Ewood Park

The home of Blackburn Rovers, Ewood Park has a current capacity of 31,367. Read on for details and images from the ground, and my visits to it.

Access

Getting to the stadium is straightforward, take the A666 towards Bolton from the M66, and the stadium is located in Ewood. As we had an escort into the compound from the police, access was relatively straightforward once the convoy had been assembled outside Turf Moor.

Food and Drink

I could not get near the food vendor, the concourse below the Darwen End is not really big enough for the number of fans held in the lower tier, and the positioning behind the exit makes it really difficult to get to the bathroom from that exit.

Program

Proper football clubs print programs. Blackburn Rovers do not, though they do produce digital supplements that you can download similar to those at Accrington Stanley here.

Stadium

The stadium consists of a single tier Riverside stand running the length of the pitch, and three double decker stands with executive boxes and hospitality suites between the two tiers. The Bryan Douglas Stand (Darwen End) hosts away support, with the Riverside to its right. The Jack Walker Stand runs the length of the pitch, opposite the Riverside, and also hosts the main reception and club offices. The Ronnie Clayton (Blackburn End) sitting behind the goals with the Riverside to the left.

Though it looks much older than the other stands, the Riverside is in fact only a handful of years older, being built in the late 1980s following the Valley Parade fire at nearby Bradford City. Presumably it was intended to rebuild a fourth stand to mirror the rest of the stadium, though Blackburn have never really got close to filling the current configuration. It feels as though the pitch has been repositioned towards the Jack Walker Stand to facilitate a larger fourth stand, though the end result is a large area for hooligans to congregate after the match and throw water bottles at the police and stewards.

Atmosphere

Despite being present for one of the largest attendances at Ewood Park for many years, the atmosphere was largely subdued. Guess that is what happens when you fill your stadium with people who would not ordinarily be there. Despite the animosity from the corner of the Riverside, it was not really that intimidating.

Getting Away

We left long after the final whistle, and only after the entire convoy was ready to leave under police escort. The journey back to the M66 and to Burnley was fine, though being mooned from the houses lining the Bolton Road was unexpected but funny/harmless.