Rotherham
Don Valley Stadium
Capacity 25,000
Address Worksop Road, Sheffield, S9 3TL
Ticket Prices £18 adult | £10 concessions | £6 under 16′s.
www.themillers.co.uk
Visiting the Don Valley Stadium was one of the more unusual venues that I have watched football. Stevenage visited Rotherham on the 9th October 2010. We made our way up the M1 early and had a walk around Meadowhall before having a drink in the Arena Square pub on the Attercliffe Road. Then we embarked on the 5-10 minutes walk to the stadium from there.
The walk to the away end is quite long. From the main road, you have to walk all the way round to the opposite end of the ground and then past the main entrance before you find the away “block”. When we got there, the turnstiles were shut temporarily for a fire alarm test. Once we got in to the ground there were two doors. One said “BAR”, the other “TOILETS”. Both ended up in the same location. Most pointless sign ever. There was a small concorse which had the bar that sold the usual and the afor mentioned toilets.
Inside the ground, my first thought was how big it was. I didn’t know before that it had a 25,000 seated capacity. I did, however, know that they only used one side of the whole stadium, which still seems pretty pointless to me. It certainly adds to the awful atmosphere there. On one side is a covered “Grandstand”, where the home supporters sit. This curls round slightly to incorporate one block for visiting supporters.
The remainder of the ground is an open bowl-shape. It’s all seated, although there is a large section that is left as a walkway. It’s the biggest walkway I’ve ever seen, especially as it is never used because the club only open 1 stand! The views of the pitch are unobstructed, but still poor. Obviously the fact that an athletics track is going round it doesn’t help.
All in all, the Don Valley Stadium lived up to its pre-match expectations. Souless. It doesn’t feel like any other football ground really. The stadium itself looks impressive. It’s well built, but it’s just not a football stadium. The sooner Rotherham sort out their new stadium, the better. That’s about it.
Getting to Rotherham Sheffield
By car
Sat Nav reference: S9 3TL
Leave Stevenage and make your way across to the M1. Leave the M1 at junction 34 for Sheffield (Meadowhall) and take the 2nd exit on to the A6178. Follow this down going through a couple of roundabouts and traffic light junctions for about 2 miles. The ground will be visible on the left. Street parking.
By train
You will more than likely arrive in the centre of Sheffield, which is quite a way from the ground. Get another train from Sheffield station to Meadowhall and then take the tram service from Meadowhall to the Don Valley. There is a stop right near the stadium.
