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| Contents |
What's Bramall
Lane Like?
External
Shot Of The GAC (South) Stand (photo)
Future Developments
The
Visit Malta Stand &
Kennedys Kop (photo)
What
Is It Like For Away Supporters?
Looking
Towards The Kennedys Kop (photo)
Where To Drink?
Kennedys
Kop & GAC Stands (photo)
How
To Get There By Car & Where To Park
By Train
A
Closer Look At The 188BET (Bramall Lane) Stand (photo)
Local Rivals
Admission Prices
Ground Layout
Fixtures 2011-2012
Programme Price
Disabled Facilities
Record & Average Attendance
Fans Ground
Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
Bramall
Lane Location Map
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| What's Bramall Lane
Like? |
Bramall
Lane has to me been one of the most underrated grounds in the country.
The construction of three large modern
looking stands, plus the filling in of the corners
(albeit one corner is filled with administrative
offices), makes it a
great ground and one that has character. Both
sides of the ground are large single tiered stands. Whilst the GAC (South) Stand is
a fairly plain looking stand, the Visit Malta Stand
which sits opposite, is probably the smartest
looking stand at Bramall Lane. This
stand has had the corners
to either side of it filled
in, by offices on one side and a family seated area on
the other, called the Fortina
Spa Corner, in a corporate sponsorship deal.
At the back of the stand are a row of executive boxes
and on its roof is a small gable, reminiscent of when
many older grounds featured them. At
one end is the Kop Stand,
which is slightly disappointing as it has two large
supporting pillars. Opposite is the 188BET (Bramall Lane) Stand,
which during the Summer of 2006 was extended around
one corner of the stadium to meet the GAC
(South) Stand. Also the roof was replaced with a new
cantilever structure, allowing the supporting
pillars of the old roof to be removed, giving fans
more cover and an unimpeded view of the playing
action. This stand is two tiered and also
has an electric scoreboard, perched between the two. The stadium
is balanced, with all four stands being of the same
height.
Outside the stadium behind the GAC stand is a statue
of former Club Chairman Derek Dooley and
another of former playing legend Joe Shaw. Dave Croft
adds; 'a lot of Blades fans sentimentally call the
ground "Beautiful down town Bramall Lane", as a match
day announcer use to welcome the away fans with this
description'.
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External Shot Of The
GAC (South) Stand
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| Future Developments |
| The Club have announced their intention
to further develop the Kop End of the ground. It has
been proposed that the stand be extended backwards,
adding around another 3,000 seats to the overall
capacity of Bramall Lane. The stand would be
cantilevered (so no supporting pillars) with a video
screen built into the front of the roof (reminiscent
of White Hart Lane). The development would also see
some executive boxes added to the back of the
Evolution corner, whilst in the corner between the
Kop and the South Stand, a business centre would be
built. No firm timescales have been announced as to
when work might start. An artists impression of how
the stand might look can be found on the Sheffield United website.
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| The
Visit Malta Stand
& Kennedys Kop |
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| What
Is It Like For Away Supporters? |
Away
fans are housed in the lower tier
of the 188BET (aka the Bramall Lane) Stand at one end of the
ground, where around 3,000
supporters can be accommodated. For cup games if the
demand requires it, then the upper tier can be made
available too. Bramall Lane is a great place to watch
football as the stands are located close to the pitch,
the views are generally good, as well as the
atmosphere too. Chris Bax adds; 'Any tickets still
available for the away end can be purchased from two
dedicated away ticket windows just up from the
turnstile entrances'. On the concourses there are
television screens showing the game going on inside as
well as a betting outlet. Food is available in the
form of Peter's Pies (£3), Burgers (£3)
and Hot Dogs (£3.50). Prepare to be searched on
entry into the ground by the stewards. The Club have
automatic turnstiles, meaning that you have to insert
your ticket into a bar code reader to gain admittance.
The United fans are particularly passionate and vocal
about their club. This makes for a great atmosphere at
games, but also can make it somewhat intimidating for
the away supporter. It was one of those grounds that
by just listening to the crowd you could tell what was
happening on the pitch. I found it quite amusing as
having to go for a leak just before half time, I could
hear the home crowd shout Goo-on as a Sheffield United attack began. Then this
got louder & louder as the United team got closer
to the goal, Goo-on, Goo-on, Goo-On! and then the air
turned blue as whoever it was missed the chance!
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Looking Towards The Kennedys Kop
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| Where To Drink? |
Nick
Turrell a visiting Brighton fan adds; 'About a ten
minute walk away on Queens Road is "The
'Earl" pub, which on our visit was
okay for away fans to drink in'. About 15 minutes
walk away on Wellington Street is the Devonshire
Cat. This pub has around 12 hand pulled beers on
offer, serves food, has a large screen tv, welcomes
families (until 7pm) and is listed in the
CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Although there are bouncers
on the doors, away fans are allowed into the pub
wearing colours. See the Devonshire
Cat website for more details.
Near to the railway
station is the Globe, which Simon a visiting
Chelsea informs me: 'I found that the Globe pub
around a five minute
walk from the station and a 15 minute walk from the ground welcomed home
and away fans as long as
there was no singing. The majority of fans there where Chelsea and the doors where
policed 2 hours before the game but it was a nice
friendly pub serving good ale'. Simon Cumming a visiting Barnsley
fan recommends 'The Howard which is a good pub for away fans.
Service was very good and
it's well policed.' This pub
is also located near to the railway station, on
Howard Street opposite. Whilst
Dave Barraclough informs me; ' In the station
itself is the Sheffield Tap which serves real ales
and is run by the Thornbridge Brewery (please note
though that no football colours are allowed). Also
worth a visit is the Rutland Arms on Brown
Street. A real ale place only a few minutes from the
train station and on route to Bramall Lane'.
The pubs
near to the ground such as the, 'Sheaf
House', 'Railway Hotel', the 'Golden Lion' and on Bramall
Lane; 'The Railway' &
'Cricketers' are for home fans only. Otherwise alcohol is available inside
the ground in the form of plastic 500ml bottles of
Carling (£3.50).
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Kennedys
Kop And GAC Stands
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| How
To Get There By Car & Where To Park |
From The North:
Leave the M1 at Junction 36 and follow the A61
into Sheffield. Follow the
A61 into Sheffield passing Hillsborough
Stadium on your right. Continue
along the A61, which becomes the ring road around
the western side of the city centre. You will
eventually reach a roundabout at the junction with
the A621. At the roundabout turn right onto the A621
Bramall Lane. The ground is a short way down on the
left.
From The South:
Leave M1 at Junction 33 and
take the A630 into Sheffield
City Centre. On reaching the inner ring road follow
signs for A621 Bakewell, the
ground is about a 1/4 of a mile the other side of the
city centre. It is located on the A621 (Bramall Lane).
Street Parking.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid
Sheffield City Centre, then you may find it
easier to park at
Meadowhall Railway Station, near to the well known Shopping Centre (unless of course it is in the run up
to Christmas or the January sales, when the shopping
centre is very busy), just by Junction 34 of
the M1, where you can park for free. You can then take a yellow tram to the
City Centre and then walk to the ground. The tram
journey time is around 20 minutes and costs
less than £2 return. Mark
Needham adds; 'it's worth noting that if you are
coming up from the South, that you can leave
the M1 at Junction 29
(Chesterfield) and follow signs for Sheffield
A61. This is particularly useful if the M1 is
slow around J30, as it often is!'
Map showing the location
of the Bramall Lane Football Ground (at the
bottom of this page).
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| By Train |
| The
ground is walkable from Sheffield mainline train
station, (10-15mins). As you come
out of the station, walk left along the main road.
Where the road splits take the right fork which is
Shoreham Street and continue down this road to the
ground.
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| Local Rivals |
| Sheffield
Wednesday, Barnsley, Rotherham
United & Leeds United.
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A Closer Look At The 188BET
(Bramall Lane) Stand
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| Admission Prices |
The
Club operate a three tiered
system (A, B & C) of
matchday ticket prices, whereby the most popular games
cost more to watch. Category A
prices are shown below with Category B &
C prices shown in brackets.
Home Fans:
Visit Malta, GAC Stands & Fortina Spa
Corner:
Adults £31 (B
£24) (C £15), Concessions
£23 (B £18) (C
£11), Under 16's £16 (B £12) (C
£8)
Kennedys
Kop Stand: Adults £26 (B
£18) (C £13), Concessions
£20 (B £14) (C
£10),
Under 16's £10 (B £5) (C £5)
Westfield Corner: Adults
£28.50 (B £20) (C
£14), Concessions £22 (B £15) (C £11), Under
16's £14 (B £10) (C £7.50)
Away Fans:
188BET (Bramall Lane) Stand:
Adults £28.50 (B
£20) (C £14), Concessions
£22 (B £15) (C
£11), Under 16's £14 (B £10) (C
£7.50)
Concessions apply to Over 60's, Students with valid
NUS Card and Under 18's.
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| Layout Of Bramall
Lane |
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| Fixtures 2011-2012 |
| Sheffield
United FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website).
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| Programme Price |
| 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:
68,287 v Leeds United,
FA Cup 5th Round, February 15th, 1936.
Modern All Seated Attendance
Record:
32,604 v Wigan Athletic
Premier League, May 13th, 2007.
Average Attendance:
2010-2011: 20,632 (Championship League)
2009-2010: 25,120 (Championship League)
2008-2009: 26,023
(Championship League)
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| Fans Reviews
Of Bramall Lane |
Myles
Munsey (Neutral) 7/4/12
Chris Connolly
(Chesterfield) 28/3/12
Neil Hawley
(Hartlepool United) 31/12/11
Teresa Jewell
(Sheffield Wednesday) 16/10/11
Nicholas Rice
(Charlton Athletic) 1/10/11
Chris Fretwell (Leeds
United) 19/3/11
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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 have a
huge choice of places to stay and their booking
facility is straightforward 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. Hotels are listed giving details of
their distance from the Bramall Lane Football Ground.
Access
their Sheffield
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 the Bramall Lane
Football Ground, 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.
*
The ground originally opened as a cricket ground
in 1855, but the first football match was not
played there until December 1862, when Sheffield
FC (who are the oldest club in the world, being
formed in 1857) played Hallam. This makes Bramall
Lane the oldest professional football ground in
the world!
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