My wild night at Dumplington
By Whaley Shark
March 31 2012
Barton, Barton, Barton, Barton- that's all we seem to go on about these days. So, with an unexpected passout, I decided to give it a go last night.
Getting There
My travel times were
18.17 Left home
18.52 Joined M60 in Stockport
19.02 Left M60 at J11. Joined back of queue to roundabout, which was still (just) not back on to the main M60 carriageway
19.06 Joined A57 at roundabout
19.11 Parked in prebooked place, on rough ground maybe 200 metres from the stadium
Watched game. Salford 20 Wigan 40. Discipline seemed to cost Salford
21.47 Left seat immediately after end of match
21.52 Back to car.
21.53 Held at car park exit to allow pedestrians to disperse
21.55 Left car park
21.56 Joined A57
21.58 Joined M60 at J11
22.07 Left M60 at Stockport
22.32 Arrived home
This compares with a normal EP evening of
18.15 Leave home
18.50 Park in Stockport
19.00 Arrive at EP
Hang around and chat for 5-10 minutes after final whistle, 10 min walk back to car, home typically 22.15
So I left home about the same time I would for a 7.45 EP game (the Salford game was an 8.00 k.o.) and got back 15 minutes later.
The official attendance was 6774, so comparable to many EP attendances this year. My impression is that they have parking for maybe 1000 cars on various areas around the ground if they really squeeze them in, though they probably only used about 75% of those last night. There are other places nearby, like the airfield or a local RL club, I gather, where you can park too. There were lots of people walking back up the A57 and under the M60. My guess is that they had parked at the Trafford Centre and were walking back rather than waiting for the shuttle buses.
I fully accept this was as pleasant an evening as you could hope for, at a time of year when the Trafford Centre is quiet, people are twitching about availability of petrol so maybe driving a bit less, we may get many more people travelling from the south, and this is only one person’s experience. However, having looked closely at the map, it is quite possible to get to the stadium from the south without ever going near the M60. I can see that being a pain to get there, because of the need to turn right off the A57 into the stadium approach, but it might be useful if traffic does back up from the M60 when you try to leave. Interestingly, there seems to be a separate link from the stadium for traffic leaving southwards so it won’t all get snarled up in a northwards queue, and that was signed last night.
The Stadium
Barton does feel a bit odd, in both positive and negative ways. First, it is sitting in the middle of MAMBA country (‘miles and miles of bugger all’, if you don’t know how Government officials have been known to refer to the north). It was well stewarded and, having pre-booked parking, which cost £ 5, I was directed quickly to a space on waste ground, no worse than Booth Street but could be interesting if it was wet, and you’d never get out of it in snow or ice. I did see other cars with Car Park Season tickets displayed. I also saw signs for Pay on the Night parking at other car park areas by the ground, and a sign offering parking at Barton Airfield too.
I did like the stadium, which admittedly has that slightly soulless, modern stadium feel. It reminded me quite a bit of the Stoop. The East and West Stands, which run along the touchlines, are seated, while there is terracing at both ends. It was very quick to get in and out- staircases were quite wide and not too steep. I was quite low down in the West Stand, just on half way. If I was going regularly, I’d sit a bit higher up but the view was good (at EP there’s one pillar which always seems to be in the way....). There was very good legroom in my seat, which matters to those of us who are 6’2” or above. I get by in my seat at EP but, at some away grounds, and most notably in what used to be the Alliance & Leicester stand at Welford Road, I’ve ended up needing months of physiotherapy.
One big plus is that Barton is a ‘proper’ rugby ground, and you can circulate around much more easily than at EP. Under the stands, there are bars and food concessions, though perhaps not the variety and quality you see in and around the EP ‘Fans’ Village’.
All in All
I was very iffy about a move to Barton but actually feel more positive about it now. I can certainly see why the club/Sale Sharks/The Sharks, whatever.... want to move. I think I have shifted from, ‘If we go, I am really not certain I’ll renew’ to ‘If we go, I will renew and see what happens’. One thing which matters to the group I sit with at EP is staying together. Of the seven of us, five are unsure and two would definitely renew, so here’s a suggestion- why doesn’t the club offer a 3-match mini-season ticket for the start of the season? Let people try Barton and, if they like it, they can extend to a full season ticket and keep their seats; if they choose not to extend, they’ve not lost too much.