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West Bromwich Albion FC
The Hawthorns
Away Fans
Away fans are housed on one side of the Smethwick End, where the normal allocation is 3,000 seats. This means
that this stand is shared with home supporters. For cup games, the whole of this stand can be allocated to away fans,
raising this
figure to 5,200. The facilities and the view of the pitch in the Smethwick
end are okay, although the leg room is a little cramped. I have been to the Hawthorns on a number of occasions and
have always found it to be a fairly friendly place. The
only thing against a visit in terms of a day out is a nearby pub for away
fans, meaning that most elect to drink inside the ground instead.
Considering that the concourse at the back of the
Smethwick End is pretty small
in comparison to its overall capacity,
then it has an
uncomfortable feel, especially when there is a large away support.
One tip on finding your seat in this stand, is to remember that although
your ticket is marked with the letter of the row, say Row B Or Row LL, the
plates indicating the row in the stand read B1 or LL1. As you would expect
a number of fans get confused by the addition of the number 1 and start to
wander around the stand looking for their seat. So you have been warned.
Also in first gaining entry to the stand, the Club
operate automatic turnstiles, where you have to put your ticket (which has a
bar code on it) into a slot reader, which then allows the turnstiles admit
you. There are stewards on hand if you get a problem and on my last visit
fans were also being searched before entering the ground. Strangely I
noticed that fans were not allowed to bring in take away food from the
nearby McDonalds.
Look out
for the West Brom Mascot called 'Baggie Bird', who does a good job of
entertaining the away fans before the game. This even involves going in goal
and challenging players to take a shot! |
