STADIUM REVIEW: The City Ground, Nottingham Forest

 

For my second stadium review I decided to stay in Nottingham and look at the home ground of Notts County’s larger neighbour Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest have been tipped by many to do well in the Championship this season and locals are optimistic, particularly with the return of “King Billy” to the City Ground. A couple of early functional, if unspectacular wins (against Huddersfield and Hartlepool) have got Forest going in the right direction.

The City Ground has a total capacity of 30,576 and is all seated. It lies just 275 metres away from its neighbour Meadow Lane. Both ends of the stadium were redeveloped in the 1990s. The Trent End is a large two tiered stand and is the newest addition to the stadium. Opposite that is the Bridgford Stand. This is an unusual stand as it is two tiered to about two-thirds of the way along from left-to-right (looking from The Trent End). This is because light needed to reach nearby housing and so this was the only way to maximise capacity and allow sunlight through to local housing, On one side is the mightily impressive Brian Clough Stand. This is the largest stand and is a two-tiered affair with a row of executive boxes between the two tiers. Opposite this is the Main Stand. Built in the 1960s this stand now looks rather old and to improve the overall the look of the stadium. they may want to look at redeveloping this.

My first impression of the stadium from the outside is that it is much larger than Meadow Lane and all together more impressive. The imposing Brian Clough Stand, which can be seen clearly from the bridge separating the two Nottingham stadiums on either side of the Trent River is particularly pleasing and I’ve been told the Upper Tier holds the best view in the ground, but with a large proportion of Season Ticket holders situated in this stand I have been unable to view it for myself. Outside the stadium there is also a modern looking club shop and a large number of refreshment vendors on match days.

Once inside the gorund I was not disappointed and since my first ever visit I’ve grown to be very fond of The City Ground. Admittedly, the “Main Stand” does look rather tired and out of place compared to the all-together more impressive three other stands that constitute the City Ground, but it remains an incredibly popular stand with the fans. It houses the dugouts and changing rooms and does not detract from the overall appeal of the stadium. Within the stadium, the concourses are quite tight and the toilets are not the greatest but there is a large choice of food and drink at seemingly reasonably prices, as well as a bookmakers for those looking to place a cheeky fiver on the game.

The away fans are situated in the lower tier of The Bridgford Stand in one corner towards the Brian Clough Stand. This is slightly different to recent seasons where they were allocated the whole of the lower tier of The Bridgford Stand. Up to 2,000 fans can be located in the new away area, while larger followings can take up to 1,000 further tickets and will take up part of the lower tier of the Brian Clough Stand. The views of the action are good in all areas of the ground, with the exception of some restricted view seats in the Main Stand due to the supporting pillars in place there.

Once again for this to count towards one of the 92 grounds I need to visit, I would need to view a competitive fixture at the City Ground. For this I chose to watch Forest host Premier League side Wigan Athletic in the Capital One Cup in 2012. The game finished 4-1 to Wigan, with all 5 goals being fairly spectacular. Wigan took the lead thanks to Mauro Boselli’s close range header from a Ronnie Stam Cross. Wigan doubled there advantage just past the half hour when Maynor Figueroa rifled in a stunning left foot strike into the far top corner from the edge of the area, sending the handful of Wigan fans in attendance into raptures. It was 3-0 to the visitors before half-time when Jordi Gomez was afforded too much space allowing him to score brilliantly from range with his weaker right foot. Forest reduced the deficit in the second half, with the goal of the game. A long punt forward was controlled brilliantly by Simon Cox who turned his defender before unleashing a spectacular right footed strike into the top corner from fully 35 yards. Wigan, down to 10 men at this point, made the game safe late on when substitute Ryo Myiachi fed Callum McManaman. He turned Danny Collins inside out before placing a shot into the bottom corner in front of the travelling support. The atmosphere lacked slightly but a low attendance and a poor display from the hosts won’t have helped. I was at the City Ground when Forest last hosted Notts County with around 22,000 in attendance and the place was absolutely rocking. The pre-match ritual of singing along to “Mull of Kintyre” adds to the atmosphere within the ground prior to kick off.</p?

Overall I am a huge fan of The City Ground and believe it is a stadium worthy of Premier League football, and who knows, come the end of the season that may well be the case. Friendly fans with some quality football and very reasonably priced tickets have made this a favourite ground of mine and I looked forward to many a visit in the future. Overall 7.5/10

Getting to the ground by car:

From The North:
Leave the M1 at Junction 26 and take the A610 towards Nottingham and then signs for Melton Mowbray. Cross the River Trent and you will see the ground on your left. Alternatively as you approach Nottingham on the A610 you will pick up signs for ‘football traffic’. Although following these seems to take you all round the outskirts of Nottingham you do eventually end up at the City Ground, along the A6011.

From The South:
Leave the M1 at Junction 24 and take the A453 towards Nottingham. Then take the A52 East towards Grantham and then onto the A6011 into Nottingham. The ground is situated by the A6011. There is a large car park at the ground, otherwise there is some street parking to be had, especially in the roads near to the Meadow Lane ground across the river.

By Train:

Nottingham railway station is located one mile from the City Ground and takes around 20 minutes to walk. As you come out of the main station entrance, turn left and then left again. Follow the road down to the dual carriageway and then turn right. The ground is about 3/4’s of a mile down the dual carriageway on the left, just over Trent Bridge.

As always I invite you to leave your own comments about your experiences at The City Ground as well as any questions you may have. Also feel free to give your score for the City Ground in the poll.

STADIUM REVIEW: Meadow Lane, Notts County

I thought I would start my blog by doing my first stadium review. For that I have chosen the home of League One outfit, Notts County. Working in Nottingham for the last two summers has afforded me the opportunity to visit the “World’s Oldest Football League Club” on a number of occasions.

Meadow Lane was completely rebuilt in the early 1990’s and is an all seater stadium with a Maximum capacity of 20,229. It consists of four stands, The Jimmy Sirrel Stand, where up to 1,400 away fans can be housed (can be increased for cup games), The Derek Pavis Stand, The Kop Stand and the Haydn Green Family Stand. Whilst the stadium compromises of four separate stands (all single tiered) the ground does not feel exposed and is in fact rather pleasant, complete with four floodlights, one in each corner, and an electronic scoreboard on top of the Haydn Green Family Stand. The ground itself lies just 275 metres away from The City Ground, home of local rivals Nottingham Forest. This is the closest together that any two grounds in England can be found. The Stadium is also shared with Nottingham RFC.

My time in Nottingham has often coincided with pre-season and in order for my visit to qualify as one of the 92, the game would have to be a competitive fixture. The game I went to was Notts County vs Bradford City in the Capital One Cup on 11th August 2012. The game finished 1-0 to Bradford City and was their first win on their way to a remarkable cup run that took them all the way to Wembley, where they eventually lost 5-0 to Premier League side Swansea City. Still an impressive feat however, with Bradford becoming the first side from the lowest football league division to reach the Final of the League Cup.

My first thoughts on seeing the ground from the outside were very positive. The stadium itself looks smart and of a good size, particularly for a side now plying their trade in League One. The Kop Stand is the larger of the two ends and the Derek Pavis Stand is the larger of the two stands running along the side of the pitch and also contains the Director’s box. Once inside the ground I was again not disappointed. I decided to sit in the Jimmy Sirrel Stand alongside the Bradford City fans for this game and the views of the playing action from this area were excellent, with sufficient leg room and space. On subsequent visits I have sat in The Derek Pavis stand and again the views were excellent. If you are planning on visiting then it would be good to bear in mind that both the Kop Stand and The Haydn Green Family Stand have supporting pillars that may impede your view. My overall thoughts of the away end were very good and the facilities were on a par with a couple of the Premier League grounds I have visited with Chelsea.

The atmosphere within the ground was pretty poor from the home support, whilst the Bradford fans were very vocal throughout the dire 120 minutes of football on show, particularly in the clear dislikng of (now) former Notts County forward Lee Hughes. However an attendance of just 3,460 coupled with a poor home performance and ultimately defeat to lower league opposition may have been a hindrance for Notts County. I’d like to visit when the ground is at least half full to see if there is any improvement in the atmosphere. There is a drummer situated in the Derek Pavis Stand so this may improve the atmosphere on occasions.

Overall I’d have to say that Meadow Lane is a ground that I thoroughly enjoying visiting. It has great views of the playing action from all areas of the ground, the football is (generally) of a decent quality and the locals are friendly and knowledgeable. The atmosphere can be lacking at times but I tend to find most home sides have that problem these days so I was glad I chose to sit amongst the very passionate away following. Based on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard from other fans, Meadow Lane is up there with the best of the grounds that League One has to offer. A thoroughly enjoyable day out at a very friendly club, would definitely recommend to families looking to visit. Overall 7/10

Getting there by car:
Leave the M1 at Junction 26 and take the A610 towards Nottingham and then follow the signs for Melton Mowbray. Turn left before the River Trent in to Meadow Lane. Parking is available at the Cattle Market (opposite the away end) which costs £3.50 a car or at Nottingham City Council’s Eastcroft depot (NG2 3AH) at £4 a car. The depot is a five minute walk from Meadow Lane, located just off London Road (A60), opposite Hooters. The entrance is signposted with banners and is manned by security guards throughout the match. Otherwise there is plenty of street parking.

Getting there by train:
The ground is a ten minute walk away from Nottingham railway station. As you come out of the main station entrance, Turn left from the station across the car park and then turn right at the traffic lights. The ground is about a 1/4 of a mile down the dual carriageway on the left.

Final Notes:
If you have any further questions surrounding Meadow Lane or Notts County then feel free to contact me or to leave a comment. You’re welcome to share this around the world and feel free to leave your own opinions to your visits to Meadow Lane and answer the poll to give your rating!