Bloomfield Road Needs an Upgrade Bloomfield Road, Blackpool Lancashire England
Bloomfield Road Needs an Upgrade
Published: 30th June 2010
An odd perk afforded to FA Cup winners is that they are allowed to use triangular corner flags. Bloomfield Road boasts those, but is otherwise lacking in symbols of the elite status that will be Blackpool’s now they have beaten Cardiff City for Premier League status.
Promotion to the Barclays Premier League would require changes off as well as on the pitch — which, by the way, is almost as threadbare as the head of Ian Holloway, the manager.
“The club will have to make a number of improvements,” the Premier League said.
Although facilities are housed in a stand built in 2002, they do not meet the Premier League’s standards. The press box would have to be enlarged to seat 50 reporters from its present capacity of 14 and the changing rooms are too small. Failure to comply would lead the club to be fined by the League, as Portsmouth repeatedly were until they improved their media arrangements.
Unlike the Football League, the Premier League does not stipulate a minimum capacity. “If you win promotion, you deserve to be there, it doesn’t matter if you have a 15,000-seater stadium or a 75,000-seater one, you’re there on merit,” the League said.
Spectator capacity was raised in March to about 13,000 with the opening of the Armfield Stand. An uncovered temporary stand housing 2,000 people runs along one side. If promoted, the club aim to use part of the financial windfall to build a new stand and take capacity to 16,000. The average crowd this campaign was 8,611.
Top-flight clubs must give a minimum of 10 per cent of capacity or 3,000 seats (whichever is the lesser) to away fans. With as few as 1,300 travelling supporters at each match, that would create the likelihood of ticketless hordes arriving in Blackpool when the big North-West clubs are in town.
Article found at… www.timesonline.co.uk
