Bristol City

Hi my son would like to attend your venue but needs a disabled toilet with a changing table. Have you any facilities like this please

We (2 wheelchair users and 2 essential companions) contacted Bristol City FC to arrange our car parking. Last season the price was an expensive £10.00 but for the 2017/18 season, the price has increased to an extortionate £12.00! Absolutely disgraceful and totally unacceptable for a football club to charge away disabled supporters such an amount. We cannot afford to not pay this fee as we require parking for our vehicle which has a rear ramp with side access. It is the dearest car parking charge in the whole of the championship, something that Bristol City FC should be totally ashamed of!

Excellent assistance from the stewards. Went out of their way to produce commentary headset. Steward came back time and time again to ensure it was working. NB. Should pre-order if going! Stewards went out of their way to ensure everyone had a good time. Note no alcohol served in the away end for our game. The only disappointment was losing. Well done Bristol City

Ashton Gate Stadium is being re-built. Whilst this is on-going, seating arrangements are subject to changes.

This was our second visit, the previous one being in the 2013/14 season. We travelled to the game, as on our last visit, in a wheelchair accessible mini-bus that is part of our Club’s official transport. Based on our previous visit we thought we knew where we were going and what to expect. We therefore saw no problem with the written direction our driver had received to drop us off between Halfords and KFC. How wrong we were!

Ashton Gate is being totally re-built, stand-by-stand. Two home stands have been completed, each with integrated, raised, covered wheelchair viewing areas. The side with the tunnel is still the original stand and down one of the long sides the old stand has been demolished and the diggers have just started on constructing a new stand, which we are told will dwarf the others. As we got a tour of the two new stands, I can only say they are the nearest I have seen to the new Wembley with very wide, light, covered concourses. On this basis I have no doubt it will be a very impressive stadium when it is completed. During re-development you would expect some disruption but sadly our experience at Ashton Gate on 03/10/15 was the most chaotic we have had in the 50+ stadiums we have visited in the past 8 years. It was as if Bristol City had never experienced visiting away wheelchair fans. We only hope this review might motivate them to get interim arrangements sorted!

Access to the Ground

Access for away wheelchair fans is now at the opposite corner to what it has been in previous seasons. There is, it seems, currently no vehicle access to the corner of the stadium where away wheelchair fans enter the ground (Atyeo Stand Block A12 Away Turnstyles 39-42). There is a Community Transport Shuttle Bus which goes from the main entrance … but wait for it, it is not wheelchair accessible! When I asked the first steward I met at the main entrance where we needed to go, after checking our tickets, he began, “down the road, cross-over at the traffic-lights … “ I pointed out that he was saying this to me as a visitor in a powerchair with my husband hanging on, holding his white cane. No, we were not setting off down roads we didn’t know in busy crowds! At least the next steward (No 21), realised this and stepped in to say he would escort us through the stadium. He did this really well but given the sheer size of the pre-match crowds, it was not easy for any of us. In fairness to all the Bristol City fans we encountered, they were very friendly towards us and as bemused as us by our route. Until the re-development is complete, Bristol City are struggling for capacity, so the new stands are routinely full and all the matches are ticket only. Surely there must be an easier way for away wheelchair fans to get to where they need to be?

Facilities in the Ground for Away Wheelchair Fans

Viewing Areas

The viewing area for away wheelchair fans is currently pitch level at the front of the away fans who take up one end of one of the original stand behind the goal. You enter under the stand into a relatively small area and go through to the pitch area slightly to your right. The pathway is mesh netting over gravel, which wheelchairs do not like! There is room for around 4 wheelchair users and their carers, perhaps more. The area is sufficiently wide for wheelchair users to pass one another without problems. The view of play is good although there were quite a lot of passing Club Officials throughout the game to obscure the view. Had it rained we would have got wet, so take your waterproofs!

Refreshments

We take our own, so cannot comment. There was a small counter selling it seemed the usual range as you enter the away stand and a large food vending machine outside.

Accessible Toilets

On your right as you enter the stand. Left-hand transfer. Good size to turn in. Toilet-seat is high. Hot running water (no cold tap), liquid soap, hand sanitizer and hand drier. When I visited, half-way through the first half, the toilet was not as clean as I would have expected.

Headset Commentaries for Visually Impaired Fans

When I rang the Ticket-Office the day before the match, I was told the Club had 12 sets and my visually-impaired husband could collect a set for his use from the Club Shop when we arrived at the Ground. When we attempted to do this an hour before kick-off, we were told the head-sets had been there up to 2-hours previous when someone had taken them away. As we waited so long for them to be tracked down, the steward who was acting as our escort told us that he would get us to our seat, then come back for the headset and bring it to us, which he did. My husband reported that the commentary from 2 volunteers from Bristol Hospitals Broadcasting Services was informed and impartial. Interestingly they revealed that due to technical difficulties this was the first time this season they had been able to provide a commentary.

Attitude of Club Officials

Given the circumstances I have described it is difficult to isolate the attitude of Club Officials from the disorganisation we encountered (apart from Steward No 21, who really used his initiative to help us). Our experiences after the match confirmed this.

After the Match

Despite my eagerness prior to the start of the game to have things sorted for the end of the match, we were told that we had to exit the same way as we had entered. It was clear that the Steward who escorted us back to our mini-bus (not Steward No21) had no training in how to guide visually-impaired fans (or was not putting any such training into practice) and displayed no evidence of disability awareness in his dealings with me.

Due to the time it took to get back to our mini-bus, we were then queuing all the way from the Stadium until we got through the City Centre.

Will We go Again?

I am sure when the re-development is compete, Ashton Gate will be a wonderful Stadium to visit. Until then, unless the interim arrangements are improved, the prospect of a return visit has little appeal.

Thanks for the feedback from the Sheffield Utd fans. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about the backless seats. There is a plan to demolish that stand at the end of the season and improve facilities for all disabled fans in future years.

I will make sure that the emergency cord is extended and that a lock is fitted on the cubicle door.

On arrival our coach was allowed to park near to the Halfords roundabout to drop off and for us to be picked up at the end of the match which is great as it is a long walk from the coach park. On arrival we were shown to our places at the top of a ramp, however the stewards were very good helping us push the wheelchairs up. The wheelchair area is not very large and it is difficult once in to get back out to the toilet without the other chairs moving. The carers seats are all in a line behind the w/chairs unless there are only a few there and you can spread out.

One thing that should be put right is the carers seats have no backs on them so it was very uncomfortable. But we noticed NONE of the away fans seats have backs on, surely this is a health and safety issue as one of our friends leaned back not realising there was no back on and banged his head. You would get very wet if it rains as the area was very wet underfoot having had rain that morning.

The toilet was very clean with HOT water and SOAP also hand sanitiser. The only down side is the emergency cord was not to the floor as it should be and was tied up. The ladies loo was exceptionally clean too however one cubicle had no lock on the door.

The view of the pitch is quite good but not the corner flag at the far end as it is blocked with the hand rail. The stewards were very pleasant and very helpful. All in all a good day out.

Visited Ashton gate on the 17th August 2013 for a league 1 game.

In my opinion you are best contacting the City ticket office regarding disabled parking spaces. I contacted them 5 weeks before the game and even though the tickets were not yet available, I was told that I would be put on a list and they would contact me prior to the game to organise for me. I was contacted 48 hours prior to the game (bit close but its the way they do it), asked my requirments and they booked me into a bay directly outside door 7 which is the away entrance for wheelchairs. I had to pay £10 for the privilege but it takes the worry out of the travel down (im sure you will agree with that).

On arrival I was greeted on the gate and issued with an envelope with my name on containing my permit . I was then shown by another steward where bay 47 was (even though it had the number on it). On reaching it we found them filled with police vans (right outside the police office) but they kindley moved when asked and we parked up.

There were plenty of refreshment vans and also a KFC close to the ground should you require anything to eat. On entering the ground you do have to go up quite a steep incline but stewards are there should you need help. At the top of the slope you are directly next to the viewing ramp for wheel chairs and do get a good view of the pitch. The only issue was that there were more wheelchairs than room on the ramp.

Overall stewarding was ok , toilets right by the entrance as you go in. Word of advice ,when leaving let the crowd go first as they all go out down the incline and you may need to go down backwards with the help of a carer or steward.

No issues with the home support and police very helpfull. All in all a good place to visit.

Agree with previous post. Why the club won’t let wheelchair users sit on the raised section behind the ramp where you’d get an excellent view I don’t know. Until they move into the new stadium this would be a very cheap and good compromise.

Travelled to Ashton gate for Swindon Towns League cup game, the away coaches are parked about 300yds away from the entrance, there are disabled car spaces closer.

The Stewards were very helpful showing us to the wheelchair spaces close to the corner flag in the Wedlock stand. There was a steward on hand all through the game and the disabled toilet was close to where we were seated. The only drawbacks were the disabled ramp was a little steep, and view of the other end of the pitch was hampered by the safety rail, also the seating arrangements could have been better spaced as all the helpers seats were in one line, would of been better if if it was one wheelchair one seat,

All in all I would score the ground as a 7 out of 10 stewarding a 8 out of 10.

Food prices seemed a little high looked like £4 for a burger but there is a KFC right outside the ground where a meal with fries and a drink was £4.49 better value and they didn’t mind you taking it in the ground ( a steward actually carried it in for me as i made my way up the ramp. The programme was £1 and quite small but informative, not sure if this is normal as this was a rearranged match due to the riots a couple of weeks ago.

Ashton gate is well worth the trip, The result went Swindon’s way with them ending up worthy winners 1-0. Great evening out.