Bradford

Valley Parade

Capacity 25,136
Address Valley Parade, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD8 7DY
Ticket Prices £20 for visiting supporters.
www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk

The Valley Parade stadium has been the home to Bradford City since 1903 and looks quite impressive from one side. The stadium is probably better known for the tragedy that occurred in 1985 when a fire claimed the lives of 56 people. The Co-operative and Kop stands are the most recent developments and they totally dwarf the rest of the stadium, as you can tell from the panoramic view below.

The Midland Road stand is also a large seated stand, but looks a bit out of place with the rest of the ground. It holds approximately 4500 supporters. This stand was built in 1996 and was used for the first time in a home game against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United. The TL Dallas end used to be the stand for away supporters, but in recent years the club have moved them to a section of the Midland Road stand. The TL stand is an odd looking two tiered structure which is quite small in size. It holds just under 2000 supporters.

I travelled to Valley Parade for Stevenage’s first away game in the football league. We travelled up early and went via Leeds where we stopped off at Elland Road and had a look around. We got into Bradford about 12.30ish and got a parking space on Midland Road. It did seem that there was a lack of spaces around the ground though. After a bite in McDonalds, we had a wonder round the ground and then made our way in.

It’s an impressive stadium, certainly for this level, but just looks unfinished. I’m sure if they had stayed in the Premier League for a couple more seasons then they would have re-developed the rest of the ground accordingly. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my visit there, if the result wasn’t what I hoped for.

Getting to Bradford

By car

Sat Nav reference: BD8 7DY

Getting to Valley Parade from Stevenage is a straight forward, but long journey. Via either the M1 or A1(M) drive up to the M62. When you approach the M62, take the west bound carriageway towards Manchester. Exit the M62 at junction 26 and pick up the M606. Follow this road for approximately 3 miles, exiting at junction 3.

Pick up the A6177 going towards Bradford. At the traffic lights near Matalan, turn right onto the A641. At the next roundabout, turn left onto the A6181. About a mile on you will come to a set of traffic lights. Turn left at these onto the A650. Follow this road for a bit and you will see the ground on the right.

By train

Bradford can be accessed from Stevenage directly on a First Capital Connect service. From the station, the ground isn’t far away. Come out of the station and walk through the retail park. After crossing Hamm Strasse turn right onto Midland Road and after a 5-10 minute walk, the ground in on the left.