Sandy Rogers and Blues won 24-12.  My then 11 year old self was happy to leave without experiencing physical harm and/or damage to our family's property. 

Rough, rough place to play.  Couldn't tell you what the field conditions were like, but it was rough in the stands and in the parking lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
12 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

Oddly enough, my family has had their R stickers and Richlands car flags stolen/ripped off/broken at Graham multiple times. Not sure why. This was back mostly in the last few years of the 2000s and first few seasons of this decade. It wasn't really a competitive rivalry. 

Bluefield, WV kids did that...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I went to a Mt. View-Big Creek game one time with a buddy from the County.  Never seen anything like that ever.  A huge fight...must have been 200 people involved.  Complete chaos is the best I can describe it and no one could stop it.  We left before any gun play started...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
17 hours ago, Bigrhsfan said:

Can vouch about Big Creek from my experience of going there for a football game.  I had a custom van back when the Blues last played the Creek ( I think is was around 77 to 79,  can't quite remember)  and I had some friends ride over with me to watch the game.  When we came out after the game, one of my side mirrors was broken and my door was keyed.  My van had a nice paint job too,  man I was so angry it was probably a good thing I didn't find or see who had done it. 

I had had issues at some other away games before, mostly mouthy fans,  but never had my vehicle messed with.  Anyways,  my insurance fixed it,  but that was over the top and I never took my Van to an away game again after that.  

Wonder if any of that has carried over to Riverview?  Has anyone been there and have tales of how the fans and situation are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
2 hours ago, RichlandsAlum said:

Last game in the RHS-Big Creek series was in 1982 at War.  Owls had no answer for Sandy Rogers and Blues won 24-12.  My then 11 year old self was happy to leave without experiencing physical harm and/or damage to our family's property. 

Rough, rough place to play.  Couldn't tell you what the field conditions were like, but it was rough in the stands and in the parking lot.

Couldn"t remember the last time we played them,  but that happened to my van a year or 2 after I graduated ( 1977 )  pretty sure it was in 78 though,  and never had any desire to go back.......lol   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
23 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

Oddly enough, my family has had their R stickers and Richlands car flags stolen/ripped off/broken at Graham multiple times. Not sure why. This was back mostly in the last few years of the 2000s and first few seasons of this decade. It wasn't really a competitive rivalry. 

 

10 hours ago, GMan said:

Bluefield, WV kids did that...

They must have been the ones to rip my VT car flags off too that time when the Hokies played WVU also.  A-holes!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...