By Nathan Jackson
March 19 2011

Although officially known as the Lamex Stadium, Stevenage's Broadhall Way was a stadium that took me by surprise. It had been a ground I had really been looking forward to visiting and despite it being the style of ground I don't usually like, I actually enjoyed the ground and the day.

Stevenage's Broadhall Way was a stadium I had wanted to visit for a while. It had looked like quite an unusual stadium from when I had seen it on the TV and in other pictures, especially the stand behind the right hand goal (as the TV camera sees it), so I was quite keen to experience it might.

They were promoted to League Two in 2010 and the way the fixtures fell meant that they would become the 89th ground I would visit in the quest to reach the 92, it's just a pity the fixture didn't come until later on in the season.

Stevenage may be a fair distance away from Sincil Bank but the journey is relatively short because it's just two main roads. I could even drive there without a sat nav and be confident I'd be able to get there without any sort of problem whatsoever. The ground is on the outskirts of Stevenage, making the journey easy and the train line feeding Stevenage only requires a single change from Lincoln, which is always good.

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THE MAIN STAND

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Once arriving at the ground, you can park up in the massive free car park that is just behind the North Terrace Stand, then it's just a quick cross over a dual carriageway and a minute walk around the stadium to get to the away end. Once inside the turnstiles the area directly on the otherside is tiny, absolutely tiny. If there was a big crowd in this stand, especially at half time when you get big crowds down in the concourses, this could cause major problems, especially in the queue for food as the canteen is really small.

The canteen itself is quite reasonably priced, very reasonably priced infact with several items you wouldn't normally see, such as cakes and donuts, it was quite usual. That's what I like about grounds that are traditionally non-League is that they haven't been grabbed by the corporate greed of some League clubs, and you get a better quality product for decent money.

The toilets were quite large though, but they have sanitising gel instead of sinks and soap, similar to Barnet in that respect.

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THE AWAY END - THE SOUTH STAND

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Once in the away end you're greeted with a medium sized all seater stand that offers an unrestricted view. From all places in the stand you get an unrestricted view and you get a decent view of the action. Leg space is ok but the backs of the seats are incredibly uncomfortable, so much to the point where I didn't want to lean back in the chair as it was causing quite a bit of pain in my back. You may also notice on the picture above that there is an unfinished building next to the away end, god knows what that's meant to be.

The stand to the left of the away stand is a pitch length seated stand that is of a similar height to the away stand. It has the word "Boro" on it twice, going back to the days when the club were known as Stevenage Borough, a name they dropped when entering the Football League. You can tell where the extensions were put on the stand after the initial build as there's a gap between the top of the stand and the roof, similar to that of Northampton Town.

To the right was a pitch length terrace, something you don't see in many Football League grounds. What little atmosphere Stevenage had came from this stand and there's not really much more to say about it.

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EAST TERRACE

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The final stand is behind the far goal and is a small terrace that spans 2/3 of the width of the pitch, not too dissimilar to one of the stands at Cambridge United and this was by far the last popular of any of the stands at Stevenage, with the majority of the fans going in either the East Terrace or the West Stand.....Stevenage thought long and hard about the names of these stands.

I quite liked the ground, it was a good mix between old and new and whilst it's the type of ground I usually hate, it just seemed to work in this case though, but then again I came in knowing that this was a traditional non-League ground, and to be honest, combined with the nice weather it felt more like I was at a pre-season friendly rather than a Football League match.

The atmosphere at Stevenage was surprisingly poor. I had always anticipated them being loud throughout the match and getting behind their team, but that just didn't seem the case at all, and the only time they really sang was just after they had scored what turned out to be their winner.

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NORTH TERRACE

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The Stevenage fans seemed friendly enough and didn't goad the Lincoln fans after their victory, and there was no goading after the goals either, which is really strange these days and you're used to the home fans rubbing it in that they've just scored a goal against you.

The programme was also a decent read without many adverts at all.

Overall, I had an decent day out at Stevenage and although it's a ground that's not high in terms of quality, it's one I enjoyed visiting and it was a pleasent day out. I would seriously recommend this to a fan looking to go there.

Stevenage's Broadhall Way

Discussion started by theimps.ka (IP Logged), 19/03/2011 21:53

theimps.ka
19/03/2011 21:53

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LetchworthBoro
19/03/2011 23:30

Hi

Thanks for the write-up on the Lamex Stadium. Can I comment on a few things you say? You mention that the 'tiny' area behind the away end turnstiles could cause problems. Well - Stevenage have had sell-out crowds for the away stand against Luton, Newcastle and Reading recently without any problems, so it obviously causes no difficulty.

The 'half finished building' you refer to is a new police control box currently being put up. The seats have 'BORO' on them because that is the club's nickname - last year, when we were still 'Stevenage Borough', SBFC was spelled out. No need to waste good seats!

Plans for a new stand to replace the miniscule terrace behind the other goal are currently with the council, and as for the home support when the Imps came, it was dire... Most games this season have had a terrific atmosphere, with almost continuous singing, so I don't know what changed. At least the unusual lack of support during the match didn't stop Boro taking another three points. Onwards and upwards!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:03:20:11:57:14 by LetchworthBoro.

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