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Stoke City FC
Britannia Stadium
The Ground
The stadium opened in 1997, looks imposing from afar, as it
is perched on a hill with hardly any buildings around it. It
does look good though
especially when
lit up at
night. It is a vast improvement on the old Victoria Ground which has now sadly
been demolished. It is a fair sized stadium comprising three separate stands.
One of these the Signal Boothen End and Seddon Stand, extends around one
corner of the ground, enclosing the stadium in that area. On the other side
of the ground is the West Stand, which is the tallest at the
Britannia. This imposing stand has a large lower tier of seating with a
smaller tier above. Situated between the tiers is a row of Executive Boxes.
There are quite large open areas to each side of this stand, which detracts
from the overall look of the stadium. If these could be filled at some
point, then the ground would benefit greatly. The South Stand at one
end of the stadium is partly given to away supporters. This simple looking
stand is like the rest of the stadium, all seated and covered, with
windshields to either side. It is though quite steep, meaning that fans are
kept close to the playing action. Unusually the
teams come onto the pitch from one corner of the ground, between the
South Stand and the West Stand. In the corner on the other side of
the South Stand is a large electric
scoreboard.
Tim Green adds; 'Behind the Boothen End
there are three statues of the legendary former player Sir Stanley
Matthews, which were originally unveiled by Kevin Keegan'. The club also have
a couple of unusual looking
mascots, with a blue
coloured hippo called 'Pottermus'
and his white girlfriend 'Pottermiss', obviously this is what happens
to hippos when they visit the Potteries!
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