Cold & Expensive... The Home of Derby County FC (Pride Park (Derby County FC))

Member Name: skybluearmyontou

Product:	Pride Park (Derby County FC)
Date:	07/11/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to find, parking available, good acoustics and view.

Disadvantages: Refreshments are a rip off, always seems to be cold there and you have to watch Robbie Savage.

Continuing my reviews from an away fan....

Ticket Price (Adult): £24

Match: Derby v Coventry

I never got to go to the Baseball ground so can't compare it to that but Pride Park follows the usual new build Stadium design. The only thing that I feel makes it 'unique' is there are some 'boxes' in one corner (which is why the left corner is raised in the picture).

Getting To The Stadium - Finding Pride Park is easy enough and it's pretty well signposted. Traffic also seems to be pretty low on the way in as we were able to drive right up to the stadium without facing many (if any) wait times. There's quite a few £5 car parks available to both home and away fans within 5 mins walk from the stadium.

Before The game - Decided to go straight in as there's wasn't all that long before kick off. There are a number of eateries around the ground. Frankie & Benny's is the closest (it's pretty much in the car park!) but it gets VERY crowded on match days. DW Sports & Fitness is also situated behind the restaurant if you fancy some shopping. Burger King, Pizza Hut & a little further away, McDonalds are all available. New places of interest seem to be added every season we go there, they are really making an effort in that area. There is also a starbucks by the club shop.

In The Concourse - Derby operate a digital entry system at turnstiles where it scans the barcode on your ticket. Being an evening game and shown live on Sky, the attendance of away fans was way down on previous years so part of the concourse was closed off. Unfortunately, the part that was closed housed the only bookies in the away end. The one side that was left open had one plasma screen showing a mixture of a Derby Club channel and Sky Sports while there was also one refreshment counter open. I feel even though our numbers were down, 1 counter serving 700 people was poor. That's not half as bad as the prices they charge though.

Double Cheeseburger - £4.70
A bottle of beer (which equated to HALF a plastic pint glass) - £3.25!!!
Footlong Hot Dog - £4
Soft Drinks - £2
Pies - £2.60 (which isn't all that bad)

To me, that is daylight robbery and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who refused to buy anything.

Smokers are catered for by the stewards allowing you to go outside the stadium at HT to smoke. (This has caused problems in the past as home and away fans are both outside)

In The Stand - New Stadium = No Pillars. This obviously means the view is good wherever you are seated. Away fans have home fans immediately to the left, although there is a large wall as they are at a higher level and away fans to the right on the other side of 'no mans land', an area sectioned off for one reason or another. No mans land decreases for bigger attendances. There is a big notice on your ticket that states PERSISTENT STANDING IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. We stood for the whole game without any problems. This hasn't always been the case though. Police also stand on the stairs between each block. The acoustics inside are excellent and a lot of noise can be made. The main singing section for Derby are situated in the corner to our right. They are very quiet when they're not winning however! If you choose to sit down there is a decent amount of leg room so you should have comfortable viewing of the game.

Safety - Not a hostile atmosphere what so ever but those easily intimidated might be uneasy being flanked by home fans. There have been 'problems' between Derby & Cov in the past so there is definitely a chance of some misbehaviour but it would be very rare to experience it.

Some other notes....

I always feel that Derby is the coldest stadium in the league so wrap up warm!

Take a Gun. Shoot Robbie Savage. What a cheat. What a 'insert naughty word'.

A decent stadium that has also staged a full England international but a little on the pricey side!

Final Score: Derby 2 - 1 Coventry

Summary: Pretty much bog standard new stadium, a good stadium though that would suit Premiership Football.