Back in August - RamZone reporter Bill Riordan discussed his view that 'Pride Park' needed a new name. Despite the fact 'iPro' wasn't exactly what he had in mind - it turned out he was right!
With little in the way of news during the international break, we thought it would be fun to look back at what Bill thought just over two months ago, in comparison to what ended up eventuating this week at DCFC.
As football supporters - all of us have one quality that applies to an almost unique degree — that quality? Loyalty! Unlike our relationships with employers, spouses and even kids, it is unheard of for a football supporter to change allegiance except under extreme duress. No matter what indignities the club subjects us to, most will forgive them and remain faithful. That said, for me, there's one little matter that makes following Derby County just that bit harder than it should be. It’s all in a name and that name is… ‘Pride Park’.
I don't mean the stadium. The Rams did an excellent job of recognizing that the old ground was no longer fit for purpose, and replacing it with a spanking new stadium that was well located, about the right size, and at a reasonable cost by today's standards. No, the problem is ‘Pride Park’ - it’s bland, it's vanilla, it’s banal! It sounds like a brand of white loaf. It has no historical connection and means nothing. For over a century, the Rams' ground had one of the most splendidly quirky names of any major sports venue. Everybody who knew anything about football knew that Derby played at the Baseball Ground. Pride Park is almost a punishment for all those years of zaniness. The low point for football ground names, as with many other things, is probably The City Ground. Yet it’s hardly worse than Pride Park. Some clubs have sold naming rights to their stadium; The Reebok Stadium, The Galpharm Stadium and so on. These are certainly not names to be commended but I think I would prefer the Rams to play at The Toyota Stadium than Pride Park. I even think the Flint, Bishop and Barnett Stadium has a nice Dickensian ring to it...
I first heard of Pride Park in the mid-90's. I think the government had organized some urban renewal competition to mark the millennium, and Derby had the praiseworthy idea of creating a commercial park on the old railway property, under the name Pride Park. Fair enough but it was only ever a marketing person's idea of branding. When the club built the new stadium there, they didn't have to use that same name. They could have called it The Football Stadium. That would have been just as nice. Creativity is not my strong suit, but in response to popular demand I'll try a couple of suggestions. How about ‘Chad Sidings’? It gives a hat tip to a part of town where many Rams fans live, and has the right historical connection. Or here's another ‘Bass's Rec’. It recognizes a Derby benefactor of bygone days, and again has a historic relevance. If you really want me to wax poetic, I give you ‘The Second Century Stadium’. The Baseball Ground was the first century stadium. Geddit? Can I really be the only one who is so disenchanted with Pride Park? The only one who thinks a name should mean something? If so, I'll just have to swallow my pride...
First Published: 29th August 2013
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