By Groundhopper, MKDSA Roving Reporter
Groundhopper made their first journey to Pride Park in a few years (since our Championship year), lets see what their eagle-eye spotted and what they thought of the place.
| Derby County | ||
| Category | Score | Comments |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 8 | Our last visit to Pride Park was during the Championship season. The ground is relatively modern and has a capacity of over 32,000. Coaches parked by the entrance for away fans and there is some parking available for those travelling by car. We were searched before entering the ground. |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 7 | There was a burger van near the away end. Inside the kiosk sold hot dogs & pies, hot & cold drinks and alcohol. Prices were similar to SMK |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 9 | We were located in the south east corner of the ground where our view was unobstructed. Wheelchair users were located on a platform amongst their own fans. |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 7 | The attendance for this fixture was 26,793. The home fans could be heard throughout the match with the stand to our left leading the chants. They had a drum but the drummer appeared reluctant to use it. |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 7 | There were plenty of stewards inside the ground and those I met were friendly. Many of us had our tickets checked several times, I assume to ensure that we sat in our allocated seats. The presence of a barrier down the length of the away stand doesn’t help but it didn’t stop fans from moving to their preferred area. |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 7 | The toilet blocks were clean and there was hot water. There were also several accessible toilets. Male toilets had a steward lurking inside, made it feel very uncomfortable. |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 10 | £20 for an adult ticket is one of the cheapest in the league this season. |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 8 | The concourse area is under the stand and so there’s limited space. I understand that fans were allowed out to smoke at half-time. As previously mentioned wheelchair users were located with their own fans. |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 7 | 959 Dons fans made the trip to Pride Park and their support was excellent, making plenty of noise. The drum did not travel as “drums are not permitted into the stadium due to health and safety reasons”. Obviously this policy doesn’t apply to the home support. So marked down for sheer hypocrisy. |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 8 | The coaches were given a police escort away from the ground making our departure relatively swift. |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | ||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 78 /100 |
