Friday 8 August 2008

FC Flora; A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia.

FC Flora play at the A. Le Coq Arena. This is where the Estonian National Team play, and I was fortunate enough to be able to walk round the ground, when watching a game on the smaller out pirches, grounds in their own right, outside.



A. Le Coq is one of their best selling beers.



This is the view from outside.



And behind the goal, outside. Note thise steps. Upstairs to a series of changing rooms, which we used for our match a couple of days later against JK Jalgpallihaigla.
Through the doors at ground level, to a foyer, and glass doors were unlocked so I could just walk onto the pitch!



A couple of shirts on display in the foyer.





I enter the ground from the middle, behind the goal. This is the view as I look right; but I will turn left, and go round in a clockwise direction. The following pictures are very 'samey'. This is a modern stadium, but still a smart one to view.



So turning left, this is the rest of this end.



Looking across, to my right, I take a picture of a fellow Hamlet fan Hutty, with the two tiered stand along the side behind him.



This is the identical one, down the left, with a pitch sprinker watering the pitch.



Looking down the lower section.



And looking straight across to the other side.



Looking up at the roof from the lower tier.



From the middle, looking back behind the goal, where I cam into the stadium.



The dugouts, in fornt of the left hand stand.



A close up of the sprinkler! I made sure i got a bit of a soaking, as it was still in the sixties to seventies at half past nine in the evening!



Our first sight of the far end, the only uncovered part of the ground.



There were huge billboards in each corner.



Looking back to the 'sprinker' side, from behind the goal.



And staring straight down the pitch.



Another shot of the sprinker!



And the identical stand opposite it.



Another of the corner hoardings.



I decide to climb up to the second tiers on this side.



And look at the open end from higher up.



Behind this stand is the Sportland Arenal, where second division FC Elva play their games.
You can also see the car park, with a small football court in the middle.



A snap from the back, at the top, looking to the covered end.



Same end, by further along.



Another snap of the sprinker in action, facing right into the sun. Not the best of snaps, I just took it to see what it would come out like.



A last glimpse of the covered end.



And down the side..



Before it's back outside for the second half of FC Elva versus JK Jalgpallihaigla, in the Estonian Cup!



And finally two quick snatched photos of the ground taken from a passing train a couple of days later!





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