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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground Like? Co-operative & Carlsberg Kop Stands (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? The Betrescue & TL Dallas Stands (photo) Where To Drink? Betrescue (Midland Road) Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train A Closer Look At The TL Dallas Stand (photo) Local Rivals City Gent Club Mascot Admission Prices Programme & Fanzine Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2012-2013 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Valley Parade Location Map |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| The
term 'a game of two halves' is often applied to a
football game; in the case of Valley Parade, a stadium of 'two
halves' comes to mind. The ground has been now been
completely re-built since the mid 80's, but the
initial impression is that one side is twice as big as
the other. The Kop End (or now known as the
Carlsberg Stand), is a relatively new two tiered
stand, that is simply huge and looks quite superb. It
once towered over the rest of the ground, but the
addition of another tier to the Co-Operative
Main Stand during 2001 has led to it meeting
its once larger neighbour. With the corner between
these stands also being filled, one has a truly
impressive spectacle. The rest of the ground now looks somehow rather out of place. The Betrescue (Midland Road) Stand is a covered single tiered stand, which has windshields to each side. At some other grounds this would look impressive, as it is of a fair size and is free of supporting pillars. However it almost is lost in the shadow of its larger newer neighbours. At the remaining end is the TL Dallas stand which is an odd looking small 'double decker' type stand. This two tiered covered stand has the upper tier largely overhanging the lower tier, giving this 'double decker' effect. There is also a large electric scoreboard in one corner of the ground, between the Midland Road and TL Dallas Stands. In the upper tier of the corner of the Co-operative Main Stand and Carlsberg Kop Stands is located a fans flag dedicated to the fans who lost their lives in the Bradford City fire at the ground in May 1985. |
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Co-operative & Carlsberg Kop Stands |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are housed on one side of the
Midland Road Stand (towards the Bradford End Stand)
at one side of the pitch. Around 1,300 supporters
can normally be accommodated in this area, for
larger followings then another block can be opened,
raising the allocation to 1,800. The facilities
within the stand are pretty good and there are no
supporting pillars to impede your view. Roger
Mulrooney a visiting Barnsley fan adds; 'On my last
visit I found the home crowd friendly and non
threatening. The stewards were particularly good
natured and helpful. Still a very good away day for
a visiting fan'. Inside
the stadium food on offer includes: Cheeseburgers
(£3.10), Burgers (£2.90), Hot Dogs
(£2.90), Pies including the Chicken Balti Pie
(£2.60) and Sausage Rolls (£2.10). Having been a student in Bradford and having watched them win the old Third Division, I have a bit of a soft spot for this club. And having been there on the day of that fateful fire in 1985, Valley Parade will always stay deep in my memory. Pleasingly I have found Bradford to have become rather more friendly towards away supporters in recent years. It is quite an enjoyable day out especially if you enjoy what the city has to offer. Make sure that you wrap up well unless the weather forecast is 80 degrees. This is because Bradford is situated at a bottom of a valley, down which a rather cold wind normally prevails. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| Chris
O'Sullivan a visiting Bury fan recommends the
Bradford Arms on Manningham Lane; 'It is only
about two minutes from the ground and
was welcoming to away fans'.
There
are also a couple of
hotels with bars, that are about a ten minute
walk away from the stadium. They are the Park & Cartwright hotels.
Just continue to walk on the main road by the ground
away from the town centre and at the traffic lights
where the entrance to the park is, turn right and
you will see them in a row on your right. The Park
may be a better bet of the two as it has televised
football showing. Also about a
ten minute walk away is the 'Corn Dolly' on Bolton
Road, which is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, as is the New Beehive on Westgate. The New Beehive is
somewhat of a 'step back in time'
still having gas lighting. Near to Bradford
Forster Square Station on North
Parade is another pub to feature in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide,
the Sparrow
Bier Bar. This bar offers up to four real
ales, plus ciders and continental lagers. Neil Le
Milliere a visiting Exeter City fan
adds; 'The Sparrow was superb. Although on
the small side (it
is probably only good for 50 or so supporters),
it is still an excellent
place to visit with a superb choice of ales and
special drinks. Plus the
pork pies were to die for!' |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
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Leave the M62 at
Junction 26 and take the M606 for Bradford. At the
end of the motorway, keep to the right hand lane and
take the Ring Road East (signposted A6177 City
Centre). From this point the stadium is well
signposted through the use of a football image. At
the next roundabout turn left continuing along the
Ring Road East, passing a McDonalds on your left and
then an Asda superstore. At the next roundabout turn
left onto the A650 (signposted City
Centre/Keighley). After crossing a further two
roundabouts the road becomes three lanes. Keep in
one of the two right hand lanes (signposted
Keighley/Skipton). Continue straight along this road
towards Skipton and eventually you will be able to
see the stadium in front of you, over on the left.
At the Kia Car Dealership on your left, turn
immediately left into Station Road. At the top of
Station Road turn left along Queens Road, then the
second left into Midland Road for the away entrance.
For the main offices continue along Queens Road and
at the traffic lights turn left into Manningham
Road. The ground is quarter a mile away on the left.
Mostly street parking around the ground. Map showing the location of Valley Parade (at the bottom of this page). |
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| By Train | |
| If going by train into Bradford Interchange, it is quite a walk to the ground (20 minutes). Either take a taxi (£6) or alternatively the bus station is located next to the train station (Bus No's 622, 623, 626 or 662). Chris Hawkridge suggests; 'supporters travelling via Leeds should catch the Leeds - Bradford Forster Square service (two trains per hour during the day) rather than those to Bradford Interchange. Forster Square is only 10 minutes walk from the ground'. | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Leeds United, Huddersfield Town. | |
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Lenny The City Gent |
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Michael Wood from the former Boy From Brazil website adds; 'Lenny is in essence an adult supporters mascot. Lenny is a large man sporting an impressive and frequently unveiled stomach and carrying a briefcase which contains a large pie, presented to raucous cheers from supporters before each game. Based on the club's cartoon mascot of the 1960s, then a representation of chairman Stafford Heginbotham, Lenny as an incarnation of the City supporting Gent with a case and an umbrella came as a surprise to most. As for why he was revived in the 90s, and indeed Lenny's purpose, reason is unclear, but his commitment to the mascot's function, to make the supporter feel closer to the club, is unfettered. How could one get closer to the club than by having its representative approach you in the bar before a game and drink heavily from your pint? Lenny's style is very much that of the traditional football goer. Pint and pie, there for the lads. More than a comedy mascot to be involved in japes, Lenny is a representative of the mainstay of supporters. Lenny travels with us, he drinks with us and, tellingly, while all comedy characters are banished in moments of grief, Lenny stands bowler hat bowed, during minutes silences, and mourns with us'. |
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| Admission Prices | |
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All
areas of the stadium: * Under 11's can be admitted free, providing that they become club members, are accompanied a paying adult and that their match tickets are collected prior to matchday. |
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| Programme & Fanzine | |
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Official Programme:
£3. |
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| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. | |
| Fixtures 2012-2013 | |
| Bradford City FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record
Attendance: 39,146 v Burnley, FA Cup 4th Round, March 11th, 1911. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 23,971 v Arsenal League Cup Quarter Final, December 11th, 2012. Average Attendance: 2011-2012: 10,171 (League Two) 2010-2011: 11,128 (League Two) 2009-2010: 11,423 (League Two) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Valley Parade | |
| James Grimshaw
(Gillingham) 18/9/10 Martyn Greenwood (Nottingham Forest) 10/8/10 Tony Rastelli (Cheltenham Town) 2/1/10 Chris Dutton (Bury) 28/10/08 Patrick Burke (Tranmere Rovers) 1/12/07 |
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| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel
accommodation in the area then first try a hotel
booking service provided by Late Rooms. They offer all
types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets
from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast
establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced
Apartments. Plus their booking system is
straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will
earn a small commission if you book through them, but
it will go to help with the running costs of keeping
the Guide going. The Hotels listing also includes
details of how far away the accommodation is located
from the Vally Parade football ground. Access their Bradford Hotels and Guest Houses page. Remember that you can use the above link or panel below to book any other hotels that you may need for business or leisure, either in the UK or abroad. |
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| Map showing the location of Valley Parade, Railway Stations And Listed Pubs | |
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Instructions for using the map: |
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| Feedback | |
| If anything is incorrect or you have
something to add, please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net and
I'll update the guide. |
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All rights reserved
Last Updated: 16 February
2013
