The Hawthorns (Hawthorns, the (West Bromwich Albion FC))

Member Name: roversjenny

Product:	Hawthorns, the (West Bromwich Albion FC)
Date:	24/09/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great location just off the motorway and traditional

Disadvantages: The ridiculous way they send away fans after the game

The Hawthorns is home of West Bromwich Albion FC, it is an all seater stadium with a capacity of 26,500. I visted in September 2009 and my review is mainly based around the Smethwick Stand where the away fans are housed.

Getting there
Getting there couldn't be easier, the ground is less than a mile away from Junction 1 of the M5.

Parking
There were several car parks along the A41 as you left the motorway, and they were all charging around £5 for parking. We parked in the closest one to the motorway to avoid getting stuck in the traffic and it was no more than a 5 minute walk from the ground. Their was an official car park at the stadium, however I imagine that like most grounds, it is pass holders only on a match day.

Prices
The tickets for the game cost £23 for adults, and they had a promotion on where it was a quid for a kid. Cannot grumble at the prices, its around the bog standard average for an adults ticket in the Championship this season.

The ground itself
The ground itself is what I would call a traditional football grond with 4 separate stands rather than an enclosed bowl. The away fans are housed in the Smethwick Stand. The Smethwick stand is used for both home and away fans, which means that you can create a good atmosphere. The view from the away end is unobstructed, there are now pillars in the way and sitting towards the back gives a fantastic view of the pitch which was immaculate. The leg room is a little cramped if you are tall but not as bad as some older grounds.

Food
The snack bars offered the normal array of food and drink, pies, pasties, burgers etc, and they sold alcohol before the game and during half time. The prices were a little on the high side, costing around £6 for a pie, drink and bar of chocolate. They had a lot of people serving though meaning that queue times were minimal.

Facilities
The womens toilets were spacious, plenty of cubicals, and most of all clean! There was plenty of toilet roll, and the sinks even had hot running water and soap (something you don't always get!) along with working hand dryers and even a mirror!

The concourse is not massive and got quite cramped before the game and at half time with people getting snacks and watching the TVs (which have Sky Sports News on).

There was also a Ladbrooks bookies in the concourse, which lured you in with posters around the area with great odds on which everyone 'couldn't resist' a good tactic by them, as fans tend to be blinded with optimism, I bet they took a small fortune the night we were there!

Getting away from the ground
When we left the away end, the gates were shut meaning that we couldn't walk the way we came in, and it took an age to get back to the car as we were sent on what felt like a wild goose chase around the surrounding area. Not good when its a night game and you don't really know where you are supposed to be going. However, it meant that once we had got back to the car, the traffic was a bit lighter and we were on the motorway within a few minutes of leaving the car park (Which by that point was practically empty!)

Overall impressions
I was really impressed with the ground, it manages to be both traditional and modern at the same time.

Summary: Lovely stadium, one fit for Premiership football