Bove

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
Bove
bovetop.png
Nation Candelaria And Marquez
Function Industrial Powerhouse
Population



318,500
(Census Esimate 2005)
31,213,000
(UN Estimate 2007)
Representatives



Council Leader John Bilston (Unionist)
Bove East MotH, Cassandra Nash (Unionist)
Bove West MotH, Keith Angus (Unionist)

Bove is an important city in Candelaria And Marquez, situated on the east coast of the largest island, Candelaria, several miles inland on the Peláez Cove.

First established as the town of Bovington in the late 1840s, the early success of the city that would become Bove was built on the rich mineral deposits to the west. Since this time it has always been seen as the "muscles" of the Candelarias, a heavily industrialised city with huge steel and ironworks employing the bulk of the population. Throughout most of the second half of the twentieth century it fought with Arrigo for the title of the country’s most populous city, only being surpassed when the borders of the city of Albrecht were expanded. Modern Bove is essentially continuous with Albrecht to the extent that only a public referendum stopped plans for its inclusion in the capital’s new borders.

Though many of the original industries have diminished in output and importance; Bove is still a feistily working-class city where the various chemical plants, factories for glass-making, textiles and, increasingly, electronic equipment; are the major employers after Public Administration. Having expanded to include a number of fishing villages in the early twentieth century; port activities are also important though not to the extent of most of the other large settlements on the east of Candelaria and west of Marquez. The media is also a key employer, with the country’s largest television stations all based in the city.

Much of the city still consists of turn-of-the-last-century terraced housing where thousands of poor, left-leaning 'Bovities' expect to earn a job for life after leaving school at eighteen with one of these large companies. The living conditions in these areas are often modest but far from unpleasant, and the City Council has gone to great lengths in recent years to introduce many more green spaces. There are also significant expanses of red-brick family homes and relatively plush and modern high-rises, particularly surrounding the city centre.

The modern city is based around Courtney Market, the largest traditional open air market in the country. The main financial and commercial district, Thornywood Ward, is to the east; the entertainment and civic areas to the west of the market. The country’s largest urban park, the Little Farm, sits to the north. The park includes several large stately houses, which were previously owned by wealthy individuals who often ran small surrounding hamlets in an almost feudal style; a state of affairs that did not alter drastically until the 1980s when most of the houses were bought by the City Council. One such, Beeftown House, is now the City Council building.

Media City

To the south lies the Media City, an important employer and part of Bove’s modern identity. Formed around Nunian Road and Candle Street; the MC is the base of operations for the country’s state television TV1, TV2 and pay-per-view TV3 channels and the largest national commercial network, TTO. The Albrecht Herald and Albrecht Mercury are today edited and printed here, alongside the national Bove National Reporter and left-leaning local paper Bovington Citizen, one of the oldest in the Candelarias. The current C&M government have also been keen to attract major foreign broadcasters to the country and to open offices in the city, though at the current time only LBG broadcasts nationally.

Football

Bove is not known as a centre of sporting excellence, with basketball being traditionally the most popular team sport (there are four semi-professional teams in the city). There have been a series of short-lived football clubs all attaining only a very modest degree of success and public popularity.

Then in 1998, AFC MN Smith were established. Founded in honour of a legendary old player who spent the remainder of his life coaching Bove kids, they are managed by a former protégé of his, Derek Marshall, and similarly include three players (goalkeeper Boris Oviedo, right wing-back Darwin Rondags and right-winger Will Medlin) who benefited from his tutelage. With a number of other youth team products attracting covetous glances from other clubs – including the brothers at centre-back, Moreland and Lance Adams – fans believe they could very realistically be the new Green Island after achieving promotion to the CMSC in season XXV; beating Mayo Valley in the play-off final. On the face of it however, these claims appear to be wildly ambitious.

To their credit however, the "Smudgers" do have a striking new home to write home about. The 20,568-seater City of Bove Stadium will be one of two arenas designed by Kura-Pellandi company ShinyPlaces in CMSC XXVI; the other being the Estadio Arrigo Nacional in Arrigo. It is set to host its first game in a pre-season friendly shortly.

bovemainstand.png

The main innovation in the CoBS is the use of CorGlass, a roofing material devised by GCGP (Grayton City Glass and Plastics). It is 80% transparent except on its edges, and can be shaped much like plastic. This is most evident in the roof of the main stand (above), a sawtooth design with ten ridges. The stand is also unusual in that it extends beyond each goal line; it accounts for almost half the stadium's capacity all by itself (4,608 on each tier and the executive boxes).

The rest of the stadium consists of a single-tier 'squared horseshoe' design linking one sideline and each goal (below). Again, the CorGlass roof is evident, with a circular design that would be more expensive to manufacture with regular glass or concrete.

bovehorseshoe.png

The involvement of a design company from Kura-Pelland, a country once ripped apart by conflict along tribal lines, is perhaps fitting given the current status of the club. The Smith’s formation and subsequent success effectively signed the death warrant of All Saints FC, a historical pre-CMSC club based in the western district of Southampton. The Saints lost significant sponsorship to their romantic new neighbours and by 2005 had gone bust.

While a small number of die-hard fans have attempted to reform the club as The New Saints, and start all over again in the amateur leagues; many others have defected to their ‘conquerors’. But much animosity still remains between traditional MN Smith and former All Saints supporters; and the CoBS is expected to supply one of the most hostile atmospheres in next season’s CMSC, even before the introduction of opposition supporters. The local constabulary have even considered segregating the two sets of ‘home’ fans.