By Groundhopper, MKDSA Roving Reporter
In this episode Groundhopper made the journey to the LNER stadium and here’s the verdict on Lincoln City.
| Lincoln City | ||
| Category | Score | Comments |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 6 | The LNER stadium is located in a built up area and the availability of parking close to the stadium is limited. The current drop off and pick up location for visiting coaches is on the South Common with passengers having a 5-10 minute walk to the ground. There is parking at the ground for one vehicle carrying supporters with accessibility needs but it took until match day to confirm that the minibus would be allowed to use it. The ground consists of four separate stands with a capacity of the ground for 2022/23 is 10,780. |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 8 | The fan village area is located next to the Rilmac Stand where a variety of hot food and drink, including alcohol can be purchsed. There is still a fenced off area outside the away entrance with a bar. Inside the ground was a burger van selling a variety of hot food and drink including burgers, sausages, chips etc. Prices reflected the current cost of living. These areas were uncovered. |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 8 | We were located behind a goal in the Stacey West Stand with a fairly good view partially obstructed by the roof support pillars. |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 6 | The attendance for this fixture was 7056. The majority of noise came from the GBM stand to our right who were fairly vocal with the assistance of a drum. I don’t recall any exchange of banter. |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 8 | The stewards were very friendly and helpful. We didn’t receive the usual contact in advance from the Lincoln SLOs. |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 6 | The toilets are still very dated, in need of repair and the floor area was wet. There was hot water. Portaloos were also provided in the concourse and external fan area. |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 6 | An adult ticket was £24, the same price as our last visit. |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 7 | The concourse and bar area are in the open and so fans are at the mercy of the elements. I understand that fans were allowed out to smoke in the bar area. |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | There were 186 Dons fans in attendance for this evening fixture who found it hard at times to get behind their team. The drum was allowed but did not travel. | |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 6 | The walk back to the coach was along the dimly lit footpath and across the now muddy common. Departure from the immediate area was initially slow. |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | ||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 68 /100 |
