For visiting football fans, what is the best football stadium in the Britain?

[dannyb]

Hillsborough's a nice place to visit (although I did witness the worst game of football I think I've ever seen there - Wednesday vs Rotherham in 2003 I think!), it's a shame that this country's lost a lot of grounds like this recently, it's certainly a more interesting place to visit than the indentikit stadiums which seem to be springing up everywhere.

As a united fan, I always find old trafford to be very impressive whenever I go, and perhaps slightly strangely, I always used to like going to Maine Road (not been to COMS, apart from for the commonwealth games, so can't comment on that). The Reebok's a nice little stadium too; the coldest would definitley have to be boundary park (Oldham) - it can be fairly mild when I leave my house in south-east Manchester, but I always seem to spend 90 minutes freezing my balls off there!

[Wolds Mariner]

If the Reebok were bigger than 28,000, I think people would class it as being among the very best stadia in the country. For me, it is certainly the best new ground I've been to.

[reading general]

emirates is better than the new wembley, plenty of space under the stands and you can get a pint or food without spending the whole of halftime waiting for it.
kenilworth road is good for oldschool value, tunstiles in terraced houses and refreshments through a hole in a breezeblock wall.
a corner of the walkers stadium will be forever berkshire.
but craven cottage is the winner. posh terraced streets, riverside location big sweeping away stand and unbelivably a neutral section.
fratton is the worst or maybe oxfords old manor ground. good atmosphere but mainly because reading were in town.

[JimB]

In terms of the experience once inside the ground, White Hart Lane is hard to beat - certainly within the Premiership.

You won't find a stadium with a better view from the away section (especially from the upper tier). And, because of the wrap around, two tiered design, the steepness of the stands, their proximity to the pitch and the relatively small size of the stadium, it is always atmospheric. Exactly what an away fan wants.

Not to mention that there's always a good chance of leaving WHL with a point or three......!

[BeestonLad]

Originally Posted by JimB

In terms of the experience once inside the ground, White Hart Lane is hard to beat - certainly within the Premiership.

You won't find a stadium with a better view from the away section (especially from the upper tier). And, because of the wrap around, two tiered design, the steepness of the stands, their proximity to the pitch and the relatively small size of the stadium, it is always atmospheric. Exactly what an away fan wants.

Not to mention that there's always a good chance of leaving WHL with a point or three......!

I suppose you had to put that in really, given the complete dump of an area surrounding the ground!

[JimB]

Originally Posted by BeestonLad

I suppose you had to put that in really, given the complete dump of an area surrounding the ground!

Exactly! It's almost as bad as Old Trafford.

But it does seem to me that too many people on this thread have been focusing on the area surrounding each stadium, its proximity (or not) to the town centre and the availability of decent pubs rather than the actual experience of being inside the stadium.

It's the game that interests me. If all I was interested in was a drink, I wouldn't bother to travel all the way to Manchester, Newcastle, Blackburn or Portsmouth for it!

[Wolds Mariner]

That is true to an extent, but a nice pub to have a pre-match nerve-soother if you wish can only enhance the ground experience.

[JimB]

Originally Posted by Wolds Mariner

That is true to an extent, but a nice pub to have a pre-match nerve-soother if you wish can only enhance the ground experience.

That's certainly true.

But it is quite possible to find perfectly decent pubs in otherwise rough areas. You certainly don't need to be in a city centre, like the Millenium stadium. Tottenham, for instance, is a dump of an area. But I can think of 20 or so perfectly acceptable pubs that are within a short walk of the stadium.

So long as there is at least one decent sized pub for away fans, that's all I need. I'm not interested in going on a bar crawl and I don't care if the stadium isn't based near the city centre. Once you're inside the pub, what does it matter whether you're in a city centre or a suburb anyway?

[RobH]

Gillingham's a dump but their away fans pub was great!