‘Fortress’ St James’ wows visiting fans

NEWCASTLE United’s St James’ Park is for many away fans one of the stadia that is first on their list of journeys to make in a season.

Fans from across the country are always seemingly keen to make the journey north, climb the steps to Level Seven and cheer on their team.

We’ve checked out The Football Ground Guide for fans’ reviews of their trips to St James’ Park. Tom Bellamy said on 7/5/17: What an impressive sight St James’ Park looks when walking up the hill. It looks over the city like a fortress.

The stewards and police presence outside the ground made sure all the fans were safe.

After being padded down before entering the away end at the Leazes Stand I made my way upstairs to Level Seven where my seat was. This was on Row C at the front of the upper tier.

The concourse up there with the bars and food outlets are probably one of the best in the Championship.

As I settled down before the game and on looking around the ground I realised how intimidating it could be with just over 50,000 home fans and barely 3,000 of ours.

The noise made by the home fans all around the ground including a section of our stand was deafening to the ears. The atmosphere it created was astonishing.

The view of the pitch was better than I expected with being only three rows back from the upper tier as opposed to being right at the back.

It also helped by seeing the giant screen at our end, which showed all the replays throughout the game. The leg room between rows was more than adequate. Tony MacRae said on 25/2/17: Although St James’ Park looked great from the outside, it was even more impressive from the inside. After climbing what seemed like never-ending flights of stairs, the view from our seats was quite spectacular. You could see for miles across the city of Newcastle. I’ve been to 60-odd grounds watching City and this was the most impressive stadium (apart from Wembley Stadium) that I’ve visited by far. Gareth Thomas Davies said on 20/2/17: My first impressions of St James’ Park were mind-blowing. It’s absolutely massive from the outside, and can be seen from miles around. I honestly felt like I was entering a fortress. Very impressed!

ANDREW MUSGROVE