THE ABBEY STADIUM
Groundhopper led a huge army of Dons fans on a cross border raid into Cambridgeshire and the Abbey Stadium to find out what it had to offer the travelling fans and how it stacked up in the Donny & Mooie ratings.
| Cambridge United | ||
| Category | Score | Comments |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 8 | The Abbey Stadium is located in a built-up area, so parking nearby is difficult. Coaches dropped off outside and passengers had to walk around to the opposite side of the stadium. There have some improvements made to the footpath by the brook since our last visit. The ground has a capacity of just over 8,000 and away fans were allocated all the South Stand. |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 9 | There were two kiosks both serving the usual football fayre. The kiosk behind the stand also sold alcohol. The kiosk in the open area at the side of the stand sold a variety of hot food including chips and all reasonably priced. |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 8 | The view from the South Stand behind the goal was unobstructed, and we had the sun behind us. Wheelchair users are located on a platform at the front of the same stand. |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 7 | The attendance for this fixture was 6,325. Home fans could be heard aided by their drum but weren’t particularly loud. |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 7 | The stewards we encountered were very friendly & helpful. |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 5 | Unfortunately reports regarding the ladies and gent’s toilets haven’t been good. The lights weren’t working in the ladies when the gates opened although this was rectified when mentioned to staff. The ladies and gent’s toilet blocks were poorly maintained. There wasn’t any hot water, and the hand dryers didn’t. |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 9 | An adult ticket was £22 which is one of the cheapest in League 1. |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 8 | The concourse area is to the side and behind the stand. There’s plenty of room but it’s open to the elements. Fans were allowed to smoke. |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 10 | There were 1,448 Dons fans in attendance, and they made plenty of noise throughout with the assistance of the drum. I don’t recall any banter coming from the home fans, but they couldn’t really be heard above the Dons support. |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 6 | Our departure away from the stadium area was very slow in heavy traffic. |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | ||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 77/100 |
