Groundhopper made the trip to Bolt New Lawn in Gloucestershire to a club that prides itself on being unique amongst clubs. Let’s see what they thought of it all.
| Forest Green Rovers | ||
| Category | Score | Comments |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 7 | This was our first trip since 2019 to the now Bolt New Lawn which has a capacity of 5,147. Coaches parked on the approach road to the ground. Those driving have to park on the streets nearby or book a place at the local primary school. There is a shuttle bus for those parking further away from the ground. The mini bus was originally refused entry to the stadium car park but they did manage to negotiate their way in to allow passengers to disembark closer to the ground. There’s a gazebo outside the entrance to the away area where alcohol can be purchased and consumed. |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 6 | Forest Green Rovers is a vegan club selling chips, curry sauce, pies, burgers and sausage rolls. There’s oatmilk available to put in tea & coffee and the coke is also a vegan brand. Most people around me opted for chips. The cups, forks and chip trays are recycled, reused or biodegradable. No alcohol available inside. Unfortunately the service at the kiosk was very slow resulting in a long queue. I was told that fans were waiting 20 to 40 minutes to get served with some giving up. Disappointing on such a cold day. The price list displayed on the wall was also incorrect. |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 5 | Away fans are allocated one side of the ground which is mainly open terracing. There is a small stand at one end offering a limited amount of seating. In the front of this stand is a small area of terracing which is sold as covered standing. Unfortunately the roof of this stand would offer minimal protection from the elements and that would depend on which way the wind blows. Fortunately for us it was just a very cold day. Wheelchair users are located at the front of the stand on the opposite side of the ground with the home fans. Not good enough. |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 7 | The attendance for this fixture was 2,919. The main home support was on the terrace to our right who had a drum and did make some noise. There was a minimal amount of banter exchanged between the two groups of supporters. |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 7 | The stewards and staff were friendly and helpful. When a young fan didn’t like their burger a member of staff offered to replace it for them with an alternative item from the kiosk. |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 6 | The toilet block is a little dated but relatively clean. There was no hot water for hand washing. |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 7 | An adult ticket seated ticket was £23, covered standing £21 & uncovered standing £19. |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 6 | Fans were allowed out for a half-time smoke. I can’t recall any half-time entertainment |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 8 | There were 527 Dons fans present on what was a very cold day. Considering that the terracing has no roof they could still be heard, making plenty of noise with the assistance of the drum |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 5 | Our exit away from the ground was very slow through the town. The journey home was hindered by the descending fog with the coaches delayed further after being held by a temporary road closure. |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | ||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 64 /100 |
