A near 400-mile round trip to Accrington is not to be sneezed at, but we sent Groundhopper on the long journey with a ticket, a packet of sarnies, a flask of Bovril, an umbrella, and an Alton Towers poncho to check out the facilities at the Lancashire club, and well-done Accrington you measured up well.
| Accrington | |||
| Category | Score | Comments | |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 8 | The Wham stadium is in a predominantly residential area. It’s a lot smaller than many league one grounds with a capacity of approximately 5,500. Since our last visit there have been some improvements to the ground. Parking for the coach was on the road near the away supporter’s entrance and cars in the nearby streets. Everyone we met was very friendly. | |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 8 | Hot food, pies only, alcohol, hot drinks etc were available in the away kiosk and good value. £6 for a pie and a pint. | |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 8 | We originally had a choice of standing on the open terrace or taking a seat in the adjacent stand. On arrival we were informed that the terrace had been closed for health & safety reasons and all away fans were accommodated in the covered stand. The forecast had been for heavy rain which didn’t materialise. The side view of the pitch was good and unobstructed. | |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 6 | The majority of the noise made by the home support came from those located in the home terrace who did their best to get behind their team. | |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 8 | The stewards were friendly, helpful and tolerant of the banter aimed at some of them by the away support. | |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 9 | The toilet blocks are relatively new, clean, well maintained and had hot water. | |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 10 | £15 for an adult whether seated or on the terrace is very good value. Accrington Stanley had reduced the cost of tickets for this match and to their credit they passed the discount to away fans too. | |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 7 | The concourse area at the rear of the seated stand is partially uncovered and so at risk to the elements but there was plenty of room. Fans were allowed to smoke and vape in this area. Before the game there was a fan zone with a live band which away supporters could use. | |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 8 | The attendance for this match was 1880. The 217 travelling MK fans made plenty of noise with the aid of the drum. | |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 8 | There were a few holdups as traffic cleared from the roads around the ground but we were soon moving | |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | |||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 80/100 | |
