By Groundhopper, MKDSA Roving Reporter
Groundhopper made the final trek out west for the season. Let’s see what they thought about the Memorial Stadium.
| Bristol Rovers | ||
| Category | Score | Comments |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 7 | This was our second trip to the Memorial this season following the very cold outing in December for the Pizza Cup. Fortunately the weather was a lot more amenable this time. The stadium, which has a capacity of 12,300, is located in a built up area with limited parking at the ground and some street parking in the locality. The coach and minibus parked in the car park close to the away entrance. There are two entrances to the ground for away fans depending on whether you have tickets for seats or terracing. On this occasion we were given no choice but to sit in the South Stand. Bristol Rovers have introduced an away bar this season which is in a marquee in the car park outside the away entrance. |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 7 | There’s a burger van located in the area allocated to those using the seated area selling pasties, pies, hot drinks etc. The area isn’t under cover and therefore open to the elements. No alcohol available inside the ground, although you were allowed to the beer tent. |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 5 | Away fans were located in part of the Brunel South Stand which has the feel of a temporary stand with a gazebo style roof. The roof limits the view if you’re at the back of the stand and there are numerous uprights obscuring the view of the pitch. Wheelchair users are located at the front of the stand to one side in the bus shelter construction which has been improved with a solid floor. |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 5 | The attendance for this fixture was 8,429 with home fans in a mixture of terracing & seating. They didn’t make a lot of noise and there was a minimal amount of banter exchanged between the two groups of supporters. |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 5 | Unfortunately I’ve heard several reports about the attitude of stewards and how they were heavy handed with our supporters with two female fans assaulted.. I understand that several of our supporters were ejected from the ground. |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 6 | There’s been some improvements to the away area with the addition of some new toilets which were heated. There was also a row of portaloos by the stand. |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 4 | An adult ticket ticket was £25, under 21s was £21 but the cost didn’t reflect the facilities. Much has been shared on social media regarding the availability of tickets to Dons fans for this fixture. The opportunity to purchase tickets on the day was withdrawn on Friday afternoon stopping many fans from attending the match. The open terrace usually used by away fans was out of bounds and occupied during the game by 11 home supporters. It’s clear that Bristol Rovers withdrew the sale to allow their own fans to purchase more tickets but their efforts backfired off and on the pitch. |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 4 | Fans were allowed out for a half-time smoke and to purchase alcohol. I can’t recall any half-time entertainment. Disability toilets were used by anybody and were in an awful condition. |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 5 | There were 300 Dons fans present who did their best to make plenty of noise. The drum wasn’t allowed to make the trip as we were informed it would upset the occupants of the neighbouring houses. |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 3 | Our exit away from the ground was delayed whilst one of our passengers received first aid treatment. When the coach reached the car park gates our exit was blocked by a group of youths who stood in front of the coach. Our progress through the surrounding streets was very slow as the same youths continued to block our path. Credit to our driver for his patience. I understand they also did this to the minibus carrying our supporters with disabilities. Shameful, immature behaviour. |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | ||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 51 /100 |
