The stands Bramall Lane, Sheffield Yorkshire England
The stands
Published: 22nd June 2010
The stands
The ground has been an all-seater stadium since 1994 and is now made up of four main stands and two corner infill stands in the North-East and South-West corners.[17] The North-West corner (as well as a lot of the land under the John Street Stand) contains the Blades Enterprise Centre, and the South-East corner is still open, although there are plans to fill it with seating as part of the strategy to build a leisure complex at the back of the South Stand.
[edit] Bramall Lane Stand
Now sponsored by Halliwell's, this is the oldest existing stand at Bramall Lane, this two-tiered structure was opened in 1966 behind the goal at the Bramall Lane end, opposite the Kop. From the 2006–2007 Premiership Campaign, the bottom tier is occupied by away fans whilst the upper tier, which links into the South-West corner infill stand, is given to home fans (although part of the upper tier may be offered to away fans for cup fixtures if demand is sufficient). This is in contrast to previous seasons, when away fans had the upper tier (and hence the best view in the ground) much to the annoyance of home fans. During the 2005–2006 season, the outside of the Bramall Lane Stand was reclad in red-and-white, with the stand sponsors and the club crest on the outside of the stand, while the wooden seats of the upper tier were replaced with newer plastic seats with the words "BLADES" written into them. When the corner infill stand was built during the closed season, the roof over the Bramall Lane Stand was extended toward the pitch to provide better cover for the lower tier and to remove the supporting pillars from the upper tier. There are approximately 2700 seats in the upper tier, and 2990 in the lower, giving a total capacity of 5680. This stand has for many years housed a basic LCD scoreboard and clock between the upper and lower tiers, however at the start of the 2006–2007 season both were replaced by a modern colour video scoreboard.
[edit] The South Stand
The South Stand is also known as the "Main Stand", however some fans still refer to it as the "Laver Stand" (after the stand's long-term sponsors in the 1990s) or even the "New Stand" by many older fans since there was no stand on the South end of the pitch until 1975, where previously it was used as the cricket pitch's outfield. Opened in August 1975, the South Stand is situated alongside the pitch and is for home fans who wish to have a side-view when watching the match (the John Street Stand is for families only). During the 2005–2006 season, this stand was renovated, with a re-clad of the outside of the stand and the old wooden seats replaced by newer plastic seats forming an emblem of two swords written. The box-seats were also upgraded, and it was named the Global Windows Stand in a sponsorship deal, although from the season 2007–2008 the club has gained sponsorship from an Australian property development company resulting in this stand being renamed the "Valad stand". This stand holds approximately 7,500 fans, and most of the ground's amenities, including the Box office, newly expanded and renovated for the 2006–2007 season Blades Superstore, Platinum Suite, "Legends of the Lane" museum, "1889" award winning restaurant (formerly known as Bosworth's of Bramall Lane), the former police control centre (now relocated to the Blades Enterprise Centre between the Bramall Lane and John Street Stands), newly refurbished reception, Press box, players entrance, administrative offices and television gantry attached to the roof of the stand.Plans have been made to add a extra tier of 6,000 seats. No time scale has been set.
[edit] The Kop Stand
Seated since 1991, this is the area in which the most boisterous home fans sit,[18] such that former assistant manager (1999–2003) and now manager (2008–present) Kevin Blackwell named the noise coming from this stand as the "Bramall Roar" after the 2003 play-off semi-final second-leg against Nottingham Forest, which the Blades won 4–3, coming from 0–2 down.[19] The stand is currently sponsored by Fraser Property and, was formally sponsored by Hallam FM. The stand itself is built into a hillside situated behind the goal, at the east end of the stadium. This places the stand along Shoreham Street, hence the often-heard chant of "Hello! Hello! We are the Shoreham Boys" coming from this stand on matchdays.[20] It has the club's initials "SUFC" written into the seats, and holds 10,221 fans, making this the largest stand at Bramall Lane. The facilities are of lower quality in the Kop because there is no indoor concourse, although an outdoor bar was completed in September 2007 to complement the fast-food takeaway, but in spite of this it is still a firm favourite amongst the fans, and usually full on matchday. At a Shareholders meeting in November 2007 the club announced that it intends to expand the Kop by 3,500 ( making it the largest 'kop' in the country ) and to upgrade all the facilities and cover the concourse areas.[21] Work is now scheduled to start before the Summer of 2010.
[edit] John Street Stand
The John Street stand, completed in 1996, is used as a family enclosure for home fans and is situated along the north side of the pitch, boasting great views of the playing action. Sponsored by the Maltese Tourist Board , in a combined stand and shirt sponsorship deal, it has the word "BLADES" written in the seats, and holds just under 7000 fans. This is also where the home disabled supporters may sit. The stand is home to a small club shop as well as the Marstons & Malta Executive Suites and the newly opened "Tunnel Bar". There is also a row of 31, individual executive boxes with private facilities and their own balconies along the back of the stand.
[edit] Kop Corner
Also called the Northeast Corner or Evolution Corner after its sponsorship deal, this stand was completed in 2001 and is between the Kop and the John Street stand. It is fully linked to the John Street Stand, and is also used as a family enclosure holding around 900 fans (after the installaton of new restricted-view seats after the 2006–07 campaign. The plans for the redevelopment and extension of the Kop also show a row of executive boxes running behind this corner stand[21]
[edit] Westfield Health Stand
Also known as the "new" corner infill, this stand is in the South-West corner of the stadium, between the Bramall Lane Stand and the South Stand and is sponsored by Westfield Health. It is linked to the Bramall Lane stand (upper tier), sharing its facilities, turnstiles and exits. It is always used by home fans, and reputedly has the best views of the ground, although season tickets are not available in this stand. The stand holds approximately 2000 fans.
