It is exciting times at Subbuteo Stadium as we move onto the next part of our project.

Although technology did not grace the stadiums in the 1990’s, we have decided to bring some technology into our Subbuteo world.

Not only would we like our Subbuteo stadium to be unique, we hope that technology will help solve some practical issues. As a solo player, it can sometimes be difficult to confirm if the ball crossed the goal line or not. Also, with the speed of some shots, the ball can be deflected out of the goal so quickly, that it can be impossible to know if it hit the post, goalkeeper of the back of the net. If you blink at the wrong time, then you have no chance of knowing and we want to avoid any potential game changing issues.

This problem will hopefully be a thing of the past with our new upgrades. We are adding cameras for goal line technology, along the lines of VAR. We managed to find some cheap ‘Go-Pro’ equivalent type mini-cameras, which are perfect. They come with an option to record in slow motion, then the footage can be replayed if needed.

Okay – we admit they are not quite to scale, but as real VAR cameras are almost impossible to see, this is the best we can do.

We just need to do a bit of experimenting with them now to ensure there is a clear line of slight of the goal during matches.

The other small issue is that as slow-motion records so much footage, we may have to limit use to only goal scoring situations – which may become an issue during matches if we have to pause to switch the camera on/off.

Overall, they are a nice new feature to have and make our Subbuteo stadium a unique and exciting place.

We only have time for a quick update today.

The fencing around the outside of the pitch has been permanently installed now. As you can see from the photo, we have left gaps behind both goals to allow for rodded goalkeepers to be used.

We have also left a small gap along one touchline. Once the grandstands are in place, this will provide space for the dugouts, as well as allow the players to get on & off the pitch via the tunnel.

We have changed the advertisers from the initial setup, to reflect how it would look for a Premier League match and it only took a few minutes to switch these around.

Work has continued at our White Hart Lane stadium build.

We had a choice of using the old-style Subbuteo green fencing or go with something a bit more up to date. We managed to obtain some solid fencing made by a non-Subbuteo company, which would allow for larger advertisement stickers.

It was a difficult decision, but after checking many videos from the late 1990’s and early 2000, we decided that the solid advertisement boards were a closer match to the real thing.

But we were not satisfied with installing the plastic fencing straight from the packet. We were concerned that we would not have the ability to change the advertisements, depending on the matches that were being played. Also, we wanted to be able to change the stickers should they get damaged or begin to fade.

With these worries, we went a step further and found some magnetic strips that could be used on the fencing. This will allow for the adverts to be changed at will, so league matches can have different advertisers to European or International matches.

.

We now have a huge selection of advertisements, which can be changed all around the pitch if we choose to do so. We believe this is another first for a Subbuteo stadium, as we look to replicate real life as much as possible.

The pitch has now been laid, which is a huge milestone for the project.

We decided to go with a Pegasus pitch from SubbuteoWorld. We had hoped to go for a chequered pitch, but sadly they were unavailable – so we went for the striped option instead. This is not too much of an issue, as Spurs have used the striped cut at White Hart Lane.

Although we were advised to use repositioning glue to fix the pitch to the board so the position can be adjusted (via a YouTube video), things did not go quite to plan. We used a liberal amount of glue because it comes in a spray can, so it is difficult to get an even amount across the board. We also left the glue for a few minutes before laying the pitch on top. When we put the pitch on top, it began to bubble underneath, so we quickly put some weights on to to keep it flat and managed to avert a potential disaster.

Sadly, when we returned later to inspect the pitch, there were a few areas where the glue had reacted with the underneath material of the pitch and left mark.

These are not too noticeable so we just about got away with it – but if we ever get to lay a new pitch we will have to use a different adhesive.

We are now working on the fencing around the pitch, but we were able to play a ceremonial opening game: an international match between Denmark and England.

It was a fantastic end-to-end game, which ended after extra time in a 3-3 draw. Despite England missing their first two penalties, they eventually won the match on sudden death.

After a lengthy amount of time to allow for plans to come together, work has finally begun on White Hart Lane. This has led to a lot of effort going into building the stadium ‘foundations’, which is rather unexciting, but will hopefully be worth the effort in the long run.

The Subbuteo table has been designed with removable sides, so that the stands can be taken away and stored underneath when matches are taking place. We have added wooden supports to hold up the stadium sections, which then slide underneath the playing surface. This system may need a bit of tweaking as it is a bit rigid at the moment, but we don’t want to make it too loose initially or it wont work very well.

The top piece (which is where the pitch will be) has to be fastened down hard, as this will be supporting all the upward pressure from weight from the sides.

It feels a bit more like the modern Tottenham stadium than the old White Hart Lane at the moment, due to the amount of construction taking place!!

Welcome to our section on our new stadium build project.

After many years of loving Subbuteo and football stadiums in general, we are fortunate to have the space to begin work on a brand new stadium based on Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium from the early 2000’s.

We do expect this stadium to take a number of years to build – this is not going to be a quick, ‘couple of months’ project. The other dilemma, which is a nice one to have, is how much time do we put into the stadium opposed to using our spare time to continue our solo Subbuteo league. Time will tell…

With plenty of ideas to incorporate into the build, there is lots to do, but we won’t be giving too much away at the moment, as its nice to keep a few surprises for later updates . We will mainly be using Subbuteo modern stadiums for the initial build, although we will look a Zeugo too.

The initial plan is to create a simple stadium to begin with. This will mean that it can be used for matches, whilst work can continue to turn it into a replica of White Hart Lane over time.

If funds allow, we hope to do some 3D printing to create some custom bits to make my stadium unique – although there is a concern that our imagination is far more advanced than ability! We have already obtained a couple of iphones which are intended to be used as scoreboards. These may require a custom frame to fix them to the stadium roof – plus add some add further construction pieces so the roof does not collapse.

The actual stadium will have to be configured so that it can be removed from the sides of the pitch, to allow for matches to take place. There has been some thought to model not only the stadium itself, but the outside space too – this has commenced already have via purchases of a few 1:76 coaches, which will arrive outside to drop off the teams.

There are two main questions which are under consideration before we go any further:
1. The pitch. We already own a Subbuteo soft pitch, a Subbuteo Astropitch plus we have been tempted by a new Pegasus chequered pitch. Which should we go for?
2. Floodlights – we already own 4 of the Subbuteo modern floodlights. If we are being true to realism, then White Hart Lane did not have floodlight pylons, so should we use them or go for LED strip lighting? Or should we find a way to incorporate the old floodlights into the design as they are such a ‘feature’ of older English stadiums?