Football Ground Guide: Fans Ground Review, Victoria Park, Hartlepool United FC

Victoria Park, Hartlepool United
League One v Leicester City
Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 7.45pm
Daniel Sharpe

1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

I was very much looking forward to visiting Victoria Park as it is a very old ground so I expecting a very good atmosphere to be created by the Leicester faithful despite it being a Tuesday night and me having a stinking cold but despite this I made the 4 hour trip up north.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?

I went to the game with the official Leicester City coaches as it being a Tuesday night and in the middle of nowhere the train wasn’t probably the best option for this one. The coaches parked outside the ground and with it being trouble free we quickly made our way to Morrison’s for a few snacks before the action got under way.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

With the game kicking off at 7.45 as it was a midweek game we arrived at Victoria Park at around 6.45 so before the game we walked the very short distance to the nearby Morrison’s which was a nice size and had everything we needed in there. The home fans were friendly enough apart from a few youngsters shouting some abuse as we got into the ground but that’s all part of football.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

As I walked into the ground there was no concourse just an open space with a burger van past the turnstiles. The ground is very old and has a lot of character about it. The away end is all seated but the majority of the home end is terraced apart from the stand to out left. The away end is very close to the pitch, so you can almost talk to the players as their doing the warm up!

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.

The game itself was a memorable one, Leicester took the lead in the first half before Hartlepool equalised to send the home fans into raptures. Leicester won a penalty which was converted successfully by Steve Howard before in true Leicester style Hartlepool scored in the last minute to send us away with just a point.

The atmosphere in the ground was very good among the Leicester fans and you could just about hear the Hartlepool fans chanting from the terrace behind the goal on the opposite side of the ground to us. The stewards were ok, with most of the Leicester fans standing up they didn’t seem too bothered about it, they told us to sit down once but they were ignored and just let us get on with it. I didn’t sample the pies but 1 of my friends bought a super long hot dog which looked quite nice. The toilets were of an average standard but it was no better or worse than I expected.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

After the game we headed straight for the buses as if was a cold night and didn’t fancy getting left behind in Hartlepool. There were no problems after the game and we weren’t best pleased with a point but that’s how it goes sometimes.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

Overall it was a good day out with some good banter on the coach despite me having a very bad headache and a stinking cold. The ground was an old ground and I assume that one day they’ll be getting a new stadium, but all in all it was an enjoyable day/night out.