Nottingham Forest

I attended the official opening of Mansfield Museums the Beautiful Game exhibition instead of the City Ground on Saturday. I wanted to share how fantastic all disabilities are represented throughout the exhibition and well worth a visit.

I must say that having read previous comments about the city ground I was a little apprehensive to say the least about whether I should attend this game with my support dog for safety reasons

All my fears were unfounded having spoken to Julian there disabled liason officer prior to my attendance with my Assistance dog, we were welcomed and safely escorted to our seats

Having arrived early we entered the ground and, yes, we’re escorted through the home concourse with no problems and then pitchside in front of them again no problems

An overall enjoyable trip with no issues

Away coaches outside the away end and had no problems

so no improvement form the league game. if anything worse. £10 to park , free at bournemouth. view just as bad , still a constant stream of stewards and this time the joy of the ever so important photographers adding to the spectacle. getting out the ground post match laughable 0/10

Please can I make any PL disabled fans wanting to attend a game at the City ground that there’s no designated safe enterance for w/chairs you have to go in through a gate that leads straight to concourse underneath where the home fans are situated and trying to manover through 1000’s of home fans eating, drinking and chatting and you’ve to do the full lenght of the stand NOT EASY, not everyone wants to move out of the way especially if one has one colours on, then it’s on in front of their fans at pitchside and into the corner whereby the away fans are situated, don’t even ask about going to the toilets, I have in the past sent a very lenghty email do the NFFC DLO and brought these and other matters to his attention, he said “he was new to the job, but would bring this to the attention at the next board meeting.. I’m sure the health & safety officer at the fa/PL would be interested in this/these matters. It will be interstering to read how other away fans deal/see this matter, forwarned etc etc..

I am registered disabled but don’t get need a wheelchair. I attended the forest g Swansea game last season as a guest of my brother in law and sat in the legends lounge which was excellent. I have not been able to attend games for a couple of years due to my condition ( bowel & kidney cancer ) but I feel the legends lounge would offer me the chance to be able to do so. Can you advise season ticket prices for a disabled ticket in this facility and how I can apply for one. I can provide disabled have confirmation etc.

Kind regards

Mr Brian Cole

I’m trying to contact in order to buy a disabled ticket and another 2 tickets for the Bournemouth game. I have called on several occasions and emailed details on the site and I have had no response

Always a great welcome from the Staff. Headset & Commentary should be pre-ordered. Access poor for disabled and wheelchair users; through Home Fans which proves difficult as toilet access very limited. Flag poles and obstacles made it difficult to access the Away end. Sitting to the side of the Home Fans be prepared to be pelted with coins

I tried to buy tickets for league cup match Forest and Derby. I am deaf. Had to go to ticket office, can’t buy online and can’t use telephone. Told I can only get 2 tickets today and come back Tuesday to get a third ticket.
Every other season card holder ( not disabled) can buy 3 tickets. Why is this so unfair for deaf fan. Difficult to get time off work and cost me money each time. Not fair treatment and not a level playing field!

Facilities for visiting disabled supporters still one of the worst I have experienced. Stewards extremely friendly;mindful and helpful, Also apologised for poor facilities. Come on Forest wake up. Having suffered severe damage to my feet last season courtesy of Home Fans as i was exiting the stadium i wore protective boots in anticipation. Escorted out safely this time.

Commentary provide is on of the best

Attended the City ground last Saturday in a 17.30 kick off slot , Had a pretty good time here and found the stewards and police very helpful and polite , The wheelchair spaces are ok unfortunately pitch side which doesn’t lead to a great view and the stand roof certainly would not protect you from the elements so be prepared if it looks like rain , You enter via the lower tier home fan concourse there is just one disabled loo and around 25 spaces for home and away disabled lovely disabled stewards and recommended my carer/pa use these rather than walk through a large concourse to the womens loo (very much common sense ) The stewards held us back until Forest fans had all left probably very wise as the Forest fans tried to breach the divide between the support when they scored very late on , my disabled friends who were by this divide had a lighter and coins thrown near them and were crushed as both fans tried to confront each other . We had a police escort to the M1/M42 so the delay in being held back still allowed us 15 mins before the convoy set off , by train it might make things marginally poorer as most of our fans had already been herded to the station . I find not being able to use the concourses with your own support is very poor and we have the same at Villa park unfortunatly it’s the 21 st century ,and considering Forest have the Trent end, to allow the most boisterous supporters to set up camp with flags banners etc adjacent to the able bodied fan exit is a very poor safety judgement call .

Again allocated row B. Stewards arranged a change before the game started. Safety again was an issue for ambulant disabled fans being taken through the Home Supporters after the game. Despite their best efforts the stewards were unable to contain the Home Supporters. I was kicked and my foot was stamped on fortunately my Guide Dog was unhurt on this occasion. We attend all Leeds home and away and have never felt so vulnerable. Forest need to review their access policy for away disabled supporters

This was our first visit to the City Ground as away wheelchair fans travelling in a wheelchair accessible mini-bus that is part of our Club’s Official Away Travel.

Access to the Ground

By no means a straightforward route from the M1 going North via Radcliffe-on-Sour but at least the roadworks that we have encountered here for the past two years (going to the County Ground) have now ended and you avoid the city centre. Stadium well signposted. Parked next to the coaches at the away end. Stadium appears to be in a residential area with no nearby shops.

Facilities in the Ground for Away Wheelchair Fans

Having read earlier reviews prior to our visit we were a little apprehensive. Away wheelchair fans enter the ground through a large red gate just to the left of the away fans’ turnstyles. This takes you into a covered “under a stand” home supporters’ refreshment area. As the ground had only just opened, this area was empty and we were directed by some accompanying stewards to a ramp in the near left corner that took us down to a lower level at the back of the stand. It is here that the accessible toilet is on the right. Just beyond this is a relatively narrow entrance between the corner of two stands to pitch level. At pitch level we turned right and went across the front of the West Bridgeford Stand (which is the viewing area for the home wheelchair fans) to the far corner.

Viewing Areas

The viewing area for the away wheelchair fans (which you reach by the protracted route I have described) is at pitch level in front of the right hand corner with the away fans behind you. Only about room for 3 wheelchair users in what is a very small space. Carer seats are essentially the front row of the stand with wheelchair users positioned in front. Have seen much larger viewing areas for wheelchair users at Clubs in lower leagues (including Notts County!). As I am aware that Nottingham is a city that has prided itself on disability awareness in the past, I expected better than this at its iconic ground. Good unobstructed view. Large video screen to the left. Take your waterproofs as you get wet when it rains!

Refreshments

We always take our own which is probably just as well as I am not at all sure how easy it would be to have got to any to purchase.

Accessible Toilets

In entering the ground the location of the almost infamous accessible toilet was pointed out to us and the stewards asked if we wanted to use it whilst we were close to it. Having travelled this was a priority for me, so I was happy for this to happen. We were not, however, as others have reported, told we would not be able to go to the loo again until the end of the match as I would not have accepted such a restriction.

The toilet has a radar key lock. It is a huge space. Left hand transfer. Clean. Hot water. Tablet of soap (no hand wash), paper towels (no electric hand drier). Waste bin looks as if it would be more at home in byre with hay in it (huge battered rusty open basket on the wall!). Scope for a little bit of modernisation!

My fellow away wheelchair fan did go to the toilet during the first half. To get there she had to pass the home fans who are located at one end of the West Bridgeford stand, one of whom was verbally abusive to her. I went during the second half without incident.

Headset Commentaries for Visually Impaired Fans

An email to Notts Forest’s Ticket Office as advised on their web site a few days before the match asking for a commentary for my visually impaired husband produced an almost immediate response confirming a head-set would be brought to him at his seat, as it was. He was also left with a second receiver should it be needed. My husband was very pleased with this but did report at the end that he thought there might be a fault with one of the commentator’s microphones as they were quiet making them difficult to hear in a way that the other commentator wasn’t. What he could hear he said was helpful and unbiased. The steward who came to collect the headsets at the end said he would pass on the feedback.

Attitude of Club Officials

All the stewards were outstanding, friendly and helpful. We were made up particularly to meet up with Helen who immediately recognised us from our previous football trips to Nottingham. The complaint about the verbal abuse from a home fan (referred to already) was dealt with professionally and swiftly. The stewards quickly ensured the perpetrator was correctly identified and removed whilst taking appropriate care of the victim. It was good to hear that should this perpetrator repeat the abuse they would be permanently barred from the ground.

After the Match

Prior to the match we were advised by the stewards, as other reviewers have reported, that we would be kept back at the end of the game until the home fans had left the stand and then escorted out the same way as we entered. In truth by the time we were ready to move, stewards were ready to lead us out which happened without incident. As part of the Away Official Travel we were then allowed to exit the car park as soon as we were ready to. The roads away from the Ground were congested but no worse than expected.

Will We go Again?

Yes. It is probably a place that is easier to go to having been once and knowing what to expect. Overall, excellent stewards, poor facilities for such a notable Club. We understand that away fans used to be in the Trent stand opposite. Not sure if it is this change that has led to the current poor facilities for away wheelchair fans, if so, it needs sorting better than it is. Facilities we saw for home and away wheelchair fans did not fit with the pictures available on LPF’s Nottingham Forest’s page.

I attend most Leeds home and away fixtures with my guide dog so can seriously say that this is perhaps the worst experience I have had.Ambulant disabled seated in row B. Able bodied moved into row A in front. Told by showsec stewards we are NOT DISABLED as we were not in Wheelchairs. Showsec stewards as much use as a chocolate teapot when asked to get hold of a ground steward could not move seemed to watch the game OK]. ROW A should be allocated to ambulant disabled. We were taken through Forest Supporters and not told that this was the only opportunity to use the toilet until the end of the game. Finally were moved along the front behing the goal and one member told rudely he had to move as he wasn’t disabled. In fact he was.

Forest’s own Stewards were helpful and ensured I had the match Commentary.

I attended this game with my wife who is wheelchair dependent and found it very intimidating to be escorted through the forest supporters (as there is no entrance via the away enclosure) we were told to go to the disabled toilet in the forest end before the match as we would not be able to go at half time also she could not get to the concourse as there was no entry other than going into the away section again we were told not to go at half time. We were told to wait five minutes at the end of the game while they got the home fans out of the ground. My wife was getting very upset because after about fifteen minutes we were still in the ground the police and stewards were dealing with incidents outside and we had to make our own way past the remaining forest fans through the away concourse to our waiting coach.

How a club can be allowed a safety certificate when they can’t guarantee the safety of away disabled supporters is wrong.

I shall be complaining to the council and police.

Both home and away fans can use accessible toilets inside the stadium. The club shop is accessible for all fans and does have a low level serving counter. Catering kiosks in the home and away sections do not have low level serving counters and so are not fully accessible.

Attended match with a group of ambulant disabled supporters with learning disability and one with limited mobility and their helpers. Staff were very helpful and friendley . On arrival we were taken through accessable entrance and led to front row seats where the view was very good. Well done Forest!

Attended match with a group of ambulant disabled supporters with learning disability and one with limited mobility and their helpers. Staff were very helpful and friendley . On arrival we were taken through accessable entrance and led to front row seats where the view was very good. Well done Forest!

A very old ground and the food and drink stalls can be reached by a wheelchair but the place is cramped and difficult to get to. As a disabled fan in a wheelchair I was not too impressed with the overall experience, we were pushed into a corner at the edge of the pitch and I felt very vunerable to fire etc and the stewards were not pleasent or well mannered.

Away fan comments – Club provided accessible parking for our minibus close to away entrance. Route to seating areas for wheelchair users/someone who cannot manage steps is quite a distance (basically you walk along the whole stand and then down a ramp and then back again – probably in region of 200yds). Wheelchair areas are pitch level and a few yards to the side of the goal posts (+ a section in the corner). They are very close to the touchline and my PA was hit by the ball in the warm up (missed me by 3 inches!). PA needs to be very aware/agile during the game if needed to protect you from the ball as they sit behind you. The steward who escorted us to our seats was helpful. Due to distances to get to catering areas, it’s probably easier to get PA to get items. You would be exposed to the elements