i was there for a womens football match so quite empty but looks…read morebrilliant if its full

Geri Halliwell and Indiana Jones opened this stadium while having a wild stormy affair, sounds hot,…read moreright? Well the weather up here is not at all. First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - other than sleeping here (I'll get to that in a minute), I've done a little tour of the stadium on a few occasions. Warrington was always a city that I skipped, and until I saw it with my own eyes, I had no clue that this city had such a fantastic stadium. It scores 4 only because they still have difficulty filling it, and I have yet to see a full match here, but it really is a credit to the city and a fantastic facility. I was last here in 2014. I've been to most UK & US stadiums, due to lifelong obsessions with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born & raised in England, I followed Oxford United (hometown team) to stadia all over the country at away games, and later Liverpool (fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from first-hand personal experience, usually from several visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited most stadiums for fun in my spare time. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in UK for 3 months, I went to hundreds yet again while travelling. I have pictures of me at most, which I'll post later. Also, when back in UK I'll take more pix, and add more stadia! *** return to regular review *** I slept right across the street from this stadium and then visited the large superstore as well. Good times, good memories. It's a very imposing, grand, fantastic stadium for rugby, and it's just as amazing on the inside, it looks like it houses a lot more than 14k people. I would have given it a 5 if it was also for a football team, but I'm biased against Rugby ;) My concert in Warrington wasn't great, especially not the text messages I received later, but all that aside, this is an amazing stadium.

A nice new stadium, built for the wolves when they moved from Wwilderspool. The stadium provides a…read morestate of the art sporting venue and is a focal point for community activity, incorporating the Warrington Wolves Foundation learning floor and a brand new NHS walk-in centre. The Halliwell Jones Stadium sports a capacity of 14,206 through an innovative mix of seated and traditional terraced spectactor accomodation. The stadium comprises standing and seating on each side and end, offering supporters unrivaled flexibility. With a pitch size of 120m x 74m, it is designed for expansive and exciting rugby league.

Great stadium and tour. Really like our experience with everyone from the merch shop and the tour.read more

Had a great time visiting the stadium and the tour was an incedible experience. The tour guides…read morewere very friendly and knowledgeable. Especially, David Hey helped with photos and made us genuinely feel at home like we are local fans. We came all the way over from New Orleans just to see a game and will never forgot this experience. Small group and the tour is a true VIP experience.

What a dream to be able to see a Manchester United game here! We travelled across the world to…read morecelebrate our son's 30th Bday with friends at a Man U game. The nose bleed seats views were not actually bad. Seats were a little narrow and small, but can't complain. FYI alcohol is not allowed inside the stadium for good reason. Lots of yellow jacket security, safety was not an issue. Note most of the stadium was covered, so if rain, you will not be soaked. But do bundle up like we did in the winter time : D After the game, we stuck around a bit for photo opps, but once the game is over , it is literally over, no lingering .. they kinda kick you out. Went to the loo and employees shouted to hurry it up to all of us! Thankfully the merchandise store was open after the game, located outside of the stadium. Easy access to and from stadium with the trams, but expect it to be sardine jam packed.

Iconic! I'm not even a big football gal, but my husband is a die-hard for Manchester United, so…read moreI've always understood the significance of this stadium and the club that occupies it. We were back in the UK visiting his family and decided to go for an official tour. Unfortunately the team was playing in Newcastle during our visit, but the tour alone was genuinely really cool. Plus, they're building a new stadium so it was great to come here before this one gets retired. For it being an older stadium, I thought it was in fantastic shape. Very well-kept. A little smaller than I expected (maybe because I'm used to NFL stadiums?), but it holds 74k+ people, making it the largest club football stadium in the UK! Finding the parking was a tad confusion, but that's always the case at big statiums isn't it. Once we did, we made our way around to the 'tour" entrance and were immediately greeted by the sweetest of staff! They set us up with ourlayard passes and took us straight to where the tour kicked off, which was up in the stands overlooking the field. Along the way our wonderful guide talked through tons of fascinating and fun history, we got a chance to go down along the pitch, sit in the team's seats, come out through the famous tunnel, and even explore their changing room. There's also a full museum on the second floor to explore as part of your ticket, adjacent to the on-site restaurant. It was packed with memorabilia and more history to take in. Even if you're like me, and not necessarily a huge football fan, taking the tour is worth it.

Came here to see Hans Zimmer Live and had a great time! Getting in to the Arena went much faster…read morethan other venues I've visited, and it was very easy to find our seats once we got inside. The crowd was as energetic as the orchestra, which is to say MASSIVELY GOOD VIBES! As we were only a few rows from the stage, I was very happy I donned foam earplugs. I was literally *feeling* the music more than I was hearing it, heheh! The bio-break during Intermission flowed pretty fast (not me ... the line!). The food here, considering I got a hot dog & soda, was actually very good! The only thing that was a pain was trying to exit the garage after the show. All traffic seemed to bottleneck into a couple lanes that had to cross the foot traffic leaving the Arena after the show. Otherwise, a great venue and I wouldn't mind seeing more shows there.

It seems even many years later after rebranding including with other sponsors, Manchester Arena…read morewill always be known as the MEN Arena to many locals - it opened in 1995 and is the only indoor purpose-built arena of its' kind in Manchester and although stadiums across the city including the Etihad and Emirates Old Trafford do host concerts now, this is the only Arena of its- type to be fully indoors in a city centre location, it is actually right next to Manchester Victoria Station and the main disabled enterance actually involves going through the station's lift (quite confusing!) - this can also be used as a cut-through to parts of the station when the lifts are out of order, which is the situation right now. Back to the Arena - I can't help but think the only reason this place is so well-known, successful and used is because it lacks competition in one of the UK's best and biggest cities - the customer service is a disgrace such as with booking tickets. The disabled seating tickets team force you to have to phone up with no online booking - they are only open at awkward hours during the day with no option to wait on hold, meaning if you require assistance booking it is going to be difficult to get tickets. It involves creating an account/profile, sending proof of a disability, waiting for that to be confirmed and then placing your tickets on hold for a few days until everything is confirmed - and if it is confirmed you're expected to pay various booking fees: security fee, postage fee (You can only pick up on the day of the event where they advise not to, if you don't pay) and of course a booking fee for telephone orders. Tickets are expensive - I attended Impractical Jokers' recent tour here and I even had to pay a security fee - now I get the venue has to be secure especially after the saddening attack in 2017 but why should they charge a "surcharge" just to be safe as every place like this should be safe and not charging for the fact you're safe, right? The security wasn't even good either - I was told to empty my pockets and go through a scanner, however, they didn't even use the airport-style bag checker on what I emptied (they didn' even look at it and I did have a case which was unexpected) - I also was able to take a drink in despite them being banned - the security is flawed. It does have a capacity of just over 21,000 which is even larger than London's famous O2 Arena, however, I do really prefer the O2, the Manchester Arena has virtually nothing upon entering: no shops, restaurants while the O2 does - all the Arena has is stands selling really expensive food, beverages and merchandise - they even have salesmen who go into the crowd during a show trying to wave things in front of you - like come on I bought my ticket to watch an event, not watch you wave programmes about for goodness sake! The view of the stage wasn't too good either, I had to watch the show from the big screen and after paying for some of the more expensive seated tickets, that isn't what you want either. I really hope the rival to Manchester Arena is built soon by my club, Manchester City as it needs something to rival this hell-hole - the extra star is virtually only for being the only indoor concert/tour arena of its' kind in Greater Manchester, they even hosted amateur hockey games here at one point!

How on earth I haven't utilized the facilities here until recently is incredible. Us Mancunians…read morereally don't know how good we have it here. This is the national squash center folks, it was built for the common wealth games over a decade ago. There are 6 state of the art courts and a center court which is out of this world. The court comes equipped with a control centre from which it can be steered like a hover craft. The women's world open was held here in 2008 and numerous national as well as International matches are also housed here. So if you're a squash fan or just want to experience something different, this place is highly recommended. Furthermore residents of certain parts of Manchester can gain access to the world class facilities for free. The incentive is to get local communities to take part in sport and make use of the facilities otherwise not available. Part of the pledge includes the following: Reduced cost cycling and spinning at the National Cycle Centre. Opportunities to watch Team GB Olympians train. Free use of indoor and outdoor tennis courts. Free use of squash courts. Badminton court hire for £1.00. Automatic entry into annual Free Prize Draw and opportunities to win selected MCFC home game tickets. It's very easy to find out if you are eligible, simply visit the Manchester sports and leisure website, or email contact@manchestersportandleisure.org for more details. I did and now I play squash here twice a week free of charge. God I love Manchester!

I spent a few hours here last Saturday to watch the semi-finals of the British National Squash…read moreChampionships with some workmates, so I didn't actually use the facilities for exercise, though on seeing what was there I'd definitely consider coming back again and playing in one of their six squash courts. As for the championships, they've been held here every year in early February since 2003 as the centre was built for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. We watched the over 35s men's, the professional women's and finally the men's semi-finals which were pretty thrilling (especially with all the 'argy bargy' and numerous 'verbal exchanges' the players had with the referees - the men were the worst offenders, quelle surprise). For £12 a ticket it was pretty reasonably priced given the unexpected drama and skills we got to watch. The seating behind the glass show court meant we had uninterrupted views of all the action. There were small intervals between the matches so people could go and get some refreshments from the food stalls. Tip: there's masses of free parking nearby as the centre forms part of Sportcity which is next to Manchester City's Etihad Stadium. Plan you visit to not coincide with a football game!

These days it's Manchester Divided, with half of MCR pretending to like City and wearing those…read morefaded blue kits that look like Chelsea kits that were washed with bleach too many times. Despite being a huge Liverpool fan, I have nothing against Manchester United and they've been doing quite well recently. They have a great Dutch manager and deserve the Champions League place they seem to have earned. I don't like some of the ugliness from some of the fans towards Liverpool, their own players, and so on, but that is everywhere including at LFC. I like the team a lot better than the new money of the evil empire of Manchester City, and as much as I didn't love Alex Ferguson, he was a socialist and he was one of the best managers of all time - clearly.

First time at the Manchester United game and I loved my experience. To be honest, I think the best…read moreway to understand British culture is by going to the games of different football matches around the country if you can afford it and are lucky enough to buy the tickets. By the way, if you are unaware of football culture in the UK you will know that (A) it is incredibly difficult to buy tickets and (B) football fans are insane and that's honestly half the fun of it. Here's some of my favorite moments. - The stadium is incredibly packed and you can feel the energy of the crowd unlike any other. Apparently there are around 75,000 seats in the stadium and 6,000 staff working around the clock so you can really understand the energy in there. Some people literally stand up the entire time of the game and the energy is really unlike anything you'll ever experience. - I appreciate the songs that the crowd sings, its honestly quite interesting to see a bunch of grown men sing songs about the red army. - Also itself is absolutely glorious. There's honestly no bad seats here and you are really able to see the game with crystal clear views. Overall, no complaints with the ManU game even if you are not super knowledgeable about football or the club. Would highly recommend just to experience the environment and to further understand UK's football culture.

Powerleague Soccerdome is gargantuan!! This 25 pitch building occupies what seems like acres of…read moreland, near to The Trafford Centre and it sees more action than Tiger Woods. It is the largest 5 a side football arena in the country and it sneers its soccer nose up at the idea of astro turf which is seriously old hat. My brother used to return home after a "friendly" game with his knees and shins cut to ribbons by the evil astro so it is certainly good news that Powerleague has invested in 5g rubber crumb surfaces. As the World Cup draws near, mark my words, you will see an increase in pot bellied porkers forming their own football teams. Powerleague will welcome them with open arms and the great thing about it is that after observing the porkers play a few times, Powerleague will place them in the correct league for their ability. This ensures that every team gets competitive matches with worthy opponents. There are 19 indoor pitches and 4 outdoor ones at this football haven and after 90 minutes of cardio on the pitch, the soccerdome has a bar to rehydrate thirsty players. I have only been to this place for the children's football parties during which excited youngsters get 90 mins of football fun followed by a half hour catered party. These parties are great, children have fun and your dedicated party co-ordinator doubles up as the referee, giving the young players tasks and challenges in which the birthday child becomes the Beckham of the match. Powerleague provides safe, secure and well kept pitches and gives Manchester football fanatics a great place to practice.

Who knew that we had the world's largest 5-a-side football centre right on our doorstep? 19 indoor…read morepitches and five outdoor, no wonder my footy-mad nephew chose this place for his ninth birthday party. I'm only reviewing from the position as a non-footy fan / spectator / chaperone and not a customer (apart from at the bar - they have one near the entrance which is a sanctuary from the screaming hordes of kids - the pint of Becks was sincerely welcomed). The 'party package' included a coach, who organised team games such as British Bulldog to get the kids all warmed up, then some 5-a-side matches and finally a penalty shoot-out. Hats off to the guy, he was patient throughout and had a great rapport with them all. The kids absolutely loved every minute. Though rehydration is provided in the form of a large jug of water from the bar and plastic cups, you might want to bring some of your own for your group as it gets very warm in there despite its colossal size. The party 'tea' (they have a choice of the usual chicken nuggests, pizza, hotdogs or sandwiches) is held upstairs in a large function room - this is the part where I was downstairs in the bar, leaving my eldest sister in full control ;) Overall a very good afternoon, my nephew had a great time and so did all his friends, it's definitely worth considering for your footy-mad offspring.

The guys that took over this place have done a fantastic job renovating it!…read more Anyone who's been here before will know it was in a right state, the turf was old and the boards were dangerous. Not anymore! It looks like they've put in a good chunk of money to do it up and the facilities now really are state of the art. Brand new 3G and new boards, netting and floodlights have been added. The pitch can either be used for 8v8 or split into 2 5v5 pitches. These updates really make Burnden Park just as good as anywhere for a kick around with the lads!