Away Days - Bradford City
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- Facilities -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Bradford
City V Preston North End
Competition: Carling Cup Second Round
Ground: Valley Parade
Date: Tuesday 24th August 2010
Kick off: 7.45pm
Final Result: 1-2 Coutts, Treacy (AET)
I pinpointed this match as a "must attend" as soon as the draw was made - an ideal opportunity to tick another ground off as well as it being in the bottom division (I don't have many League Two Grounds to my name).
The first glimpse of the ground came whilst I was on the coach - perched nicely on a hill (the ground that is, not the coach!) Already I could see how two of the stands were towering over the rest of the ground, but I thought the ground looked quite impressive at first glance.
Upon arrival at the ground I opted against have a walk round - I couldn't actually be bothered, so instead just took a photo of the exterior of the Midland Road Stand. I then bought a programme and went in.
Inside, I could tell how lopsided the ground really is. To the left of us was the small TL Dallas Stand which looked really cramped but I suppose 'cosy'. Opposite this was the Carlsberg Kop Stand and next to that the Co-operative Stand. These two stands tower over the rest of the ground, and whilst looking very impressive, must surely be detrimental to any atmosphere fans try to create.
I had 'mixed' feelings about them, on the one hand they look very impressive and must offer a great view but on the other hand (as I said earlier), they make the ground completely lopsided.
Like with the actual ground, I had some mixed feelings about the actual facilities.
Overall, they were quite decent
but I thought the cramped concourse was an annoyance and I could
also see how the catering staff were struggling with just one catering
bar in the away section.
Having said that though, at least they had a decent queuing system
(barriers separating each queue) - this certainly helped avoid the
scrum you get at most grounds, including Deepdale.
As for the toilets, they were of an ok standard.
From my experience, it seemed Bradford
did the right thing moving away fans from the TL Dallas Stand to
the Midland Road Stand. For starters, we didn't have any pillars
in the way.
The view from the stand was excellent - just a clear view of the
pitch and I could see all the action of the match clearly. The steepness
of the stand seemed absolutely right too - not too shallow and not
too steep.
With the legroom - that was excellent too and there was plenty of space to let other people past to take their seats (after standing up of course!)
As I said with the facilities, I had some mixed feelings particularly with the width/size of the concourse and only one catering bar, but otherwise I felt they were of a very good standard.
Well, it was a very rare North End away win and I got to see it! It was an ok PNE performance, but nothing particularly special apart from Keith Treacy's performance.
The ground, despite being lopsided and some concerns with the concourse etc, I felt it was excellent. In general, it looked very smart & modern and from the Midland Road Stand at least, a very good place to watch football from.
Ratings
Appearance: 8/10
Facilities: 7/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fans: 6/10
Stand: 8/10
Overall: 7/10
