Harrogate Town 3-1 Gainsborough Trinity
Conference North
12.3.2011
Admission: Adults: £9.00 Children: £2.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 266
Capacity: 2,500
Seated: 300
Covered: 1,300
Town: Woodlands, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Shop: Yes
Floodlights: Yes
Step: 6
Having been thwarted at my last two attempts to visit Harrogate Town, I finally got my chance to visit on the 12th of March for the Conference North game against Gainsborough Trinity.
As I have previously commented on my trip to HRA, Harrogate is a spa town with the Turkish Baths featuring as the real tourist magnet. Walking from the station takes you past the long stretch of grass that is the Stray. Many Harrogate & District League games are played here. The ground is tucked away on the road to Knaresborough. You don't realise you've arrived until you're right outside the turnstile.
Only one turnstile is used and it makes a real grating sound as it rotates. A very nostalgic sound to the times when turnstiles weren't electrical. You come out in the West corner. The programme table and club shop are immediately to your right. There is open hard standing behind the Northwest goal and it is pretty much the same behind the Southeast goal, except there is one narrow step of terracing down half of the end. The Southwest terrace is where most of the home supporters gather. There are 5 steps and it could probably hold 1,000, with a tin roof propped up on thin poles. The only seating is on the Northeast side with 300 yellow seats with HT picked out twice. The clubhouse is behind the Southeast goal.
Gainsborough brought a hardcore following of a dozen (they came in a minibus). The Lincolnshire hopefuls opened the scoring in the first half. However Town hit back, scoring three, including one from the penalty spot. It's just a shame that there is hardly anyone there to care. In the whole season, Town didn't get one league attendance above 500, with only two above 400. They average at around 250 with another 100 or so at Railway. So where is everyone. A town with over 70,000 inhabitants and they don't even get an aggregate of 400 every fortnight. A Conference North side like Harrogate Town should not go unnoticed. Personally I think more match advertising is needed. When I visited Bewdley and Whitley Bay, there was advertising in pubs on roundabouts on railings. This is why Whitley Bay get big attendances. They need to find a way to stop people going to Leeds or York City.
The programme is very average for this level and should probably be priced at £1.50 instead. There is a player image on the front along with match details. Inside it features: Manager and boardroom notes, match reports, player views, match pictures, away team, results, statistics, league round up, sponsorship, rewind, next match, past programme, BBC York view and team lineups on the back. There are 40 pages overall with 15 taken up by ads.
I recommend a visit to the CNG Stadium but quite how it survives in this state at this level I don't know, when you compare it to Telford, Worcester or Hinckley.
Harrogate Town matchday pictures
