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Derby County Ground Name: Pride Park Stadium |
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| Contents | |
| What's
The Ground Like? Future Ground Developments Rear Of The Toyota Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Away Supporters To Visit? The East & Cawarden (South) Stands (photo) Where To Drink? How To Get There By Car & Where To Park View From The Away Section (photo) Admission Prices Fixtures 2007-2008 Programme Price Ground Layout Local Rivals Stadium Tours Disabled Facilities Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| The ground is a big, handsome, change from the old Baseball Ground, which was the former home of the Club since 1895. The new stadium was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1997, is totally enclosed with all corners being filled. One corner is filled with executive boxes, giving the stadium a continental touch. The large Toyota West Stand which runs down one side of the pitch is two tiered, complete with a row of executive boxes. The rest of the ground is smaller in size than the West Stand, as the roof drops a tier to the other sides, making it look unbalanced. It is a pity that the West Stand could not be replicated throughout the rest of the stadium as this would have made it truly magnificent. | |
| Future Ground Developments | |
| The Club are considering whether to increase the capacity of Pride Park to 44,000. This would involve adding an additional tier to three sides of the stadium, namely the North, East and South Stands. If the Club do decide to go ahead then work could begin in the Summer of 2008. | |
| What Is It Like For Away Supporters To Visit? | |
| Away fans are located at one
end of the stadium in the Cawarden (South) Stand, where the allocation is
normally 3,000, although this can be increased to 4,800, if demand requires
it. I have thoroughly enjoyed my visits to Pride Park. The stadium and the
facilities within it are superb. The PA system is almost better than you
would experience in a cinema and queuing for a beer behind the stands
reminded me of being at a theme park, as you are able to watch television
screens as you wait. The Derby supporters are passionate about their team
and this coupled with the stadium design makes for a great noisy atmosphere.
I found the Derby supporters friendly and did not experience any problems at
all. The
delicious
'Football's Famous Chicken Balti Pie'
(£2) is available inside the ground,
as well as burgers, hot dogs and chips.
The game is shown live on these screens, with commentary, so that you don't
have to miss anything while waiting for your half time cuppa.
There is also a Ladbrokes betting outlet too. Please note that you have to
buy a match ticket before entering the stadium from the lottery office
adjacent to the away turnstiles.
George Donovan a visiting
Ipswich Town supporter adds; 'In my opinion
Pride Park is the best ground in the Championship - yes, even
better than Portman Road! - thanks to its location, proximity to the
train station, best pub I've been to on the way to
the ground (The Brunswick - over a dozen real ales
always on tap including my fave Timmy Taylors
Landlord), superb catering with no queues, fantastic view, friendly home
fans and great PA'. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| There are a couple of pubs opposite the station, such as the Merry Widows, that tend to be the favourite haunts of away supporters. However, unless you are going to arrive mob handed, then it is probably best to turn right out of the station and make your way down to The Brunswick or Alexandra Hotel. Both these pubs have a railway theme, serve a great range of real ales and offer a selection of filled rolls. Although they both have bouncers on the doors away fans are normally let in as long as there is no singing. There are bars at the back of the Stands (£2.50 a pint), however they do get quite crowded. | |
| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| From the the M1,
exit at Junction 25 and take the the A52 towards Derby. The ground is
signposted off the A52 after about seven miles. There is
not a great deal of parking available around the stadium so it may an idea to park in the centre of town and then
walk out to the ground. Kenny Lyon suggests; 'perhaps a better place to
park for all fans is the cattle market car park. This costs £2 and is
about 5-10 minutes walk from the ground and is just off the A52. To get
there, go past the normal turning for the stadium and go up to the
'pentagon roundabout;' take the first turning off there and then take
the next left - you then drive about 300 yards back on yourself,
passing
it on your left as you drive along the A52'. Steve Hallam informs me; 'A stretch of the A52 between Nottingham and Derby has been named Brian Clough Way in honour of the great mans achievements with both Derby and Forest. Signs have recently been erected along this stretch of the A52 to show this'. For a map showing the location of the ground 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. |
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| By Train | |
| The ground is about fifteen minutes walk from Derby railway station and is signposted. As you exit, turn right and at the bottom of the road turn right again and follow the crowd. | |
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| Admission Prices | |
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Derby operate a
category system for pricing match tickets, meaning that the most
popular games cost more to watch. The highest prices are shown below, with
the lowest shown in brackets: Adults Price Range: £33 (£29) - £44 (£40) Concessions Price Range: £17 (£15) - £23 (£21) Concessions apply to under 16's and over 60's. |
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| Fixtures 2007-2008 | |
| For the Derby County fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Programme | |
| Official Programme £2. | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Nottingham Forest. | |
| Stadium Tours | |
| The Club offer tours of the stadium which are priced at £11.95 for Adults, £9.95 for OAP's and £7.95 for juniors. Tours need to be booked in advance on: 0870-444-1884. | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| At Pride Park; 33,597 England v Mexico, Friendly, May 25th, 2001. For a Derby game at Pride Park: 33,475 V Glasgow Rangers Friendly, May 1st 2006 At the Baseball Ground; 41,826 v Tottenham Hotspur, Division One, September 20th, 1969. Average Attendance: 2006-2007: 25,945 (Championship League) 2005-2006: 24,166 (Championship League) 2004-2005: 25,219 (Championship League) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Pride Park | |
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Donald
Tindall (Fulham) 29/4/08 Tim Samson (Neutral) 3/12/05 Mark Horsfield (Ipswich Town) 14/8/04 Ben Edge (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 24/8/02 Chris O'Hanlon (Nottingham Forest) 20/10/02 Lee Roberts (England) 25/5/01 |
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| 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 Derby page click here. | |
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Feedback |
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If anything is incorrect or you have
something to add, please e-mail me and
I'll update the guide. |
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