Tiddles Park Stadium

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Tiddles Park Stadium
Location Gabalfa, Bettia
Sports Football, Gridiron
Capacity 102000 (40000 seated)
Tenants Bettia, Tiddles Park
Surface Grass
Construction Cost 124 million Groats
Architect Kenzo Violin
Major Events Hosted BoF(23) regional final

AOCAF 11 final
AOCAF 14 final
AOCAF 19 final


Tiddles Park stadium (previously known as Stadiwm Bettia) is a sports venue in Gabalfa, Bettia. The stadium is set within the boundaries of Tiddles Park in the centre of the city The stadium is bowl-shaped, with two tiers all the way around the ground. Both tiers behind each goal are terraced, with seating provided in the upper tiers along the sides.


History

Tiddles Park was originally constructed shortly after the Ahlil-Kitab Revolution when the modern state of Bettia was formed. The previous stadium, which was an uncovered bowl dating back from the turn of the century, was demolished and replaced with a new 82000 all-seater stadium. However, it was soon found that Bettian fans preferred old-fashioned terracing and that demand for tickets was more than the stadium could handle. Therefore, the decision was made to remove the entire lower tier of seats plus the upper tier at each end. The result was an increase in the capacity to present levels and a much better atmosphere all round. For extra effect, it was decided to colour the terracing green in order to match the seats, giving the visual impression of an all-seater stadium but without the dull grey of concrete.

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Tiddles Park, as seen
from Tiddles Park Avenue
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The stadium was originally named Stadiwm Bettia - however, after World Cup 30 it was renamed along with the central city park as a whole after Tiddles, Bettia's famous arora mascot who was tragically killed in the midst of the terrorist campaign conducted by the Paramilitary Instigators of Secular Society when the stadium was attacked by giant ants.

The first competitive football match at the new stadium was a qualifying match for World Cup 22, which saw the Aroras lose 1:2 to EL CID THE HERO. Since then, as the Aroras have established themselves as a force in world football, Tiddles Park has become something of a fortress for the senior national team, with them racking up some heavy victories recently. Their last home defeat came on the second day of qualifying for World Cup 33, where they were defeated 0:1 by Bostopia.

Domestically, Tiddles Park stadium is used by Tiddles Park, a football team playing in the first division of the Apex League. It also hosts the finals of the Apex League playoffs, the FAB Cup, and the Bettian League Of Gridiron.

The stadium has also hosted several other sporting events. It played a major part when Bettia co-hosted the Baptism of Fire, which saw Andossa Se Mitrin Vega win the regional final before losing in the grand final. It has also hosted the finals of three AOCAFs, with Hypocria, Starblaydia and Vilita all emerging victorious.


Structure and Facilities

Tiddles_Park_thumb.JPG
A view of the pitch from the south-west corner (click image to expand)

The stadium's distinctive undulating roof is supported from four pylons situated at each corner of the ground as part of a cable-stayed structure. The interior of Tiddles Park Stadium is a continuous oval bowl with 'flat' ends, with two tiers of terracing and seating. The colour scheme used (dark green and yellow) were specifically used at the design stage of the project to match those used in the Bettian flag.

Supporters of visiting teams are generally allocated Blocks B08 (seated) and A08 (standing), extending into the west stand as demand dictates. Entry to these areas is through Gate 1 (refer to block plan below). There are 68 executive boxes around the stadium, located between the two tiers along the West, North and East Stands. The boxes on the East and West stands seat 10 people inside and outside, while the boxes on the North Stand seat 8 people inside and outside.

The stadium roof is undulating in shape turned up at the sides and dipping towards the corners, and is suspended from steel cables attached to four towers. The areas without seating in each corner have moveable louvres, to allow for ventilation of the pitch.

Entry to the seating areas is from four gates located at each corner. Entry for major events is gained by proximity readers interfacing with smart chips within each ticket rather than the traditional manned turnstile. This system can admit up to 1,200 people per minute around all entrances, and allows fast and accurate counting and monitoring of attendences as well as preventing ticket forgeries.

A service tunnel running under the stadium provides access for emergency vehicles, and allows the visiting team's coach to enter the stadium directly. Inside the stadium are six themed restaurants, two of which have views of the pitch. The stadium also houses offices owned by Tiddles Park FC.

The stadium features a natural grass pitch reinforced with artificial grass fibres.


Transport

Tiddles Park Stadium is located towards the eastern side of Tiddles Park. As it is situated within the private vehicle 'exclusion zone', there are no car parking facilities on the site, save for the coach parking facilities reserved for away teams.

The stadium is well served by public transport, and has its own monorail station and a station on the Gabalfa Underground Transport System, which gives the stadium a direct link from Gabalfa's central railway station and Gabalfa International Airport. It is also served by regular bus services, with many routes providing buses at a rate of 3 per minute during rush hours. Extra bus and underground services are provided from the railway station and airport during special events such as international matches.


Stadium Seating Plan

The seating plan of Tiddles Park Stadium is shown below, indicating the individual blocks; the green blocks are seated, whilst the yellow blocks are terraced (standing).

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