Blackpool Awaydaze

This game kicks off at 5.15 on Boxing Day, and it’s live on Sky TV. With our reputation for getting slightly tipsy on trips to Blackpool I’m surprised the police agreed to a late kick-off, but it could make for a good day out.

You’ll find Bloomfield Road about a mile or so to the south of the town centre and the famous Blackpool tower. From the sea front you’ll find it about a quarter of a mile inland, between the central and south piers. If you’re driving in it should be very easy to find, as you just have to follow the M55 into town and then continue straight along the same road until you see the ground on the right.

There is a huge pay and display car park is located just across the road from the ground, which costs £3.50 for three hours or £7.50 for up to 12 hours. Though predictably you might have to wait for quite a while to get out again after the game. There are quite a few other pay and display car parks near to the ground, but make sure you check the notice boards before you leave the car park, as they might still be charging even though it’s a bank holiday.

Unfortunately there are no trains running, so I won’t bother with directions of how to get there by train. But if the famous Blackpool tramway is operating can get a tram to either the ‘Avenue’ or ‘St Chads’ tram stops after visiting some of the other attractions on the seafront.

A pub that is normally popular with away fans is the Old Bridge House pub on Lytham Road. It is only short walk away (walk down Bloomfield Road towards the sea front and then turn right into Lytham Road and the pub is down on the right), while another option is the No 1 Bar, a Working Mens Club next to the away fans’ turnstiles. Slightly further afield is the ‘Auctioneer’, a Wetherspoons pub on Lytham Road, about 10 minutes walk to the ground near Blackpool South Station.

Otherwise there are plenty of pubs in Blackpool town centre and along the sea front to choose from, and last season it was ironic to hear ‘Marching on Together’ being sung at top volume inside the ‘Manchester Bar’. You are also spoilt for choice for fish and chip shops and other fast food outlets on the sea front, but alcohol is not available to away supporters inside the stadium.

And bear in mind that last year several Leeds fans were arrested for trying to get in while completely pissed, so it might be best not to get absolutely hammered before the game, as it’s something they’re obviously looking out for.

The ground has been almost completely re-developed over the last decade, with three permanent stands built, though they still have a temporary stand the East side. And guess where they put the away supporters? That’s right, it’s got to be the East Side, the one part of Bloomfield Road where the facilities aren’t on the par with the rest of the ground, though at least there will be some Blackpool fans in that stand as well.

We get the northern part of this stand and our allocation is a mere 1,700, which was sold on a ‘loyalty’ basis, but has now sold out. Blackpool are only selling tickets for the home stands to fans already on their database. Our tickets cost £24 for adults, with Over 60s at £19, Under 19's £16 and Under 16's £14.

This stand is now covered, which is an improvement on the open temporary stand they used to have down this side, though to support the roof they have to have quite a few pillars which block the view from some seats. And despite the cover it can still be freezing cold when the wind gets up, which has been known at this time of year!

I don’t know when they will get round to replacing the temporary stand with another permanent structure to match the rest of the ground, but it could be a while, judging by the length of time it took them to build the South Stand. That finally opened in March 2010, a full 8 years after the other two modern stands, and for several seasons they had nothing but an embarrassing open space behind that goal, though they have since added 500 extra seats by filling in the gap between the East & South stands.

So one day they might increase the capacity and give us a decent allocation, but I doubt it’s worth holding our breath.

Some of this rubbish came from www.footballgroundguide.com

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