By Kate Jackson
January 3 2009

Dean Court came into League Two again during the 2008/9 season. A nice little ground that is based in a lovely little town on the south coast, it may take a while to get to but the wait is certainly worth it as it's a solidly enjoyable day all-around in Dorset.

Now, if there's one ground I do like in League Two, it's Bournemouth's Fitness First Stadium. It certainly makes a change at this level to have a long journey with a decent ground waiting at the other end for you.

Getting to the ground once you're within the town is easy enough, as is parking. There's not a lot to do around the ground unfortunately. There's the usual club shop, a field to play football on (although no goal posts) and that's pretty much it.

I would certainly recommend staying in Bournemouth for the weekend as it's a lovely little place. The Kenilworth Hotel is a fairly decent place to stay in the town, not too far from the beach and within a few feet of the town centre, not too bad at all and very reasonably priced.

THE MAIN STAND

Once inside the ground, you're met with a very tidy little ground. It's very similar to some other grounds that have been in the division in seasons before, such as Oxford United's Kassam Stadium, but this stadium feels more size-appropriate than that of the men from Oxford.

The stand housing away fans is identical to the stand on the opposite side of the pitch. Both are pitch length with a good height for viewing the action. Infact, the view is excellent from anywhere in the away end and you're also right near the home fans. The stand behind the other goal is a single tiered effort, this is where the main atmosphere at Dean Court comes from.

Although there is now a fourth stand, there wasn't on any of my visits so I can't really comment on that.

The atmosphere at Bournemouth is also excellent as all three (well, two and a half) home stands sing together, including one incredibly loud rendition of "Great Escape" during our visit in the 2008/9 season. In terms of pure noise, there are very few fans that equal this sort of nose (obviously compared to how many fans that they have) but other than that fans who sit immediately next to the away fans, the fans are really friendly and knowledgeable.

Overall I can have no complaints whatsoever about Dean, a tidy little ground that is one of the better grounds outside of the Premier League, if a little small. I would seriously recommend it to other fans as it is a pleasure, plus the fact that I haven't seen us lose there also helps.

I would love to visit this ground again and spend a weekend in the town, it is genuinely one of the most enjoyable experiences on the travels that I have had with Lincoln.

Bournemouth's Fitness First Stadium

Discussion started by theimps.tk (IP Logged), 03/01/2009 20:36

theimps.tk
03/01/2009 20:36

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