Blundell Park – stadium description

Though standing since 1898, it currently looks nothing like in the early years. However, there’s still a lot of history behind it. Central part of the single-tiered main stand actually dates back to 1901 and stands unchanged, earning the nickname of oldest stand in the football league. Another interesting story led to raising the Pontoon Stand, behind one of the goals. It was built with supporters’ money and still today gathers the most vibrant ones, who unlike many others in Britain use a drum.

Today’s Blundell Park is a real mix. There are four stands, but only two of them connected with a corner section. That is the main stand and the Osmond Stand. But none of those covers the whole length or width of the pitch, both reaching some 75% of their side of the pitch. Opposite the main stand is the Findus Stand that is only some 50 meters wide, but then again is the only 2-tiered stand, thus having a big impact on capacity. That leaves only the fan-raised Pontoon Stand spanning all the way from one corner to another…

Back in the 80’s the ground could cope with crowds up to 27,000, but then came the standing-ban and a massive reduction. Further decrease in seat number was brought hen Grimsby Town got relegated to 5^th division, making temporary stands (those were sued to fill existing gaps between existing stands) unnecessary any more. Still – nearly 10,000 for a team playing in the 5^th tier? Quite a number.