Well probably not, but according to former referee Hugh Dallas, from a referees point of view it’s up there with the best of them.
Dallas, one of the highest rated refs in world football over the past decade or so and a man who used to infuriate the life out of your average Jambo, was recently quoted as saying this when asked about places he’s taken charge around the world:
‘I have refereed at the Maracana, San Siro, and the Nou Camp, although i have been impressed by their grandeur nothing holds a candle to refereeing at Tynecastle’.
Whether or not this was said tongue-in-cheek however is up for question, but probably not. There’s a lot to be said for smaller grounds where the fans are right in top of the pitch and in terms of pure hostility and intimidation, I don’t think there’s a ground certainly in this country to touch it. And Dallas is not the first referee I’ve heard saying this about the hallowed home of Hearts.
I wonder what Mr Dallas thinks of the Tynie catering in comparison to some of those more glamorous places however………….!
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Nothing beats your own. I love Fir Park , it’s got personality and on it’s day an atmosphere which can’t be beaten by newer lego type stadia. Always enjoyed a visit to Tynecastle I must say.
I do think though, that Fir Park lost some of it’s atmosphere when the seats came in. Along with many other grounds in Scotland, it used to be split at the half-way line in the covered section and the bedlam that used to go on in there was hilarious! It was the same at Dunfermline, Paisley and Dundee United too. It’s probably fair to say that Tynecastle is one of the few grounds with a better atmosphere since seats became compulsory.
It’s far from being the “best” stadium in the world (I think that honour falls to the new Olympic Arena in Munich) but in terms of sheer atmosphere there are very few that come close. The Hearts board should be very careful when they rebuild the main stand that this atmosphere is not lost – as stadium builders these days put safety & comfort first ahead of noise retention. Which is understandable, but a bit of a shame IMO. You only have to look at Hampden for an example of what not to do.
You’re spot in with Hampden – agree entirely. That place has lost ALL of the character and atmosphere it onces had. Incidently in case you didn’t notice, the headline for this article was a little bit tongue-in-cheek!