First Impressions -- Around the ground -- Facilities -- The Stand -- Overall

First Impressions

This was my first visit to the ground and it didn't take a great deal of time to get there. I wasn't able to get a proper view of the ground until we made our short way down Gresty Road.

The coach stopped and parked just outside the away stand and it was from here I could get my first impressions of the ground. The Air Products Stand dominated the ground and was at least two or three times the height of the other stands. This gave the ground an imbalanced look.

Looking at the exterior of the BMW Bluebell Stand (the away stand) it seemed very bland and 'nothing' much to it. Overall my first impressions of the ground were of disappointment.

Around the ground

As usual we took our walk round the ground to the club shop in the Air Products Stand. As said above the stand 'dominates' the rest of the ground, but from the outside the exterior looked very bland and boring. Most main stands at grounds usually have an 'impressive' feature about them that makes them stand out, but the Air Products Stand really lacked it. In fact it just didn't have anything about it that impressed me apart from the size.

The club shop was equally disappointing. It was a good size but the range of merchandise was extremely poor with very little on offer other than the usual replica tops.

The Advance Personnel Stand was equally as bland - the exterior was nothing more than steel cladding,

Inside the ground I could back up my previous comments. The Air Products Stand towered above the rest of the ground - as well as giving the imbalanced look it has a negative effect as its hard to keep an atmosphere in the ground.

Facilities

The facilities I found quite pathetic. Whilst the toilets were ok, just one block was clearly not enough for the whole stand. Even worse was just one catering bar - this caused a massive queue, so I opted to not bother getting anything otherwise I would've been stood there all day.

The worst part of the awful facilities was the fact they were in open air! Overall they were pathetic to say the least.

The Stand

I wasn't very impressed with the stand at all, mainly due to the facilities or rather lack of them.

We were sat on the front row so legroom was never an issue. The view of the pitch was also fine and we were very close to the pitch which is always a plus point for me.

We were able to create some noise in the stand but for all round atmosphere it was hard as it couldn't be 'contained' thanks to the large Air Products Stand.

The stand was very bland from the outside - just again merely being steel cladding and very little else.

Overall

The trip was every enjoyable as it was also fancy dress in memory of Sam Cowell. The ground however, was a complete let down. It was bland, boring and not very much going for it. Not only this but there was a distinct lack of facilities.
Overall it was a great day but a poor ground.

Ratings

Appearance: 5/10
Facilities: 5/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Fans: 7/10
Stand: 6/10

Overall: 6/10

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