Blundell Park (soccer stadium)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] History and layout[edit] Pontoon StandImage:Blundell Park Pontoon Stand.jpg The Pontoon Stand The most keen home fans (and often the loudest) sit in what is called the Pontoon Stand. This is at the north end of the ground behind one of the goals. It was built in 1961 with money for the construction raised by Grimsby Town's fans. The Pontoon Stand is the only stand in which the seats correspond to the club's colours, black and white stripes. [edit] The Carlsberg StandImage:Blundell Park West Stand.JPG The Carlsberg Stand. The two tiered 'Carlsberg Stand' runs along half of the length of the pitch on the west side. This was built with money from former fish processing company Findus and was originally known as the 'Findus Family Stand'. It has subsequently been called the 'Stones Bitter Stand' and the 'John Smith's Stand'. This stand was opened in 1981, replacing the old Barrett Stand. The upper tier is covered and offers views of the River Humber, Spurn Point and the North Sea over the top of the Main Stand. The lower tier is uncovered and between the two is a row of corporate boxes. The club shop, ticket office, McMeneny's restaurant and all of the club's administration departments are also based in this stand. [edit] Main StandImage:Blundell Park Main Stand.JPG The Main Stand. Opposite the Carlsberg stand, on the east side of the ground, is the 'Main Stand' which dates from 1901 and is often claimed to be the oldest stand in the football league. Due to it being constructed partly from wood, during matchday a fire engine is always housed outside in case of fire outbreak. This stand houses the changing rooms, press facilities and disabled supporters. The players tunnel runs from the centre of this stand onto the pitch between the two sets of dugouts. [edit] Osmond StandImage:Blundell Park Away End.jpg The Osmand Stand (Away End). Away fans sit in the Osmond stand at the south end of the ground, where there are around 2,000 seats. This stand was built in 1939, shortly before the start of World War II. Peter Crouch quoted his mother as saying "she has never been so cold in all her life as the away end at Grimsby"[1] The corner between the Main Stand and the Osmond Stand is the only enclosed corner in the whole ground. The remaining three corners are often filled with temporary green seats and matchday magazine sales booths. [edit] The futureSeveral times in recent years, the club has debated moving home to a new ground within the town of Grimsby. Sites considered include a new ground in the Pyewipe industrial estate and Great Coates areas of the town. Planning permission has been granted in the latter area for the tentatively-titled Conoco Stadium, if all goes to plan this will be ready for the 2010-11 season. Blundell Park also happens to be the lowest football stadium in the United Kingdom, at a height of only 2 feet above sea-level, with the worries about global warming it is prudent for The Mariners to be investigating a move of their home stadium to higher ground, or else they literally risk their home ground being washed away as sea-levels rise as projected by the IPCC.[2] [edit] RecordsThe highest ever attendance at the ground was 31,651 for a FA Cup 5th Round match on February 20 1937 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since the ground was converted to all seating for the start of the 1995-96 season after the Taylor Report, the highest attendance was 9,528 for a Football League Division One (Second Tier) match against Sunderland on March 13 1999. [edit] References
[edit] External links |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
