I've heard a few people say the atmosphere at Hilton Park was 'electric' and the LSV can be flat with only 2 stands open.

I massively disagree with this, what do you lot think?

It's also been too long since I did a poll.

when the singing spread from the Tommy Sale stand to the other stands it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and on the rare occasions we had a fair vocal away support at the asda end it was electric

For me, in the time we've been there, the only occasion I've felt a truly 'electric' atmosphere at the LSV was the cup match against Catalans - but it's still early days. Let's see what it's like when we've played the Pies/Wire/Saints in a competitive fixture there - hopefully a cup qtr final this season!!

There were plenty of them at Hilton Park to look back on - and I don't just mean back in the glory days!! Even over the last decade or so we've had:

Beating Oldham, in front of around 6k, to get to our first GF (2000)
Salford in t'cup.....my first Hilton Park 'Beer Shampoo'!! (2001)
Turley beating the World record during our annual humiliation of Hull KR....in the days when away fans travelled in numbers!! (2001)
The play-off loss to Widnes - Timmy's last game for us!!

(2001)
Challenge Cup v The Pies......the place was rammed!!, and on a few occasions during the game 'We Believed'....like being 10-0 up after about 10 minutes, and especially when we scored in front of the Chaddy end in the second half (Jon Roper if memory serves) to bring it back to summat like 20-16 with ten minutes to go!! (2002)
Tommy Martyn (Jnr.) 'homecoming'....and nearly scoring on his debut!! (2003)
The battles with 'Haven!! (2004)
The post GF homecoming!! (2004)
The first SL win v London (2005)
'Ommering Wakey - "Stevo, Stevo, Whats the Score??" (2005)
The 'Win' over Hull - only time I can remember both sets of speccies sing "The Referee's a w****r" at the same time!! (2005)
"The Pies Have Come"...and the lights went out!!

(2005)
Giving Saints the fright of their life in one of DA's last games in charge - Danny Halliwell Hat-trick!! (2005)
The ovation for Tony Benson.....it was treated like The Second Coming!! (2005)
Jules O'Neill inspired Leigh tearing Widnes to shreads in the Trains Cup....it wouldn't be the last time!! (2006)
Beating runaway leaders (& SL bound) HKR in the league - just to show them the Blackpool result wasn't a fluke!! (2006)

Admittedly the last couple of seasons there did not have so many 'magic moments' - but there were still a few memories..... Dennis Moran with some sublime moves, witnessing back-to-back appearences by Toa-Koe-Sicknote (an event in itself!!), Salford bringing the last decent away crowd (and letting RHP - or RP as he was then - know what he could expect as a leigh player!!), the last home game (and 'parade of legends'!!)......the other last home game (apart from the result!!

)!!

The LSV has 60 odd years of history and memories to compete against (including the most successful decade or so in the club's history!) - and starts this 'hamstrung' by the fact that no one considers it 'home'!! If the club can grow it's fan-base, get some more success, and create some new memories for people - and we can see more 'personalisation' of the ground (like the stuff in the North concourse), then maybe...just maybe.......

Nothing wrong with LSV feels like home to me

And me itsatry.

Yes but Ian your easily pleased!

For me Hilton Park remains the place to remember fondly - LSV? give it time and maybe it to will be. (would be better if we as a club owned it - one day maybe - keep dreaming eh) must say the north stand concourse pictures help to make it 'feel more like home' so we are getting there slowly.

Just depends what's pleasing me Henry.

don't you mean 'who's'

Yes.

You cant compare yet.
When LSV has been packed v Wigan/Saints/Wire etc you can get a comparison, as now HP wins hands down.

You could go for half a dozen games at Hilton Park where tries were greeted only by applause, never mind cheering or even a chant or two - the LSV is a much better atmosphere for the run of the mill games, and we haven't really had that many big games yet to compare to the ones at HP. That said, the Widnes games, the Catalan game and even a couple of games during the 'relegation' season created a hell of a racket IMO.

I think people forget about the years of having 1500 spread about Hilton Park trying to keep warm.

As opposed to the 1500 spread about 2 stands at the LSV??



Maybe the North standers - especially if you are stood in among, or near, 'the choir' - get more of a sense of an atmosphere.....and, I suppose, having a roof on makes the accoustics different. So 500 in the North stand can make a noise louder than 2000 in the Chaddy end - 'cos that noise will resonate off the two empty stands as well - unlike HP were the noise didn't have much to bounce off....apart from the roof of the TS stand!!
I still think we can't compare the two until we see that full house (or at least a crowd big enough to open all four stands) in a game that really matters (and, no - I don't mean a one-sided England fixture!!).
If we can get past 'fax next weekend, and get the right home draw in the quarters - Saints, Wire, or the one everyone prays for.........Fev!!

- then we might see it this season. Or, who knows - maybe 'fax will sell 2,000 tickets, and we'll get a flavour of it sooner!!

i have vted, no comparison imo, hilton park will always be our spiritual home, had some magic and tragic times at the old place. however i am getting more used to lsv, especially as now i have my own reserved seat in the west stand

I like the reserved seats too. I like seeing the same old blokes sitting near us every week and starting to get some banter with them.

I was glad to leave Hilton Park , it was old and tired , for me the LSV , is the place to be , i love it easy to park , good views , modern surroundings ,away from the North Standers riff -raff



they know who they are , and easier to get to ,well if you are a motorist it is .

Can't really comment, as I only got to a handful of games at the LSV before I 'emigrated'. But HP was very dear to me, despite its many faults ....

Put the same fixtures, in the same scenario on at the LSV and I believe it would beat Hilton Park hands down. The accoustics for fan noise at LSV are awesome. I've heard small numbers make much more noise than they could have at Hilton Park.

Fact is, we haven't had too much to shout about at LSV yet. In time I hope we will.

Think that's pretty much what Matt was saying Michael, and i agree with both of you.

We all loved Hilton Park there's no doubt about that, but for the singing and the noise levels i think the LSV wins, and if the West Stand joined in with the singing as well it would be even better.

When HP was full, it had a great atmosphere. Sadly, over the last few years there it got less and less in the way of crowds, something we've carried over to LSV.

I don't honestly think you can make a comparison until we can half fill the ground in a big game. Then we'll see.

It's easy to look back at the big games, but as has been commented on, there were an awful lot of tiny crowds.

Agree with most of what Ni, Matt and Michael Ward are saying.

Think Sunday will be a cracking atmosphere though, hope there are a lot of Fax fans and it should be a cracker.

What I miss with the LSV is being able to change ends at half time. At HP it was great to always be behind the sticks Leigh were scoring at. In the North Stand now when Leigh are playing to the South the atmosphere is a lot more muted since it's difficult to see what is happening when play is at the far end.

Has to be Hilton Park for me so far, as we have had nothing at the LSV to compare to.

I'm sure one of the main factors in me first going watching Leigh was wondering 'where does that noise come from?' on a Sunday afternoon, as I used to live about a mile and half down the bypass, on the old train lines towards Atherton from Hilton Park in the early 90's, could always hear the cheer as a try went in if I was outside so far away.

I have too many memories of HP going back to the 70's to compare it with LSV. One of the things that will never leave me was the anticipation in the crowd every time Des Drummond got the ball and the sheer delight when he or Woody scored yet another world class try. As said earlier, put those scenarios in the LSV with 7 or 8000 on and it would be as good as HP if not better.

I miss changing ends too! Presume it would cost too much to open another stand though