THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE STADIUM WARS

Last updated : 10 June 2002 By

Meadow Lane, home to our beloved Notts County, but how good is our stadium when compared to others in Division 2?

First of all, here is why stadiums are great;

  • Stadiums are the biggest social venues in the world, after all, where else can you go to get away from it all, drink beer (optional), and watch the game with thousands of like minded souls?


It’s Saturday, matchday. As soon as the drawer or wardrobe opens, and the shirt or scarf comes out – you are ready for Meadow Lane. You know that when you arrive, you will experience the unique sense of belonging you have waited for over the past two weeks of life in general, and the away game.

Hold a season ticket? Then you’ll be reassured when every matchday you navigate your usual route through the turnstiles, up the steps and towards your seat, in fact, you could probably do it blindfolded. You reach your spot, greeted by the familiar faces you are now accustomed to - it’s your small, plastic home-from-home in the stands. You feel comfortable in your surroundings from the moment you reach your seat, right through to the final whistle.

The atmosphere - the wins, the losses, the ‘oooh’s the ‘aaah’s’ and the various unprintables, all shared with the partisan thousands at any home game. At a stadium you are never alone, unless you’re at the City Ground of course (!)

So, lets take a look at the best and worst stadiums of our Division 2 compatriots.

First off, we have the stadium with the biggest capacity in the division – Wigan’s JJB

Wigan's impressive JJB stadium
'sStadium. With enough room for 25,000 seated supporters, the JJB just takes the capacity award. Built in 1999 for the princely sum of £30million, and it even has the most durable grass seed money can buy, apparently. We have a conflict of interests here though - because Wigan share the JJB ground with their rugby league club, it is not technically a dedicated football stadium.

So, the award for the largest capacity football stadium in Division 2 goes to Huddersfield’s McAlpine stadium, built in 1995, by the same company which built the JJB interestingly enough, and seating 24,500. Congratulations then to The Terriers.

There are another five clubs between Wigan and The Magpies capacity-wise, but rather than looking at them, lets spare a thought for those less fortunate.

It can only get better at Colchester
At the bottom of the pile we have Colchester United, with a meagre 7900 spaces and only 2000 seats, the Layer Road Ground is officially the smallest stadium in Division 2. ‘The U’s’ are planning a new stadium but no details have been released as yet, so for the time being at least, their unfortunate status is safe.




An honourable mention goes to Northampton Town's Sixfields stadium, they just avoided the bottom spot by less than 100 seats. A few parkbenches at Colchester and things could soon change to the detriment of the Cobblers!

Now, after an entirely unbiased review, I declare the best football ground in Division 2 to be…

Yes, of course it’s Meadow Lane. With all the modern facilities you would expect,

The best is getting better for next season!
along with ample capacity and those smart looking magpies on the Derek Pavis stand. It’s good to see a modern stadium defying the trend for new, characterless relocations. Notts County has stayed true to its roots and the team has managed to create a fabulous stadium on its original site.

The bad news is that despite their magnificent stadium, The Magpies are clearly underperforming. With the 6th greatest stadium capacity and a lowly 19th position in the final table, we should do better - which any supporter could tell you I’m sure.

So there you have it, let’s have a big effort from all you County fans out there next season! Get in the stadium, give them a little of your money and a lot of vocal support, and hopefully we can turn things around and do Meadow Lane justice.