extreme groundhopping

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

MK Dons

MK Dons 3 Ipswich Town 3
(MK Dons 5-3 on penalties after extra time)
Carling Cup 1st Round
stadium:mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Depending on your point of view tonight was either the fourth different home venue at which I have seen the “football club formerly known as Wimbledon” play (Plough Lane, Selhurst Park, The National Hockey Stadium and this evening stadium:mk) or the first time I have seen the MK Dons (founded in 2004 – they’ve just added the Roman numerals MMIV to their badge) play anywhere. We can at least agree that it’s my first visit to stadium:mk and the first time it has hosted a competitive football match under floodlights.

You may have heard that the MK Dons returned the medals and trophies won by the Crazy Gang, aka Wimbledon FC, back in the Eighties to Merton Borough Council just a week or so ago, and have officially restarted their history at 2004. So, if the Dons are admitting that they didn’t exist prior to 2004 then surely they should hand their League Share back and start at the bottom of the national league pyramid as did AFC Wimbledon in 2002. You could go round and round in circles arguing for and against the existence of this Buckinghamshire aberration but I don’t really think anyone cares that much anymore. So let’s move on.

Pete Winkleman, Chairman of the MK Dons, claims that that 30,000 stadium:mk (that colon is quite irritating isn’t it) or the Moocamp (slightly amusing) will be the best in the country when it’s complete. While I really don’t think that he thinks that’s the case it’s still going to be a pretty decent venue. IMHO.

Designed by architects HOK (Emirates Stadium, Millennium Stadium, North Stand at Portman Road, etc.), the stadium consists of two-tiers. The lower tier has a seating capacity of 22,000 and the upper tier (when fitted out in the next year or so) will add a further 10,000 seats. Behind one touchline is a multi-purpose indoor arena, named the “Cowshed” that will be used by Milton Keynes basketball team the Lions. Hotel facilities are also planned for the site.

The lower outer walls of the complex are covered in large black tiles and when complete the upper level will be wrapped with black and silver cladding. On the inside the colour scheme is similar, all the seating is black expect where the team’s name has been picked out in red and white along either touchline. There will be a gap between the outer walls and the underside of the stadium roof – presumably for ventilation? – which is held up by an interesting arrangement of steel roof supports. The overall effect I’m sure will be quite pleasing particularly at night when the place is lit up from outside and within.

Entry to the stadium is automated (simply slot your ticket barcode end first into a ticket scanner), there’s plenty of room on the lower concourse to move around in pre-game, and at half-time, more than adequate toilet facilities, and the seating is quite comfortable too (identical, expect in colour, to that used at the Emirates).

So, sorry AFC Wimbledon fans, but it’s a thumbs up for stadium:mk from me.

A panorama of stadium:mk, along with those of a hundred or more other European stadia, can be found here.

Match Number: 1386

posted by chevblue at 11:57 PM