STEVENAGE BOROUGH 20.08.11

HOW TO GET THERE

CAR
Leave the A1 (M) at Junction 7 and take the A602 towards Stevenage. Go straight across the first roundabout and as you approach the next roundabout you can see the floodlights of the ground over on the right.

PARKING
There is a large official car-park at the ground that was free to use last season. The club are obviously missing a very easy trick here and will probably start charging in the near future, if they haven’t already! This can apparently be a bit of a nightmare to get away from so leave a few minutes early if you are rushing to get home.

There is also a retail park near to the ground but be very careful of restrictions and match-day clamping.

TRAIN
Stevenage is the nearest station to the ground and a reasonable 1m away. I have found the following simple directions for you to follow;

Leave the station booking hall and turn left towards the town. Take the stairs on the right before the bridge over the dual carriage way and head along the A602, Lytton Way. At the roundabout which has the police station on the right, take the second exit into Six Hills Way. At the next roundabout take the third exit (south) continuing along the A602, Monkswood Way, passing a large Asda store on your right. After about 3/4 mile (McDonalds/Burger King etc will be on your right) you will arrive at a roundabout and the ground will be opposite you on the other side of the A602.

PUBS/FOOD
I have never visited Stevenage myself so have had to do quite a bit of reading to produce this guide. The regular theme that I am encountering is ‘bland’. There is a pub near to the ground and at least one on the journey from the train station, but these have not received very good reports for service or quality. Opposite the station there are many pubs, but as their addresses start with ‘unit 1, unit 2 etc I would not expect them to be typical pre-match venues. These are chain/theme bars and include Waterspoons, Yates’ and Chicago Rock. Your choice really!

My experience of non-league football clubs and those that have recently been members at that level are that they have a very good social club attached to the ground. This is because there is normally a very strong bond amongst their support and the social club has also been a vital source of income over the years. Stevenage do have a social club at the away end of the ground, but again I have read mixed reports about this. It can get very busy and is more of a club themed bar that a social club. For those that have visited I would say that it is more like MK Dons than Dagenham & Redbridge.

A lot of the information on the internet for this trip seems to be out of date so I am reluctant to say which pubs are like to have Sky Sports. In the current climate, pubs seem to be fleeing Sky in their droves in fact the landlord in a pub at MK Dons said he saved £800 a month by cancelling his subscription!

There should be plenty of food options in the nearby retail park but these are likely to be more of the chain variety than local chippys.

BROADHALL WAY- Capacity 7,100 (3,412 Seated)
The ground appears to be very shiny, much like Stevenage as a town. It has been slowly developed over the past decade or so and offers good facilities for home and away supporters.

This is also a ground where away fans are given one of the best stands and the fact that this is behind the goal and right next to the club house are added bonuses. 1,400 fans can fit into the South Stand and it is a steep all-seated affair with no supporting pillars. Although we certainly won’t fill the stand on this visit I would expect there to be a decent atmosphere, especially as the stand has a cover.

To the right is the East Stand (logical name I suppose), which is a decent sized, covered terrace running the length of the pitch. This looks quite modern and houses the clubs more vocal element (riff-raff). They are aided by a drummer, so feel free to tell him exactly where he can stick his instrument.

To the left of the away supporters is the Main Stand, which is a functional all-seated stand with a cover. There are also gaps at the back of stand to allow airflow, which will help cool supporters during those February heat-waves. These gaps are broken up in the centre by an area of glass where the club offices sit. This centre section is obviously where the directors and posh fans sit, but they don’t have the luxury of the natural cooling system that sweeps through the stand.

SAFETY
Stevenage supporters do not have a reputation for any kind of trouble and I would expect this to be a very relaxed day.

PRICE