Constructive thoughts on the first match day experience

[Sussex Nomad]

Interesting about the amount of people that didn't have a place to put their food and drink as in WSU there was a breakfast bar type affair running along the window. Was there no such thing in the other stands??

They had a small shelf running along the concourse in the WSL which housed the napkins, sauces and such, but that was it.

 

[trueblue]

Not necessarily a club thing but ask the bus company not to run Route P down New England Hill. The traffic there is always a disaster - it can take 15 minutes just to get from 7 Dials to Preston Circus. My journey from just before 7 Dials to the stadium took almost 40 mins and we didn't even pick anyone up...

 

[grummitts gloves]

For those in the East Stand, what the hell were those plaster of paris type square things on the wall that looked like a group of kids had poked their fingers into? Bizzare! To the club, It's a fantastic ground, but please don't deny the east stand facilities that the west gets, i.e. simple things like shelves/tables and a bit of colour/pictures on the concourse walls. Ta.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

This is the type of thing that would be good to have, obviously to the scale of our concourses (St James Park, Newcastle).

 

[Eastleigh Northstander]

Look I thought the stadium was amazing, I agree with a lot of the points people are bringing up on here though. Dont jump down my throat but is there still lots of finishing touches to make as the club said in the away end they had all these plans to make the walls welcoming for away fans with their colours etc, So I was a bit disappointed with the North concourse, plain concrete walls with a scattering of pics from the past albion history etc. Is that our end finished or is the finishing still to be done?? Cant fault it once you get past the steward that seems to be nailed to the entrance to the seats though and doesnt seem to want to move to let you in lol

 

[Lord Bracknell]

from an eastbourne fans perspective, a very impressive ground on the whole, although in the away end the view behind the goal the rows A-H very restricted by the goal itself.

Is there any chance that visibility through the goal nets could be improved? Maybe by using less bulky material?

 

[seagullsslimjim]

Re the WSL concourse , I think it just needs a bit more colour like the concrete walls painting and the hand rails to the stands too.

Almost there, but just a bit more required.

Apart from that it was very impressive and will be great when larger crowds are there

 

[bobbysboots]

Staff/Stewards/Police at SSCF

Just wanted to add my comments re: Saturdays SSCF. Mill Road P&R was, as usual, very well organised with the stewards being extremely helpful re: information on where to get on/off the bus. Staff in club shop & ticket office were polite & helpful, had a nice chat with a member of staff whilst queuing for my tickets (short wait). Walked around the stadium and every steward smiled and said hello, even got a few smiles & greetings from Police. Entry to stadium (East Stand) was smooth and the steward even apologised for having to search bags. Finally, steward showing fans to seats was very helpful. I realise that there were a number of issues around catering, clocks, PA etc that will no doubt be ironed out (that's why SSCF was a ramp up event) but the club have got stewarding spot on. Please pass on my thanks to all concerned - a great welcome to a great stadium.

 

[deakers]

I was in the away end on Saturday, not a complaint but I would say that if the club are serious about away fans staying for an after-match beer etc they need to advertise the fact the bars will open. Not sure any Boro fans realised on Saturday, they left as a trolley of fresh pies was delivered to the bars and for the first time beers had been pre-poured. I'd have thought signs in the bars at a minimum on the day but even better would be mentions in away teams programmes, press releases to their local papers and posts on their fan sites. The post match idea is innovative but as fans we're not used to being welcome around a ground once the final whistle has gone. I'd hate to see this idea fail due to people just not being aware.

On a plus side the guys selling beers from the coolers was a great idea.

 

[Giraffe]

Having now been in all the tiers of the West Stand I am really surprised by the lack of hand rails in the middle tier.

There are handrails in every other part of the ground but not here. Given that I suspect there is a relatively high amount of elderly supporters in the 1901 I would have thought it would be useful to have these fitted. I witnessed a couple of older guys struggling down and one went to the floor (uninjured thankfully) just at the open day.

 

[Insel affe]

My wife moaned that there were no baby changing facilities after my daughter had an explosion !!

I would like to say just how apart from a few items and the replica team kits, 90% of the leisure wear on sale is poor quality to be honest. I feel the club are missing a trick good quality designed leisure wear would fly out the door.

 

[Notters]

One thing I really think there should be is a drinking water tap in the toilets, or somewhere. I know they want to make money but I was desperately thirsty when I got there and having to wait an hour just to get some water seems a bit out of order. Isn't it a legal requirement to provide drinking water free of charge?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Having now been in all the tiers of the West Stand I am really surprised by the lack of hand rails in the middle tier.

There are handrails in every other part of the ground but not here. Given that I suspect there is a relatively high amount of elderly supporters in the 1901 I would have thought it would be useful to have these fitted. I witnessed a couple of older guys struggling down and one went to the floor (uninjured thankfully) just at the open day.

The west stand middle tier isn't very steep though. Does it really need hand rails? None existed at Withdean.

 

[am the one]

what a day . talk about big. good ground well done to all. nice to see dick and tony there. read all other comments and myself swings and roundaouts. thinks the club will be looking on the web to see what the fans have said. i left 2 mins before the end and was in doors just after six so it,s the train for me. can,t wait for the first game of the season. up the albion.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

i left 2 mins before the end

Bad fan alert.

 

[osgood]

One thing I really think there should be is a drinking water tap in the toilets, or somewhere. I know they want to make money but I was desperately thirsty when I got there and having to wait an hour just to get some water seems a bit out of order. Isn't it a legal requirement to provide drinking water free of charge?

Good Point,
Also no soap in the mens toilets (east stand) And only 2 handwashbasins !, for about 100 urinals !...

now i know that about 50% of men a dirty bstrds ,(hope your not one of em !) but im sure that this situation dosnt meet H&S requirements, even if it does its , well piss poor...

 

[paul1960]

Positives:

* Transport by train
* View , seats comfortable
* Turnstile entry system first class
* Unbelievable stadium

Negatives

* Speed of food and drink service, the worst I have ever experienced over an hour wait
* Parking Facilities for disabled people ,lack of signs re access, general advice given both before during and after the match for disabled people
* Lack of communication between stewards no one seemed to be consistant in what they were saying
* No replays shown on the big screen
* No clock

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Was Dark Star on sale in the kiosks?

 

[Bozza]

Was Dark Star on sale in the kiosks?

Not that I saw. As I said when the printed signs were snapped and on here - I didn't see how Dark Star, Guinness, Symonds etc could be in the concourse bars if they weren't listed on the 'menu', and I saw no sign of them at all on Saturday.

The only 'off menu' stuff I saw was the bottles of Fosters being sold from mobile cool bag/boxes.

 

[Husty]

Just the negatives here, don't think that I didn't find any positives!!!

*Dusty concrete beneath seats - droped a jacket by mistake, and picked it up to find lots of white dust on it in the north stand, perhaps just hose them down?
*Stewards - incredibly uninformed, they were all nice and friendly, but very few seemed to really know anything, i.e. the way to the bar.
*Service, far, far, far too slow!!!!
*Screen - no replays, no clock. I think that's been covered.
*East stand building works - possible to cover them up some more? The west + north look finished, but then the east looks more like MK Dons ground, a little dissapointing.
*Concourses (I was in the north) - Needs places to put food/drinks, and I really felt like you should install some blue coloured lights or something, it felt rather quite dark to me, as well as this, I thought the walls e.t.c. were going to be plastered? You spent so much time talking about the top quality finish the stadium would have, but right now I'm struggling to find it.
*Chips - WHERE ARE THE CHIPS

That was all I could think of, but I'm sure I had a few other complaints. Overall it was a very positive experience, but there is definitely room for improvement, and I would question the value for money offered by a £30 ticket price assuming there is no major improvement seen.