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| Contents |
What's Portman Road
Like?
Future Ground
Developments
Portman
Road (photo)
What Is It
Like For Visiting Supporters?
Where To Drink?
The Sir
Alf Ramsey & Co-operative Stands (photo)
How To
Get There And Where To Park
By
Train
Local Rivals
The
Sir Bobby Robson Stand (photo)
Ground Layout
Admission Prices
Fixtures 2012-2013
Programme Price
Disabled Facilities
Record &
Average Attendance
Fans Ground Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
Portman
Road Location Map
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| What's Portman Road
Like? |
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The overall look of the
ground has greatly improved, with the re-development
of both ends. Both these
ends, the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the Sir
Bobby Robson Stand, are similar in appearance
and size, and dwarf the smaller older
stands, located on each side of the ground.
Unusually, both ends have a larger upper tier which overhangs slightly the smaller
lower tier. Both have windshields
to either side of the upper tier and they are
completed, with some spectacular
floodlights perched on their
roofs. They
were both fully opened a year apart in 2001 &
2002.
Both sides are much older stands and now look quite tired in
comparison. On one side, the fair sized East of
England Co-operative Stand Stand is
a three tiered covered stand, with a row of
executive boxes running across its middle. This stand was originally opened in
1957 and was then known as the West Stand. In 1984
an additional tier was added along with a new
roof. Opposite is the smaller Cobbold Stand. Again
it is two tiered and has a row of executive boxes.
However it is only partly covered, with the small
lower tier of seating being open to the elements.
This stand which was first opened in 1971 and was
originally called the Portman Stand. It was
later renamed the Cobbold Stand in respect of
the Cobbold family who were former
owners of the club and old Suffolk brewers
Tolly-Cobbold. Unusually the teams emerge onto the
field from one corner of the ground between
the Sir Alf Ramsey and Britannia Stands.
Outside are two statues of two former Ipswich and
England managers. One is of World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey and
is located on the
corner between the Cobbold and Sir Bobby Robson
Stand, while Sir
Bobby Robson's statue is placed behind the
Cobbold stand in Portman Road.
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Future Ground Developments
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The Club
would at some point like to re-develop the Cobbold
Stand and boost the capacity of the ground to
40,000. However this is unlikely to happen unless
the Club established itself once again as a Premier
League Club.
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| Portman
Road |
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Thanks to Owen Pavey for
supplying the photos for this page.
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| What Is It
Like For Visiting Supporters? |
Away
fans are placed on one side
(towards the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand) of the upper tier
of the Cobbold Stand at one
side of the pitch, where up to 1,900 away supporters can be
accommodated (or according to some - crammed in).
1,500 of this allocation are housed in the upper tier
wing sections. If necessary an additional 400 'premium' seats can be made
available which are more centrally located
in the upper tier. The away allocation can also be
supplemented by a further 400
seats in the lower tier of
this stand.
Away fans are placed on one side of the upper tier of
the Cobbold Stand at one side of the pitch, where up
to 1,900 away supporters can be accommodated. Although
the views from this area are generally not too bad
(unless you are at the very back of the stand where
there are some supporting pillars), the leg room is
rather cramped and as with the rest of the stand the
facilities are beginning to show their age. On the
plus side, away fans can really make some noise from
this area, contributing to a good atmosphere.
Stewarding was fairly strict, with fans at the front
of the upper tier, were being asked to keep seated
(whilst those at the back were allowed to stand) and
on my last visit a few fans were ejected for smoking
(okay they should known better, but a warning first
would have been more fair in my book). Food on offer inside the
ground include; Rollover Hot Dogs (£3.30),
Various Pies & Pasties (£2.80),
including the tasty Portman Steak & Ale Pie
(£3.50) and Jumbo Sausage Rolls (£2.80). They also offer a Pie &
Pint/Drink deal.' The stand also has one of the
poshest gents toilets that I have visited at a
football ground (this was one of the two toilet blocks
on the upper concourse). They wouldn’t have looked out
of place at a hotel.
I have always found this to be a friendly place
and pleasurable day out, even though
I've never seen my team win there! I even on one
occasion got accosted by some Ipswich fans, whilst
coming out of the railway station and ended up
accompanying them on a pub crawl before the game.
Overall Portman Road is a good day out.
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| Where To Drink? |
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The
main away supporters pub is the Riverside
(Station) Hotel, which as the name suggests, backs
onto a river and is located close to the railway
station which is only a five minute walk away from
Portman Road. Otherwise the Punch & Judy pub
on Cardinal Park, which is close to the ground has
also been recommended to me as a pub which is
family orientated and where both sets of fans can
enjoy a drink. Other pubs in the area such as the
Hare & Hounds and the Swan, are very much home
pubs and are best avoided by visiting fans.
If you arrive in good
time then you can take the walk into the town centre
where there are plenty of pubs to be found. Of
particular note is the Lord Nelson in Fore Street, which is an interesting pub
that sells Adnams beers. Also there is the Dove
Street Inn on St Helens Street which is listed in
the CAMRA Good Beer Guide which has up to 20 real
ales and ciders on tap.
Liam Burgess adds; 'The
waterfront area has recently been re-developed and
has a number of bars and restaurants. This is
visible from the train station and is a 10 minute
walk from the ground. The Isaac Lord on the
quay is a local favourite and serves various real
ales. Directions from the railway station: walk
straight over the bridge as you come out of the
station, turn right at the Royal Mail sorting office
and literally walk in a straight line for five
minutes or so going past Cardinal Park to reach the
Waterfront area. There is a car park right next to
the main entrance of the waterfront too.' This car
park is run by Total Car Parks Limited and offers a
matchday all day ticket for £2.50. This can be
paid on the day or booked in advance via their website.
Otherwise alcohol is on
sale inside the ground including Adnams Bitter
(£3.40), Carlsberg Lager (£3.60),
Aspall Suffolk Cyder (£3.90) Spirit Minatures
(£3.90) and White & Red Wine
(£3.90). Please note that alcohol is not
available to away fans at half time.
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Sir
Alf Ramsey & East Of England Co-operative
Stands
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Please note that since this
photo was taken the 'Britannia' lettering on the
seats has been replaced.
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| How To Get
There And Where To Park |
Follow
the A14 around Ipswich from which the ground is well
signposted. The official route takes you from the A14
onto the A1214 into Ipswich. I though prefer to leave
at the next junction and take the A137. Stay straight
on this road straight into Ipswich and as you cross
the bridge over the river, stay in the left hand lane
(marked town centre). Once over the river turn left at
the roundabout (signposted Colchester/Bury St Edmunds)
passing the Punch & Judy pub on your right.
Continue along this road as it bends to the left into
Commercial Road, you should be able to see the Portman
Road floodlights over to your right. Move into the
right hand filter lane (marked town centre) and
continue to follow the road around to the right. As
you reach Fitness First/Staples move over to the left
hand lane and at the traffic lights turn left into
Princes Road. Take the next left into Portman Road
itself for the ground.
As the ground is near to the town centre there is very
little free street parking. Along Portman Road there
are three Pay & Display car parks which cost
£4.60 for a Saturday afternoon. For evening
games it is less as the car parks are free after 8pm,
just pay for the relevant number of hours up to then.
On my last visit I parked in one of these car parks
and was pleasantly surprised at the end of the game
that it didn’t take too long to getaway. There are a
number of other car parks located in the town centre
which are sign posted, plus there is a NCP multi
storey car park located next to the railway station,
which costs £2.30 on both Saturday afternoons
and weekday evenings.
Map showing the
location of the Portman Road Football
Ground (at the bottom of this page).
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| By
Train |
| The
ground is only a quarter of a mile away from Ipswich
train station and is only a five minute walk away. You
will see the Portman Road floodlights in the distance
as your train comes into the station. Ipswich is
served by trains from London Liverpool Street and
Peterborough.
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| Local Rivals |
| Norwich City &
Colchester United.
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Sir Bobby Robson Stand
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| Admission
Prices |
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Like a number a
clubs Ipswich categorise
matches (A, B & C) whereby
the more popular matches cost more
to watch. Category B & C prices
are shown below in brackets.
Home Fans*:
Cobbold Stand (Upper Premium Seats): Adults
£57 (B £53) (C £45), Concessions £43 (B
£39) (C £30), Under 16's £28.50 (B
£26) (C £20)
Cobbold Stand (Upper Centre): Adults
£40 (B £36) (C £30), Concessions £26 (B
£24) (C £20), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
Cobbold Stand (Upper Wings): Adults £34
(B £31) (C £25), Concessions
£24 (B £22) (C £18), Under 16's
£12.50 (B £11) (C £10)
Cobbold Stand (Lower Tier): Adults £29 (B
£26) (C £20), Concessions
£20 (B £18) (C £15), Under 16's
£12.50 (B £11) (C £10)
East of England Co-operative Stand (Upper
Premium Seats): Adults £44 (B £41) (C
£35), Concessions
£26 (B £23) (C £21), Under 16's
£23.50 (B £22) (C £15)
East of England Co-operative Stand (Upper
Centre): Adults £40 (B £36) (C
£30), Concessions
£26 (B £24) (C £20), Under 16's
£12.50 (B £11) (C £10)
East of England Co-operative Stand (Upper Wings): Adults
£34 (B £31) (C £25), Concessions £24 (B
£22) (C £18), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
East of England Co-operative Stand (Family Area Upper Wings):
Adults £34 (B £31) (C £25), Concessions £23 (B
£22) (C £21), Under 16's £8.50 (B
£8) (C £7.50)
East of England Co-operative Stand (Lower
Tier): Adults £29 (B £26) (C
£20), Concessions
£20 (B £18) (C £15), Under 16's
£9 (B £8) (C £5)
Sir Alf Ramsey Stand (Premium Seats): Adults
£48 (B £44) (C £40), Concessions £36 (B
£32) (C £27), Under 16's £23.50 (B
£22) (C £15)
Sir Alf Ramsey Stand (Upper
Tier): Adults £34 (B £31) (C
£25), Concessions
£24 (B £22) (C £18), Under 16's
£12.50 (B £11) (C £10)
Sir Alf Ramsey Stand (Lower Tier): Adults
£29 (B £26) (C £20), Concessions £20 (B
£18) (C £15), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
Sir Bobby Robson Stand (Upper
Tier): Adults £34 (B £31) (C
£25), Concessions
£24 (B £22) (C £18), Under 16's
£12.50 (B £11) (C £10)
Sir Bobby Robson Stand (Lower Tier): Adults
£29 (B £26) (C £20), Concessions £20 (B
£18) (C £15), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
Away Fans*:
Cobbold Stand (Upper Centre):
Adults £40 (B £36) (C £30), Concessions £26 (B
£24) (C £20), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
Cobbold Stand (Upper Wings): Adults
£34 (B £31) (C £25), Concessions £24 (B
£22) (C £18), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
Cobbold Stand (Lower Tier):
Adults £29 (B £26) (C £20), Concessions £20 (B
£18) (C £15), Under 16's £12.50 (B
£11) (C £10)
*
The prices quoted above are for tickets purchased
prior to matchday. Tickets purchased on matchday
can cost up to £2.50 more.
Concessions
apply to Over 60's, Students with a valid NUS
card, supporters in disabled areas and Under
20's.
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Ground Layout
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| Fixtures 2012-2013 |
| Ipswich
Town fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website).
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| Programme |
| 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.
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| Record & Average
Attendance |
Record
Attendance:
38,010 v Leeds United,
FA Cup 6th Round, March 8th 1975.
Modern All Seated Attendance
Record:
30,152 v Norwich City
Division One, December 21st, 2003.
Average Attendance:
2011-2012: 18,267 (Championship League)
2010-2011: 19,615 (Championship League)
2009-2010: 20,841 (Championship League)
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| Fans Reviews Of Portman Road |
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Thomas Sperrink
(Wolverhampton Wanderers) 19/9/12
Matt Duckworth
(Doing the 92) 18/8/12
Alex Luke
(Reading) 26/11/11
Jimmy Day
(Scunthorpe United) 19/3/11
Peter Radford
(Doing the 92) 8/12/09
Nick Lee (West Bromwich Albion)
1/1/08
Kevin Armiger
(Norwich City) 13/4/07
David Prior
(Colchester United) 27/10/07
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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 Portman Road football ground.
Access
their Ipswich
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
Location of Portman Road, Railway Station and listed
Pubs |
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Instructions for using
the map:
- Use the bar on the left of the map to zoom in /
out using the + / - keys.
- Click and drag an area of the map to move around
or use the up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the Satellite button to see aerial view
photograph.
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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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