Bloomfield Road : Blackpool

Thecamperman at English Wikipedia [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Blackpool Football Club have called Bloomfield Road their home since 1901, with the ground becoming the 68th stadium in the country to host a Football League game. It gets its name from the road that the main entrance to the ground used to stand on. Other than Bloomfield Road, Blackpool have played their games at two other home grounds; between 1896 and 1897 they played at Raikes Hall Gardens before moving to the Athletic Grounds in 1897. They yoyo-ed between the two locations until finally setting at their current home permanently in 1900.

Originally known as Gamble’s Field because of the farmer who owned the land, South Shore originally played at the location during their spell in the Lancashire League in 1899. In fact, the ground was officially opened on the 28th of October 1899 when South Shore played against Newton Heath in the FA Cup. There had been a competitive match a week earlier when South Shore went up against the 1st South Lancashire Regiment, but the stadium had not officially opened at that point.

Stats

Bloomfield Road Photos

• Bloomfield Bear Bloomfield Bear
• Bloomfield Road Entrance Bloomfield Road Entrance
• West Stand West Stand
• Fans Celebrate a Play Off Place 2010 Fans Celebrate a Play Off Place 2010
• South Stand South Stand
• Jimmy Armfield Statue Jimmy Armfield Statue
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Bloomfield Road Seating Plan & Where to Sit

Bloomfield Road is a strange mix of a classic, ‘English Style’ stadium and a more modern ‘Bowl Style’ that is in fitting with most modern grounds. That’s thanks to some filled in corner sections of the ground that link the main stands to each other. Here is some information on the individual stands themselves:

• The Armfield South Stand - Named in honour of Jimmy Armfield, this stand cost about £8.5 million to build and officially opened in 1925.
• The Matthews Stand - Named after former Blackpool great Sir Stanley Matthews, this stand runs along one side of the pitch and contains the players’ tunnel and dressing rooms.
• The East Stand - This temporary structure was installed after the club were promoted to the Premier League and normally houses the away fans. However sometimes it is closed unless attendances are good.
• The Mortensen North Stand - Only one player ever scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup final at the old Wembley, and that player was Stan Mortensen, who this stand is named after. It is more commonly known as The Kop and contains Blackpool’s designated Family Section and the shop.

Blackpool Ticket Prices

Blackpool have updated their ticketing structure and scrapped the categorisation system, thankfully. The price is the therefore different only depending on your age and where in the ground you want to sit.

Here are the cheapest and most expensive ticket prices for Adults and Seniors:

• Adult - £22 - £40
• Concessions - £18 - £40

Trying to buy tickets on the day will cost you a few quid extra, so get organizized!

How To Get Blackpool Tickets

The best way to get tickets for Blackpool matches is by visiting the club’s official website, though you can also call the ticket office if you prefer to deal with a real person than a computer.

Where to Buy

Getting To Bloomfield Road

Blackpool is technically in Lancashire and for a good while it was one of the most popular seaside towns in the country. It’s also, essentially, home to Lytham St. Annes Golf Club, one of the most prestigious courses in the country. Just don’t tell the residents of Lytham that you think they’re from Blackpool…

Train - Blackpool South is the closest to the stadium at just one mile away, though Blackpool North is the station that is served by trains more regularly from afar, and that is two miles or a twenty five minute walk away.

Bus - Buses 7, 11 and 14 all run from the centre of Blackpool to the vicinity of the ground, so they’re the ones you’ll need to keep an eye out for if you want to get the bus to the stadium.

Car - Wherever you’re heading from you’re looking for the M55 if you want to drive to Bloomfield Road. Try Junction 32 of the M6 and follow the M55 all of the way to the end then follow the signs to the ground.

By Air - Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport are the two closest airports if you’re looking to fly in to see a Blackpool game. Manchester has better links to trains, though LJL is technically nearer if you’re going to drive from the airport.

Taxi - A taxi from Blackpool North to Bloomfield Road won’t take much longer than five minutes and should cost just under a tenner, as long as you don’t get caught in traffic.

Parking Near Bloomfield Road

There are council Pay & Display car parks near to the ground, which is just as well as there’s limited parking at the stadium itself and on-street restrictions in the local area.

• See Available Parking Near Bloomfield Road

Useful Resources

Bloomfield Road Hotels

As an extremely popular seaside town it’s fair to say that there are a number of excellent hotels and B&Bs available to stay at. Here are some of our favourites reasonably close to the ground:

The Rimini - £50+

31 Wellington Road, Blackpool, FY1 6AR

Within spitting distance of the stadium is this B&B with just six rooms. It’s got free parking and free Wi-Fi, though, so it’s well worth considering if you’re driving to Blackpool. More details.

Bloomfield Brewhouse - £44+

47 Ansdell Rd, Blackpool FY1 6PW

This is one of the few hotels not on the seafront, but that does make it closer to the stadium and away from all the rowdy stag and hen parties. It's also on top of a great pub so you won't have fair to stumble to bed. More details.

Blackpool FC Hotel and Conference Centre - £115+

Bloomfield Road, Seasiders way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ

You can’t get closer to the stadium than a hotel that is actually part of it. Blackpool FC’s hotel features a restaurant and bar, a conference centre, a snack bar and deli and a free parking. You’ll also get a free English breakfast and free Wi-Fi. More details.

Pubs & Bars Near Bloomfield Road

Blackpool is a popular town with stag dos and hen parties, so there are more than a couple of decent places to get a drink or two. Here are some of our favourite places to go:

Facilities

Given that most of the stands at Bloomfield Road have been rebuilt fairly recently, the facilities are pretty good. There are places on the concourses to buy food and drink as well as reasonably clean toilets and places to stick a bet on, if that’s your bag.

Prices

• Programme: 3.00
• Pie: 2.50
• Cup of tea: 2.00
• Beer: 3.50

Hospitality

There are a number of excellent hospitality options available at Bloomfield Road, which is exactly what you’d expect when you remember that the Oyston’s know how to make themselves good money from the club. Here are some of the choices you might want to consider:

• The Stanley Matthews Lounge - The very best hospitality option available at the ground, this lounge is located in The West Lounge and you’ll get a pre-match two-course carvery style dinner as well as half-time and full-time refreshments, access to a pay bar facility and you’ll get to watch the Man Of The Match Presentation.
• The 1953 Suite - This is a more relaxed environment than the other lounges at Bloomfield Road, with no strict dress code and the ability to wear your Tangerines’ shirt if you wish to. You’ll get a hot meal, half-time tea and coffee and a seat on the halfway line.
• Executive Boxes - Your own private, exclusive box is a good way to watch any live football event, with the boxes at Bloomfield Road offering excellent views. You’ll get a luxury padded seat on your own balcony as well as a four-course meal, half-time tea and coffee and a cheese board.

Private Hire

There is now a 70 bedroom hotel attached to Bloomfield Road and that also includes new conferencing facilities. Whether you’re looking to host dinner dances, seminars, exhibitions, business meetings or even your wedding, the home of Blackpool Football Club is one of the finest conferencing venues in Lancashire.

Stadium Tours & Museum

Tours of Bloomfield Road last about an hour and a half, so you know you’re going to find out a suitable amount about Blackpool’s history during your time on the tour. You’ll take in areas such as the Presidential Suite, the Director’s Box, the dressing rooms, the players’ tunnel and the dugouts.

Tours take place on various days, so you’re best getting in touch with the club directly before heading along and demanding they show you around the place. They cost £10 for adults, £7 for concessions and under-16s and £27 for a family of two adults and two children.

About Blackpool

Founded in 1887, Blackpool Football Club, or The Seasiders as they are sometimes known, have a club motto of ‘Progress’. It’s a motto that they have attempted to live by at various times in their existence, none more so than when they won promotion to the Premier League in 2010 and became the first ever club to gain promotion from every division within the Football League via the play-off system. That is nothing compared to the club’s 1953 FA Cup win, when they overturned a 1-3 deficit towards the end of the match to win 4-3. It was one of three FA Cup finals the club reached in the 1950s, though they only won it once.

It hasn’t always been good news for Blackpool, though. In 1983 the club finished 21st in the lowest tier of English football - their worst ever league finish. Financial issues at the club meant that the 2014-2015 season was nearly a disaster before it even began. 27 players left the club before a ball was kicked, leaving the then manager, José Riga with just eight players and no goalkeeper to play in the club’s first game. In the end he was able to name eleven starting players but he could only choose from four substitutes rather than the usual seven. Unsurprisingly Blackpool went on to lose the game 2-0.

Bloomfield Road History

Football was being played at Bloomfield Road as early as 1899, though Blackpool didn’t kick a ball there until the following year and didn’t move in permanently until the start of the 1901-1902 season. Their first ever league game at the ground resulted in a 3-1 win over Doncaster Rovers on the 12th of October 1901. When it first opened the ground was little more than a playing field and a single stand, with the linesman in charge of the side of the pitch having as much trouble keeping the crowd from the playing surface as he had assisting the referee in controlling the game.

The ground has been completely rebuilt over the years since the turn of the new millennium. The Sir Stanley Matthews West Stand was redeveloped between 2001 and 2002, with executive boxes added as well as the players’ tunnel, which had previously been in The South Stand. The Jimmy Armfield South Stand was demolished in 2003 and was not re-opened until 2010 after several years of false starts and false promises from the club about the new stands progress.

Future Developments

The Oystons were, it’s fair to say, not the most reliable of owners of Blackpool Football Club. They made many promises about developments of Bloomfield Road only to later renege on them or else pretend they’d never said anything of the sort in the first place. Simon Sadler owns the club now though, and is keen to improve things. The most obvious development that will be going ahead now that planning has been granted and investment raised, is the redevelopment of The East Stand.

Currently a temporary structure, it will be rebuilt to back on to a sports village for use by locals and the stand itself will hold 4,600 spectators, costing over £6.5 million.