The Stadiums of Football Manager 2021 Edition

[Lempicka]

Welcome to the 2021 edition of The Stadiums of Football Manager.

Often maligned, due to lack of variety and scale, the stadia in Football Manager are not to everyone’s taste. Regardless, the grounds, with their floodlights, banners and crowd play an important part in our match day experience.

From lower league terraces surrounded by rural idyll, to modern cantilever stands dwarfed by inner city high rises - there are some great stadiums in the game. Look beyond the excessive tunnels and burger vans and you will see a place of pilgrimage – the one tangible constant in a game of spreadsheets.

The players and managers of our saves come and go over the seasons, but the majority of the grounds remain the same. It’s the place you call home, the dreaded away day in a relegation six-pointer – the continental midweek game under the floodlights.

Let us use this thread as a platform to showcase some of the more obscure or interesting ones we come across on our travels.

I’ll start us off in England. Here are a couple of shots of Broadhall Way (Lamex Stadium), home of Stevenage FC.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Lempicka

[ajt]

Beautiful, looks like they got Stevenage down to a tee

I'm playing in Germany so unlikely to see anything interesting but will keep an eye out

 

[Lempicka]

Over to France now and the Stade Pierre Mauroy, home of LIlle OSC. 

First impression, it looks like a generic large FM stadium. However, when compared to its real life counterpart - it's a decent representation.

 

 

[Lempicka]

Here's the Gallagher Stadium, home of Maidstone United. Looks larger that its real life counterpart, which only has two stands. Nevertheless, a nice looking ground, that's been enhanced by background buildings.

 

[Dagenham_Dave]

How are you getting the shots of these stadiums? FM21 no longer has the ability to switch to pitch view at half time where you could view various camera angles of your ground. 

[autohoratio]

1 hour ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

How are you getting the shots of these stadiums? FM21 no longer has the ability to switch to pitch view at half time where you could view various camera angles of your ground. 

I assume from the pre-match pitch view
e.g. this one for KRC Genk

[Lempicka]

1 hour ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

How are you getting the shots of these stadiums? FM21 no longer has the ability to switch to pitch view at half time where you could view various camera angles of your ground. 

It's not easy as it was in earlier versions. At HT and FT you can see the stadium in the background - but it's obscured by the various stats panels. You can get it from the pre-match view, but sometimes it cuts straight to the group huddle/ line up sequence and you don't get the chance.

What I've been doing is at HT (before the team talk) pressing F2 to go to your team page and then when you return to the match you can briefly see the stadium monatge without the panels. You have to be quick and  press 'print screen' before panels pop up again. Repeat the process if  you're not with the picture.

I'm hoping once the UI has been skinned - it'll be much easier to do this.

Edited November 15, 2020 by Lempicka
Typo

[Lempicka]

8 minutes ago, autohoratio said:

I assume from the pre-match pitch view
e.g. this one for KRC Genk

That's a nice main stand btw. Quite different.

[autohoratio]

7 minutes ago, Lempicka said:

That's a nice main stand btw. Quite different.

The only stand, even! It's a good old-school-type tribune, would be nice to see if there are stadia with similar stands on the other three sides.

[McBride]

Fulham's Craven Cottage, which is under renovation in real life is also in the game.

[McBride]

They got the one sided stand at NK Aluminij Kidricevo correct which bodes well for smaller stadia. We'll see if there's any no stand pitches in the game.

Edited November 15, 2020 by McBride

[djpdavey]

On 14/11/2020 at 12:06, Lempicka said:

Over to France now and the Stade Pierre Mauroy, home of LIlle OSC. 

First impression, it looks like a generic large FM stadium. However, when compared to its real life counterpart - it's a decent representation.

 

 

 

On 14/11/2020 at 12:06, Lempicka said:

 

Looks like the old sh*te hart lane

[Lempicka]

Another nice representation, Stadio Benito Stirpe, Italy. Home of Frosinone Calcio.

 

[priority76]

They would look even nicer if you installed the awesome adboard patch!

[Lempicka]

24 minutes ago, priority76 said:

They would look even nicer if you installed the awesome adboard patch!

I probably will after Beta.

[alian62]

Stadiums are not to bad but its the backgrounds of big buildings and skyscrapers that are annoying . Just a lack imagination . Where are the car parks or the lower class buildings or parklands that surround stadiums ? 

[bielsadidnothingwrong]

I always enjoyed managing in coastal areas meant I saw more palm trees, always felt like a cute little addition.

[acmilano112000]

2 hours ago, Lempicka said:

Another nice representation, Stadio Benito Stirpe, Italy. Home of Frosinone Calcio.

 

This is an amazing example. If the stadiums of non major teams like this are done in more detail like this it would persuade me to play as a certain team just because of the stadium.

As it is I play a lot of lower level Ligue 1, Serie A teams, or Serie B teams in FM and if the stadium has basic features of the real one it goes a long way for me. Really helps imagining the atmosphere and feeling like a home game is home. Also it makes it even more exciting when you are able to get a new stadium built for the anticipation to see the shiny new thing physically. Had a really emotional final game at Torino's stadium in FM17 before moving to our new one. Didn't quite show up full suit and tie to my laptop but may have shed a tear, can't recall.

And I don't mean we need the stadiums to be like FIFA of course, not really talking about the graphical quality... more like whether the seat colors are accurate, and the overall shape of the place. Drives me nuts to be an Italian team in a famous old oval stadium with a running track (Verona, Bari, Roma/Lazio, etc etc) and have it depicted in FM like a UK stadium with seats coming right along the edges of the pitch.

[oblongata21]

Good to see the lower level teams still have those huge tv screens in each corner.

 

[Lempicka]

1 hour ago, oblongata21 said:

Good to see the lower level teams still have those huge tv screens in each corner.

 

Yeah - it's a shame. They'd look much better without them.

[Martini]

hace 2 horas, oblongata21 dijo:

Good to see the lower level teams still have those huge tv screens in each corner.

 

IKR?, just place a palm or anything, the same wall without the TV screen, great work with Benito and Pierre, not real but realistic anyways.

[Takamaru]

New favorite thread

[alian62]

1 hour ago, Martini said:

IKR?, just place a palm or anything, the same wall without the TV screen, great work with Benito and Pierre, not real but realistic anyways.

 

1 hour ago, Martini said:

IKR?, just place a palm or anything, the same wall without the TV screen, great work with Benito and Pierre, not real but realistic anyways.

You can remove them once the full game gets releases

[Lempicka]

Here's the Korinn Stadium, Iceland. Home of HK. Nice little ground, though nothing like the real one - which is an indoor stadium (FM lists it as having a retractable roof). 

Love the flags hanging from the building - nice touch!

[priority76]

If I may join in, Atatürk Olympic Stadium (After Champions League final)

[Lempicka]

The Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires. Home of Boca Juniors. 

I have to say, this one looks great. Okay, doesn't quite have the iconic 'flat' stand of La Bombonera - but the rest of it is a good representation. Those floodlights set it off to a tee. 

[priority76]

1 hour ago, Lempicka said:

The Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires. Home of Boca Juniors. 

I have to say, this one looks great. Okay, doesn't quite have the iconic 'flat' stand of La Bombonera - but the rest of it is a good representation. Those floodlights set it off to a tee. 

Wow, that's awesome!  I didn't even realise you got big roofless stadiums like that.  Mind you I never really play in South America.

[Dagenham_Dave]

22 hours ago, Lempicka said:

The Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires. Home of Boca Juniors. 

I have to say, this one looks great. Okay, doesn't quite have the iconic 'flat' stand of La Bombonera - but the rest of it is a good representation. Those floodlights set it off to a tee. 

They can do that but can't put a roof on the stand of the club I support (Stirling)  

[Tony Wright 747]

On 15/11/2020 at 16:37, McBride said:

Fulham's Craven Cottage, which is under renovation in real life is also in the game.

Looks like they have filled the thames in

[Tony Wright 747]

23 hours ago, Lempicka said:

The Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires. Home of Boca Juniors. 

I have to say, this one looks great. Okay, doesn't quite have the iconic 'flat' stand of La Bombonera - but the rest of it is a good representation. Those floodlights set it off to a tee. 

Very lifelike apart from those massive tunnels, far too common in the game

[oblongata21]

On 20/11/2020 at 20:38, alian62 said:

 

You can remove them once the full game gets releases

How do you do that? I didnt even realise it was possible

[alian62]

25 minutes ago, oblongata21 said:

How do you do that? I didnt even realise it was possible

Would have to see when the full game comes out but there has always been mods for stadiums

 

[WojciechZed]

The Camp Nou should look more like the Boca Juniors stadium, just with different colours. Then it would look more like in reality.

[upthetoon]

this is one part of the game, where it's seriously lacking. 

i really really hope SI opens up full modding capablility to the community. 
It will bring about 1 heck of an experience.

[Lempicka]

23 minutes ago, alian62 said:

Would have to see when the full game comes out but there has always been mods for stadiums

 

You can also edit certain parts of the stadium (capacity of each stand, seats/standing, etc) in FMTRE.

[jimbo22]

37 minutes ago, upthetoon said:

this is one part of the game, where it's seriously lacking. 

i really really hope SI opens up full modding capablility to the community. 
It will bring about 1 heck of an experience.

Im really surprised they seem to be against this. release the tools that can do it and, as you say, the gaming experience completely changes. 

[McBride]

I think they should (at least) have a simple stadium editor inside the in game editor where you can choose "1 stand", "2 stand","3 stand" "4 stand", or "pitch and parking lot". This would at least make lower league play more rewarding.

The stadium capacities the clubs give them are pretty dubious and really fools the game into building stadiums for everyone.

Edited November 22, 2020 by McBride

[RoPS83]

I think this year the most realistic looking stadiums are the closed ones with corner seats that have under 30,000 capacity. When the capacity is over 30,000 the stadiums look huge and have like 3 or 4 tiers. Then again actual big stadiums with let's say over 50,000 capacity don't look much bigger than those with little over 30,000 seats. Another thing are big stadiums with 4 different stands and open corners as they hardly ever look anything remotely close to their real life counterparts. The corner holes are often huge and the main stands really far away from the stands in both ends. IRL the lower seats behind goal often come quite close to the side stand and the general feeling is that you can't see the whole city from the stadium. This year the buildings in those corners are a nice touch but get a little boring in the end as there's not too much variety.

[alian62]

17 hours ago, McBride said:

I think they should (at least) have a simple stadium editor inside the in game editor where you can choose "1 stand", "2 stand","3 stand" "4 stand", or "pitch and parking lot". This would at least make lower league play more rewarding.

The stadium capacities the clubs give them are pretty dubious and really fools the game into building stadiums for everyone.

Yes parking lots are needed / How many clubs have a stadium actually sit in the middle of a city with massive buildings around it

[Dagenham_Dave]

On 22/11/2020 at 12:14, Lempicka said:

You can also edit certain parts of the stadium (capacity of each stand, seats/standing, etc) in FMTRE.

Are you able to edit whether a stand has a roof or not?

[priority76]

29 minutes ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

Are you able to edit whether a stand has a roof or not?

It's not something I've used myself, but a look here: https://www.fmrte.com/features/fmrte/changing-stadium-3d-appearance-r9/ suggests you can.  This could be a game changer for me if you can do the same for FM21.

[Dagenham_Dave]

I've just purchased it, and yes, you can edit lots of the stadium - capacity, whether there's a roof or not, fill in the corners, etc. This got me excited, then I realised they've fixed Stirling's stadium this year anyway, should maybe have checked that first 

But still, people more clever than me could use this to the fullest and really improve the look of the stadiums. 

I daresay we can't really talk too much more about it on here as it's not an official product. 

[priority76]

5 hours ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

I realised they've fixed Stirling's stadium this year anyway

Show us a picture then!

Also you haven't happened to come across Falkirk stadium or Starks Park have you?  I thought they looked particularly unlike their real life counterparts in FM20.

Edited November 23, 2020 by priority76

[oblongata21]

On 22/11/2020 at 19:48, alian62 said:

Would have to see when the full game comes out but there has always been mods for stadiums

 

Well, i guess you learn something new every day! Thanks, I will keep my eye out for that.

Unfortunately the editor for FM21 is not available (even though the game is) for me yet to check what i can and cant edit through it

[anagain]

18 hours ago, alian62 said:

Yes parking lots are needed / How many clubs have a stadium actually sit in the middle of a city with massive buildings around it

Quite a few clubs have grounds right in the middle of urban areas. More so in the UK, perhaps. I always have Google Maps open when I play the game, and will bring up the stadiums I play matches in.

It tends to be new build stadiums that are out of town with large car parks around them.

Of course, it all varies massively. 

[Casual]

It's really a shame that my favourite club and a European cup(s) regular Red Star Belgrade has white stands instead of red for years now... What stadium details are we talking about when even the most basic thing such as the stadium color isn't corrected for years. I am not really a community head, but I really doubt that nobody from Serbia's FM team, FM community or whatever hasnt said anything about this for years ...

Edited November 24, 2020 by Casual

[McBride]

Here is a surprise and possibly just coincidence but i was playing KF Kukësi in the Albanian league that isn't even in the official release and when I looked at the actual stadium it wasn't far off from the one in the game which is one covered stand, 2 uncovered stands and the fourth side had the entrance and food stands. That's what most small grounds look like but the ratio was accurate

[priority76]

On 24/11/2020 at 05:27, Casual said:

It's really a shame that my favourite club and a European cup(s) regular Red Star Belgrade has white stands instead of red for years now... What stadium details are we talking about when even the most basic thing such as the stadium color isn't corrected for years. I am not really a community head, but I really doubt that nobody from Serbia's FM team, FM community or whatever hasnt said anything about this for years ...

In the time it took you to moan about it, you could have changed it yourself in the editor.😉

[Sharkn20]

On 19/11/2020 at 22:52, priority76 said:

They would look even nicer if you installed the awesome adboard patch!

Where do u find that??

[Lempicka]

Always thought it a shame the there were no running tracks in FM. Europe and further a field has some great stadiums with tracks around them. Anyway, here's one from England, the Gateshead International Stadium. Better known for athletics, we see it here as the home of Gateshead FC of the National League North.