A stadium too good for League 2 (Valley Parade (Bradford City FC))

Member Name: Beanie8844

Product:	Valley Parade (Bradford City FC)
Date:	06/02/09 (248 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: two enormous stands fit for the premiership

Disadvantages: the other half of the ground is much less impressive

'Valley Parade' is the home ground of Bradford City football Club who currently play their football in Football League 2. In recent years Bradford City have suffered a real fall from grace and this is evident looking at their stadium. The capacity of Valley parade is 25,136, a huge stadium for a team languishing in League 2, considering other teams play in front of barely 2,000.

When you look at the stadium though, you can see Bradford's Premiership days. The Sunwin and Carslberg Kop Stands are enormous, reminiscent in design to stands at Old Trafford and the Stadium of Light, they go back for eternity. The other side of the ground is a different story though. The East Stand and the TL Dallas Stand behind the goal are much smaller and no where near as spectacular looking. It is a shame really because Bradford City are a good side and their stadium is worthy of football at a higher level. You can only thing that they will be struggling financially with a stadium of this size playing in Football League 2.

Away supporters are now housed in the Midland Road (East) stand, which is new because they used to be in the TL Dallas; anyone remember Scholes scoring from Beckham's corner with a 25 yard volley and the United fans behind the goal going absolutely wild? I do, anyways that's beside the point. This stand is much better for away fans because there aren't any large structural pillars to obstruct your view, which can only be a good thing. Normally around 1300 fans are accommodated for, but for larger games extra blocks can be opened and therefore the allocation for away fans increases.

Tickets cost between £20.00 and £12.00 depending upon your age and in which stand you intend to sit. At first glance this doesn't seem too bad, but when you think Bradford City are from league 2 and you can see Premiership Fulham for around £30.00 suddenly it doesn't seem all that cheap! The official programme is sold at £2.50 and there is a range of refreshments available once inside the ground, although I'm not sure of the pricings.

Overall, it a fairly nice stadium and is well worth visiting if your a supporter of a club which has an away trip at Valley Parade.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment.

Summary: away day at Bradford? I could be tempted.