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Port Vale Ground Name: Vale
Park |
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| Contents | |
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What's The Ground Like? |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| At one end of the ground is a fair sized single tiered all seated stand, complete with an electric scoreboard on the roof. This stand, the Phones4U Stand, houses the away supporters and it replaced a former open terrace. Opposite is the Big AM Stand, covered and all seated. The corners on either side of this stand have been filled. The Tricell Stand (also known as the Railway Stand) on one side is fair sized, covered and all seated. All three of these stands have a small number of supporting pillars, half way up them, which may restrict your view. The other side, the Lorne Street Stand, is a relatively new smart looking 5,000 all seated stand, complete with 48 executive boxes. However the stand is yet to be fully finished so that there is still a large area of concrete on one side, rather than rows of seats. This is a pity, as the empty 'predominantly concrete' area, really brings the ground down. Still, if this stand does get completed, it will look superb. To keep some sense of history the original clock from the old stand has been incorporated into the new construction. On the opposite corner is a Police Control Box keeping a watchful eye over the crowd. The pitch is one of the widest in the League and the crowd are further set back from the playing action by the surrounding cinder track. | |
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At some point the Club will complete the Lorne Street Stand. However, when this will eventually happen is anyones' guess. | |
| Looking Towards The Railway Stand | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Up to 4,500 away
supporters can be accommodated in the Phones4U Stand, where the view
and facilities located on the concourse behind the stand are good.
Even a relatively small number of away fans can really make some
noise from this stand, as the acoustics are excellent. However, the
slope is quite shallow, which might affect your view should a tall
person be seated in front. Normally though, you could still move to
another seat if necessary. I've been to Port Vale on a number of occasions and always found it be a good day out. However the experience has sometimes been a little intimidating, not due to the Port Vale supporters but more because of the huge Police presence in and around the ground. One Police Officer said to me as we left the ground five minutes early, as my team were losing 4-0. "Leaving already? there's still five minutes to go!". Now who said that Police Officers don't have a sense of humour? The P.A within the ground is quite deafening at times and there is no escape, even in the toilets, as it is piped through! The food available on the concourse is the usual fayre of Rollover Hot Dogs (£2.50), Steak Pies (£2.50), Meat & Potato Pies (£2.50), Cheese & Onion Pasties (£2.10) and Sausage Rolls (£1.50). In additional alcohol is available in the form of Worthingtons (£2.50) & Carling (£3). If you wonder at half time why the Port Vale fans seem transfixed with staring at the away end, it is not intimidation, but the electric scoreboard perched on the roof of this stand! (which the away fans can't see). Also at half time the Vale fans in the Railway Stand tend to transfer from one side to another so that can be nearer the goalmouth that Port Vale are attacking. Vince Smith a visiting Northampton Town fan adds; 'I must say it was an enjoyable day out at Vale Park, with very friendly stewards, turnstile operators and very good food served by friendly staff. All in all a very pleasant experience and far more enjoyable than a visit to their near neighbours.' And for a bit of trivia, Dave Seddon, a visiting Brentford supporter informs me; 'the roof of the Caudwell Stand was originally that of the Main Stand at Chester City's old Sealand Road ground'. Stephen Wood adds; 'The roof of the away end was indeed bought by Bill Bell back in 1991-92 for £300,000 as Chester were moving grounds. It was installed during the 1992-93 season and the first team we played when the roof was fully constructed was, you guessed it, Chester!' Please note that cash is not accepted at the away turnstiles, you have to buy a ticket from the portacabin in the car park by the away end. This portacabin is 'cash only'. If you wish to pay by credit or debit card you will need to purchase tickets from the Main ticket office. | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| The town centre is about a ten minute walk away where there are a number of pubs to be found. I visited the New Inn (just along from Kentucky Fried Chicken), which was friendly and served reasonably priced food. Another pub worth visiting is the Bull's Head in St John's Square. This pub is the local outlet for the nearby Titanic Brewery which is located in Burslem and is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. It is friendly for away fans and has good number of real ales on offer. To find this pub: From the outside of the away end, turn right and go down to the bottom of Hamil Road (passing the Vine Pub on your left). Turn right at the t-junction and then go straight across the traffic lights at the crossroads. Proceed past KFC, Wades and the New Inn on the right and then if you look over to your left you will see Woolworths at the bottom of the square. The Bulls Head is on the right of this square. | |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park | |
| The ground is
located in the town of Burslem, one of the six towns comprising Stoke On Trent. Leave the M6 at
junction 15 or 16 and take the A500 towards Stoke on Trent. Follow
A500 until the A527 Tunstall/Burslem exit, where you take the A527
towards Tunstall/Burslem. At the next island just past the Price
Kensington factory turn right for Burslem town centre. Continue on
this road up the hill, crossing another island and into Burslem town
centre. Continue straight on over the traffic lights at the cross
roads and then take the first road on the left which takes you down
to the ground. There is a large car park located outside a
superstore next to the ground which costs
£4, otherwise street parking. For a map showing the location of the ground in Burslem click here (to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. | |
| By Train | |
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Longport station is the closest to the ground, but is a good 30 minute walk away and is not well served by trains as Stoke On Trent station is. Therefore most fans end up at Stoke On Trent railway station, which is over four miles away and take a taxi (about £8) up to the ground. Directions & Bus information from Stoke station: Stephen Parr adds;
'Come out of the main
station doors at Stoke-on-Trent. Turn left
past a bus stop and the taxi rank. Walk to the end of this road,
which only takes a couple of minutes. Then on your left is a railway
bridge, but cross over the road and turn right. Up towards a bus
stop opposite Signal Radio. Directions & information for Longport station: John Midgley a visiting
Huddersfield Town fan informs me; 'Services run hourly from Crewe, Stoke & Derby to
Longport. We managed to walk to the ground in around 25
minutes without too much trouble. | |
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Thanks to Tim Rigby for providing the photo above. | |
| Admission Prices | |
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Home Fans: | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Stoke City. | |
| Programme & Fanzines | |
| Official Programme
£2.50 - Sold from booths within the
ground. Vale Park Beano Fanzine £1 Derek I'm Gutted Fanzine £1 | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
| Fixtures 2009-2010 | |
| For the Port Vale fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| 49,768 v Aston
Villa, FA Cup 5th Round, February 20th, 1960. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 10,344 v Stoke City Division 2, October 21st 2001 Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 5,522 (League Two) 2007-2008: 4,417 (League One) 2006-2007: 4,725 (League One) | |
| Fans Reviews Of Vale Park | |
| Leah Dunn (Leeds United)
15/3/08 Jack Carnill (Nottingham Forest) 15/9/07 | |
| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Football Hotels who are powered by Activehotels, who specialise in locating accommodation near or within a short travelling distance of the football ground. They also have the added advantage over some other hotel booking services that you pay on departure. 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. To access their Port Vale page click here. | |
| Feedback | |
| If anything is
incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail
me and I'll update the guide. | |
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