Internet Football Ground Guide - Fans Ground Reviews: Don Valley Stadium, Rotherham United FC

Don Valley, Rotherham United
League Two v Lincoln City
Saturday, August 9th 2008, 3pm
James Prentice

1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

Ever since the fixture list was released in June, I had decided to come to this game, given that it was the first competitive match with Rotherham at the Don Valley, and also because my beloved Lincoln City were the Millers' opponents. I was therefore looking forward to being at this historic occasion (and hoping for a win for the Imps!) but I had mixed feelings about the stadium itself. This was mainly because the Don Valley is an athletics venue that has a running track and fans, therefore are quite a way from the pitch. I was also perturbed that Rotherham would only be opening one stand, which would make for a strangely unbalanced occasion, very unlike most football grounds.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?

I travelled with some friends and our journey from Lincoln to Sheffield was fine apart from a slight hold-up on the A57 roadworks. It certainly was strange travelling to Sheffield to see Lincoln and en route I kept thinking we might need to turn off for Rotherham to get to their old Millmoor ground! It took around and hour and the ground is extremely easy to find, being just off the M1 and then about half a mile past the Meadowhall shopping complex.

The Don Valley is right next to Sheffield's Hallam FM Arena and, while I'd been told it would cost around Ł3 to park near the stadium, the Arena's car park was open and unstaffed so we and a lot of other fans parked here for free, which was a bonus! A number of fans had parked in Meadowhall car park, which is also free, and you don't need to pay or show a store receipt to park. The Don Valley is therefore surely a good bet for men who like to keep their ladies happy on a Saturday - i.e. let her go shopping while you go to the footie!

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy...home fans friendly?

The stadium is in a busy area of Sheffield, near Meadowhall and the Hallam FM Arena, but there was a sad lack of pubs. I spotted a couple nearby, but one looked incredibly uninviting and the other was boarded-up! There are a number of places to eat in the area, however, and we made a quick visit to KFC for something to keep us going. There are also a couple of restaurants in the local area, such as TGI Friday's, should you wish to go upmarket. I've always found fans of Yorkshire sides to be quite welcoming but there seemed to be very little mingling of fans before kick-off, possibly because of the lack of pubs but also because home and away fans enter the ground at completely opposite ends of the stadium!

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

The stadium is pretty big and seats around 25,000, although only the main stand is actually open for matches. Unless you arrive by tram (just behind the main stand) be prepared for a walk up a hill to the stadium! Sadly the club didn't seem to be expecting very many fans (there were around 4,500 on the day) and many were still queuing at the turnstiles until 3:20pm.

Upon entering, it seems like one is about to watch a game in Italy (or maybe at the old Wembley or Hampden with the Don Valley's bowl shape), given the unusual layout of the ground and the running track. Away fans are situated in a corner structure to the right of the main stand and, with the upper tier sold out due to a big following, we had to settle for a seat in the lower area. This provides a pretty disappointing view of the action - we couldn't even see the white lines of the pitch - and the lower tier is totally open to the elements so prepare for the worst if the weather is due to be bad! The rest of the ground is totally uncovered and I guess will only be open if Rotherham play cup game against a team with a huge travelling support.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc...

Lincoln lost 1-0, gifting debutant Reuban Reid a goal just before half time, and despite having 70% if the possession and creating a host of chances in the second half, the Imps couldn't hit the back of the net - it seems that Rotherham always manage a lucky win against Lincoln! The atmosphere was the strangest I've ever experienced - the acoustics are non-existent as most of the ground is open, although both sets of fans did their best to make themselves heard. There was a bit of banter between the supporters but the stewards were quite good in letting this peter-out rather than taking the hard-line like many do at other clubs. I didn't eat anything at the ground but I was told the food was fairly standard fare for League 2, as were the toilets.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

Being next to a main road and the motorway, it was pretty easy to get away from where we had parked and there didn't seem to be any fallings-out between fans after the game. We embarked on our 5-10 minute walk back to the Arena car park with no problems. Sadly, though, it seemed that local people were more bothered about shopping rather than the football, as most of the traffic nearby was coming out of Meadowhall!

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

It was surreal to go to watch the Millers play slap-bang in the middle of Sheffield, but this is a cross they will have to bear until they manage to get a new ground back in Rotherham. The facilities at the Don Valley are okay for League 2 but the problems with creating an atmosphere will be most notable when Rotherham play teams such as Dagenham and Accrington, who have some of the smaller followings in the division. A lack of atmosphere may also hinder Rotherham on the pitch, especially if they begin to struggle under the weight of the 17-point deduction that was imposed on them at the start of the season. It is admirable, however, that the club is trying hard to make the Don Valley seem like home and are fighting hard to build a future after having to clean up the almighty mess left by the previous regime at Millmoor.