If this were the "Sh*tty Ground" then it would smell bad and be absolutely awful. If it were the "Itty Bitty Ground" then it would be way too small for professional football. And if it were the "T*tty Ground" then it would be a strip club rather than a stadium. Thankfully it's none of the above. Wait, did I say thankfully?
First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - I have a sort-of ex in Notts who is kind of famous. My most recent trip to the ground was after we hung out together for the morning which was lovely. Then I went to the City Ground alone, and honestly I was still buzzing from seeing her, so I probably had a 5-star experience and thought this was one of the best matches I'd been to in years (a home game against local rivals Derby).
However, if I include every other time I've been to the City Ground (4 or 5 times, including once to watch Oxford play away), it's more like a 4. Because the corners of the ground don't keep the noise in, and it needs a little bit of renovation work. Also the stewards were not particularly friendly to me.
Still, lots of good memories. I first came here as a kid, then as a teen, and now a few times as an adult. I look forward to my next trip.
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 ***
It can host up to 31k and is right by the river. It's red and white and has been around since 1898 which is a long f***ing time.
It looks pretty cool from above if a little uneven because of the differing types of stands and stuff. Nottingham had planned to move away so a new stadium could be built for the 2018 World Cup, but Russia won the right to host it instead of England, so now they're staying for awhile. It was used during Euro 96 and saw Croatia win and Portugal win twice. It still has some open corners, and while it's pretty huge it could be prettier and the corners could be filled in and that could improve the atmosphere. But it's right next to a river so it still scores a 4. read more