By Paul Holland
March 13 2002

BRAMALL LANE

What's The Ground Like?

Bramall Lane has to me been one of the under-rated grounds in the country. The construction of three large new stands in the past few years makes the ground one of the best in the first division. Both sides of the ground are large single tiered stands, as is the Shoreham St Kop at one end.  The only disappointment with the latter is a couple of supporting pillars. At the other end, is the oldest stand, the Bramall Lane Stand, where the away fans are housed. This stand is two tiered and looks a little strange as it has two large supporting pillars in the upper tier. It also has an electric scoreboard. During the close season the corners at either side of the John Street Stand have been filled (during year 2000). In between the John St stand & the Kop a seated family area has been created. The other end of the John Street Stand has been filled with offices.  Dave Croft adds; 'a lot of Blades fans sentimentally call the ground "beautiful down town Bramall Lane", as a match day announcer use to welcome the away fans with this description'.  Interestingly Bramall Lane is the oldest ground of the 92 Clubs, with football first being competitively played on the site in 1862.

Future Developments

Carl Dean informs me; 'there are plans to build a hotel at the corner of the Bramall Lane and Arnold Laver Stands. The hotel would feature a viewing area, that would have uninterrupted views of the ground'.

What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?

Away fans are housed in the two tiered Bramall Lane Stand at one end of the ground, where up to 5,200 supporters can be accommodated. However the normal allocation is around half this figure as only the lower tier is normally open (est. 2,000). If demand requires it then the upper tier can be allocated as well (only for big games though). Please note that the front of the lower tier of this stand is uncovered, so if your team has a large away following, then pray it doesn't rain! Chris Bax adds; 'if tickets are still available for the away end, then they can be purchased from two dedicated away ticket windows just up from the turnstile entrances'. The Sheffield United fans are particularly passionate and vocal about their club. This makes for a great atmosphere at games, but also can make it somewhat intimidating for the away supporter. It was one of those grounds that by just listening to the crowd you could tell what was going on, on the pitch. I found it quite amusing as having to go for a leak just before half time, I could hear the home crowd shout Goo-on as a Sheffield attack began. Then this got louder & louder as the United team got closer to the goal, Goo-on, Goo-on, Goo-On! and then the air turned blue as whoever it was missed the chance (ed - probably Bobby Ford skied it into Row ZZ as usual).

Where To Drink?

George Donovan recommends the Golden Lion, 'its just across the road and up the hill from the big Sheaf House pub, about 50 yards from the away fans entrance. Otherwise somewhat further along the road from the away end (about 3/4's of a mile past the B&Q on the left) is the Bridge pub which also has been recommended to me. Nearer to the ground, Jon Kerley adds; 'I drink in the Railway Hotel right next to the away end and the pub welcomes away fans in - I've had some great crack with guys from around the country'.

How To Get There By Car & Where To Park

Leave M1 at Junction 34 and head into Sheffield City Centre. On reaching the inner ring road follow signs for A621 Baslow, the ground is about a 1/4 of a mile out of the other side of the city center. It is located on the A621 (Bramall Lane). Street Parking.

By Train

The ground is walk able from Sheffield mainline train station, (10-15mins). As you come out of the station turn left at the island in front of the station and continue straight on down this street, for the ground.

SHOREHAM ST KOP

The Shoreham St Kop or 'the kop' as it is known to most fans was built when the ground was first built in 1855, although the Kop today has seen some major changes since 1855. The Kop stands proud in Bramall Lane and is the home of the atmosphere in the ground.

As you can see it is a beautiful stand filled with red and white seats, the only disappointment with the stand is the four huge posts which holds up the roof of the stand.

As I said earlier the stand has seen some major development to it, here are some examples:

1914 - Concrete terracing placed on the Kop.
1947 - Roof on the Kop is replaced.
1964 - Roof on the Kop is extended.
1985 - The Capacity of the Kop is increased to 18,000
1991 - Seats are installed on the Kop.
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Fans View: By Brownie Blade (02/02/2002)

What is the capacity of the stand?
I would say that it holds in the region of around 8,000 spectators.

What facilities does the stand have and how do you rate them?
The toilets are very old and need to be replaced, there some new ones in the Family Corner which are extremely good.

What is the atmosphere like?
The atmosphere is the best in the ground I think, they are also very friendly people.

Under what conditions would you advise people to sit in the stand?
The main one would be not to wear a Sheffield Wednesday shirt, the fans wont like it. It is also not a very good idea to bang on the backs of stewards as they get a bit pissed off with that (ed - I wonder why that is).

Any other comments about the stand...
The stewards are useless, they do their best to throw you out for minor offences.

SOUTH STAND

The South Stand was built in 1975 and holds 7,992 supporters, the stand has wooden seats which I think it is time for change and install better plastic ones, the stand has not seen any improvements on it since it was built.

Fans View: By Leeds Blade (02/02/2002)

What is the capacity of the stand?
I am sorry, but I don't know (ed - fair enough).

What facilities does the stand have and how do you rate them?

Toilets: There are plenty of toilets in the South Stand which are fantastic, both me and my dad rate them very highly, they all come with soap, paper towels and mirrors and one good thing about them is that there is an IN and OUT entrance (ed - surely that applies to most stands).

Refreshments: I do not rate these at all, they have a lot of staff serving but at half-time when it gets full it can takes ages to be served. They don't serve chips, which is a blow for me as I love them! they serve plenty of pies, hotdogs and burgers but these are not always as hot as they should be. Drinks are ok, they serve the usual (coke, orange, lemonade etc or alcohol for over 18's).

Bookies: At the far side of concourse (near kop) there is a betting stall which is very popular with the betting blades.

What is the atmosphere like?
I sit very high up and around older supporters, and therefore nobody sings which is not good. I went to Bradford City away (ed - on 2001/2002 season) and I loved it as everyone was in full voice and I am not used to it.

I would rather be somewhere with a better atmosphere, but to be honest those who sit around gangway H (near Bramall Lane End) do sing a lot and cause a better atmosphere. From people around me you always get the occasional 'skin him' or 'come on u blades' but nothing else (ed - you can tell why they call it the old peoples stand then).

The best bit about the South Stand is the view, although I sit high up I think that the view from below is still ace. I am not a huge fan of stands behind goal and I love sitting here so I would not think about moving to the kop.

Under what conditions would you advise people to sit in the stand?
1. If you love watching football, with a decent or very good view and isn't bothered about any atmosphere then this is the stand you should go for.

2. If you love chips then don't sit here (ed - John St sells chips)

Any other comments...
Most of the old fans who sit near me just moan and criticize the players throughout the game, no matter what the result is.

JOHN ST STAND

The John St Stand was opened in October 1996 (Tranmere Rovers in a 0-0 draw) and is the most spectacular stand at Bramall Lane. The stand holds 6,842 seats (which include 55 spaced for the disabled), 31 executive boxes, 325 executive seats and catering facilities for 840, in result the ground held around 30,000 until a new corner (opened at the beginning of the 2001/02 season) was joined on to it and the end of the kop and would add an extra 700 fans in.

Fan View: By Barnsley Blade!!! (02/02/2002)

What is the capacity of the stand?
In my own opinion I would say that the John St Stand holds around 7,000

What facilities does the stand have and how do you rate them?

Toilets: There are about eight toilets (four male, four female), each are in excellent condition and are very very clean which is what supporters want. There is also hand wash, soap and paper towels as part of the facilities.

Refreshments: There are two main bars in the John St that sell pies, burgers, chips, drinks etc and then there are small kiosk which only stock a few items such as pies and hot drinks. For the adult supporter there are bars that serve alcohol before kick-off and during half-time.

Bookies: There are betting stalls in the stand but I am unsure about how popular it is.

What is the atmosphere like?
Not very good to be honest, the fans sing a bit but this is only when the Shoreham St kop is in full voice, the people are friendly though.

Under what conditions would you advise people to sit in the stand?
The stand is the family enclosure part of the ground, so you are restricted to certain rules (i.e. no bad language), which if you have children its nice to know there is a place where you can take them. I would also advise to use that stand if you aren't too bothered about the atmosphere, the view is very good in both the corner and the stand itself.

Any Other Comments:
The pies are very nice.

BRAMALL LANE END (AWAY END)

Away Fans view by the Webmaster of Grounds Tour website.

Date: 1 December 2001
Fixture: Sheffield United 2-2 Preston North End (Nationwide League Division 1)
Ground rating: 78 (out of 100)

Ten days after my trip to Britannia Stadium (Stoke City FC), I was crossing the Pennines and heading towards Sheffield. I had been impressed by Hillsborough (ed - why?) earlier in the season and was looking forward to seeing the home of the red half of the city. I travelled to Bramall Lane on one of the Preston Travel Club coaches, arriving outside the ground around 2:30pm.

After a policeman had boarded the coach to wish everyone an enjoyable visit (ed - must have been a W*******y fan!), I headed towards the turnstiles. The ground had suddenly appeared as the coach followed the police escort and it looked quite impressive from the outside. Once inside Bramall Lane I decided to get something to eat, only to find long queues at the solitary snack bar. For the few staff serving the supporters it seemed mandatory to stare at a pie for 60 seconds before picking it up, and eventually I gave up waiting and headed for my seat.

Looking around the inside of Bramall Lane, I thought the ground was quite impressive. All the stands are of a similar size, with the John Street Stand side a magnificent structure. The Laver Stand to my right also looked good, but the Kop at the opposite end was spoilt by a few posts. The Bramall Lane stand housing the away supporters did not match the other sides of the ground (ed - Unfortunately that is because there is not much room between side of the pitch to the main road, where as behind the kop there is loads of spare land to build on). Describing the leg room as minimal is being generous, whilst most of the lower tier of this stand, including my seat, were uncovered; fortunately though there were clear blue skies over Sheffield. It was good to see that Sheffield United had filled in the corner between the Kop and John Street stands, although the new section of seating didn't appear to be very well integrated with the rest of the stadium. The Deepdale Duck entertained the 2000 travelling fans before kick off, with the lower tier of the Bramall Lane stand appearing to be pretty full. It was hard to tell if there were any fans in the upper tier; there were stewards up there but the lack of noise suggested it was pretty empty. By the time the mascots led the teams out, the home areas of the ground were all packed in the middle sections, but a number of seats were empty elsewhere.

The match was an entertaining encounter, with plenty of chances at either end. The traveling fans were in good voice in the first half as Preston took a 2-0 lead, but Sheffield United came back after the break to secure a 2-2 draw . To their credit, the home fans kept right behind their side even when they went behind (ed - that is because we thought we could get a draw), although they could do with learning a few new songs; "United!" seemed to be the only one in their repertoire. They were also quick to get on the back of the referee and I'm sure visiting teams must find Bramall Lane one of the more intimidating venues in the Football League. It was good to see that as Sheffield United attacked the stand housing the visiting supporters in the second half, home fans in the other three sides of the stadium got behind their team, generating an excellent atmosphere without going too far. The match was also memorable for the referee being substituted and the PA announcer then asking if there were any refs in the crowd who could take over as the fourth official!

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Bramall Lane. The ground perhaps lacks the charm and beauty of Hillsborough, but it is still a good venue at which to watch football. I've found the atmosphere at both Sheffield clubs to be good and it seems that the people of the city care passionately about their football teams. I'll definitely have to try and get a ticket for a Sheffield derby at some point in the future.