Home supporters sit in the Matthews West Stand, Mortensen North Stand and North West Stand. The family area is in the North West Stand.
The corner of the North Stand nearest the visitors end is where the more boisterous supporters sit, including the band! That said, if the team are playing well, both sides of the home support tend to join in chanting and clapping, so it can produce quite a good atmosphere.
Seating for all games is by reserved tickets. The stands comprise between 20 and 25 rows. Being just four years old the seats are in good condition, with more leg room than you experience at other grounds. more...
Under the concourses there are food and drink facilities. Alcohol is served - currently Thwaites bitter and Carling lager. Although there are plans to also eventually sell Kimmel Beer - brewed by a company owned by Blackpool's Latvian President, Valerie Belokon. Food includes Holland's Pies, large hotdogs, chocolate bars, crisps, tea & coffee, etc. Like most grounds, this is not particularly cheap. Queues can be long, but there are plenty of people serving so the wait doesn't tend to be too long.
The loudspeakers in the concourse are not very audible, unless you are in the toilets, so if you are listening for team news, or news of the Golden Gamble half-time draw, you will have to keep an ear out. The Golden Gamble is a match day draw, with tickets costing £1 - half the proceeds go to the holder of the winning ticket drawn by a past player on the pitch at half-time. Normal winnings are around £300-£400, stretching to £500-£600 for busier matches.
Toilet facilities under the concourses are good, and there is a disabled toilet as well. TV screens broadcast Sky Sports News, so at half time you can check out all the latest scores across the country.
Ladbrokes also have a franchise under the two stands offering betting opportunities on that day's match.
The walkway underneath the North West Stand houses the 'Wall of Fame' - a pictorial tribute, with brief write-ups, of some of the past heroes of Blackpool Football Club stretching back decades - an interesting read.
It's quite easy getting in and out the ground - you don't have to use the turnstile stipulated on your match day ticket, so find one with a smaller queue. There are now a couple of turnstiles at the southern end of the West Stand at which you can pay cash on the day (unless it's an all-ticket match).
One thing to bear in mind - if you leave the ground and go in an easterly direction you will find yourself mingling with away supporters making their way back to their coaches or the large car park on the west side of the ground. There is normally a police presence where the North and East Stands meet.
The away supporters sit in an 1,833-capacity temporary stand - the kind you see around the greens at a major golf tournament. As you would expect from a temporary stand the facilities are basic and the stand has no roof, leaving fans exposed to the elements.
If it's windy or wet, you will be in for an unpleasant experience. The wind whips in off the Irish Sea, and in winter will give you an unrelenting icy cold blast for 90 minutes! If it's raining - remember there is no roof - so be prepared!
On top of all this, the facilities are also poor - inadequate, small portacabin toilets, food facilities housed in a tiny wooden hut with one narrow opening from which to gain your food or beverage, with normally only one person at a time being served. However you do get a good view of the playing action being housed close to the pitch and having no obstructions.
When the South Stand is finally built, visiting supporters will be housed in there - covered and with far better facilities.
Visitors are not held back after the game and often have to mingle with home supporters to reach coaches and cars which are parked on the large car park on the west side of the ground. There is normally a police presence to keep an eye on things.
Matchday Arrangements
At the moment both home and away supporters hang their flags on the corrugated fence behind the south goal. When the South Stand is built this facility will be lost as hanging flags over advertising hoardings around the ground is not permitted. They will probably have to drape them over empty seats in the stands.
It's very unusual for roads to be closed around the ground on match days and there are not normally security checks at the turnstiles.
Tickets booked by phone in advance need to be collected from the ticket office - and there is normally a separate collection window to that selling tickets on the day.
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