Away Days - Scunthorpe Utd
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- Facilities -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Scunthorpe
Utd V Preston North End
Competition: Coca Cola Championship
Ground: Glandford Park
Date: Tuesday 15th September 2009
Kick off: 7.45pm
Final Result: 3-1 Parkin
I had planned to get to as many new ground as I could this season and so it started with ticking Glandford Park off my list.
The coach had only arrived at the ground 15 minutes before kick off due to crawling through traffic in Preston and Leyland (how typical that I was put on this coach!)
Anyway as it turned out, the coach had to drive round some of the ground so I was able to build up my own impression - I had read plenty of reviews of the ground and seen pics so my expectations weren't exactly high.
I thought the ground generally looked dull and bland and not very imposing either. I just wasn't very impressed at all.
Carrying on from the above, I didn't really have time to have a wander round the ground since we had arrived late but managed to build up my own impression of the ground as the coach drove past.
The ground looked very bland, lacked character and generally just looked very shabby. The main stand didn't look very imposing either. In general, the whole place could have easily been mistaken for a bland warehouse.
On entering the ground and taking my seat, I was able to get an impression of the inside of the ground. Again I wasn't impressed. It was just four small stands all of equal height and the corners 'filled' in with a catering kiosk. It was only slightly better than the outside and it was like a mirror image between side stands and ends (the exception being that the opposite end is a terrace.
The facilities of the stand were pretty abysmal - the only positive being the general cleanliness of the toilets.
There was no concourse situated in the stand at all and there was just one small catering kiosk shoved in the corner. This left the problem of no where to congregate before the game and at half time. This also resulted in a large queue forming at half time with the queue stretching back in front of the stand and people finding it hard to try and get to the toilets. A very poor do.
As for the kiosk itself, it was nothing more than a small-ish window with two people serving, hence it took an age to get served.
On the whole, the facilities were woeful.
Well i've talked about the facilities and the appearance of the stand so what else? Well this was just equally as poor overall. The seats seemed to have been bolted onto a former terrace and to say they were quite low is an understatement! It made for an uncomfortable experience and if it wasn't for people behind me sitting down, I would've stood up.
Also a problem was the supporting pillars. They didn't bother me much in the first half due to where I was sat, but due to someone pinching my seat in the second half I had to sit elsewhere where they did cause a problem. As a result I couldn't see the opposite goal clearly and even the near touchline was partially blocked.
On the positive side, you can easily create a good deal of noise in the stand due to its low roof, but that's the only positive I can give it.
North End were absolutely woeful beyond belief and that coupled with the awful ground didn't make for a pleasant experience.
I thought the ground was bland, boring, characterless and badly planned. I know it was built in the 80's but they certainly should have given it more thought.
On the whole, a very poor ground.
Ratings
Appearance: 4/10
Facilities: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Fans: 8/10
Stand: 5/10
Overall: 6/10
