BLACKPOOL V IPSWICH TOWN SATURDAY 29 FEBRUARY 2020, KICK OFF 15:00
Information in this guide is correct as at 18 February 2020. Any updated information on this fixture will be published on the club website (www.itfc.co.uk), twitter (@IpswichTown and @ITFC_Tickets) and facebook (www.facebook.com/officialitfc).
INFORMATION FOR TOWN FANS
We travel to Blackpool on 29 February 2020 in League One. The following guide has been produced for Town fans making the trip to Bloomfield Road. This is based on information on the Blackpool website plus additional information specific to this game.
For any further information, please contact Elizabeth Edwards, Supporter Liaison Officer on [email protected] or (+44) (0) 7968 876504 or on Twitter at @ITFC_SLO.
Blackpool information for visiting fans
Address: Blackpool Football Club, Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ
Website: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/
Phone number: 01253 599344
Email (ticket office): [email protected]
Facebook: @officialblackpoolfc
Twitter: @BlackpoolFC
Supporter Liaison Officer: Steve Rowland, phone 01253 599344 or email [email protected]
Disability Liaison Officer: Chris Beveridge, [email protected]
The Blackpool website includes various bits of information including:
Directions and parking: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/club/find-us/
Frequently asked questions: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/tickets/frequently-asked-questions/ (includes information on parking, the stadium, and information for disabled fans (home and away))
www.footballgroundguide.com provides some information here: https://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/league-one/bloomfield-road- blackpool.html
We have picked out the key information for Town fans below and added other material based on our own experience of visiting Bloomfield Road and information that is specific to our fans.
Specific information for Town fans:
Ticket news
Tickets for this game are priced at £19 for adults, £17 for seniors over 65 and U22s, £9 for U17s, £4 for U12s and free for U5s.
Subject to availability, tickets can be purchased from www.itfcdirect.com (under tickets/away matches) or in Planet Blue on a non-matchday or at the Ticket Office on Constantine Road from 9am prior to home games.
Note that supporters who are less able to stand for prolonged periods and who wish to be located in a designated seated area should call the ticket office on 03330 050503.
Disabled fans requiring tickets should contact ITFC’s Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith on 01473 400556 or by email on [email protected].
Travelling to Blackpool
Supporters Coach
For those travelling from Ipswich the official coaches are leaving Portman Road promptly at 07:10 (please be at Portman Road at least 15 minutes before this) at a cost of £37 for adults (with concession prices for U23s, U19s and 65+ Seniors). Coaches are estimated to arrive back at Portman Road at 23:35.
Subject to availability, coach travel can be purchased online at www.itfcdirect.com. Coach travel (subject to availability) can also be purchased in Planet Blue on a non-matchday or at the Ticket Office on Constantine Road on a Saturday matchday from 9am.
There is a planned stop on both the outward and return journey.
Pick-ups at Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket can be arranged for this game. If you want to organise a pick-up please call the Ticket Enquiries Team on 03330 050503 or email [email protected]. The cut-off point to request a pickup is midday on Wednesday 26 February. Your details will then be passed onto the coach company, Suffolk Norse.
Note that all official coaches are non-smoking and the consumption of alcohol on board is strictly forbidden. ITFC recommend that all supporters under 16 are accompanied by an adult.
Car
Note 1: There are long-term roadworks on the A14 (several miles either side of Cambridge) which are resulting in evening and weekend road closures and considerable delays, as it is a very busy road. These are not normally announced until just a day or two in advance. We recommend that you keep an eye on @A14C2H on Twitter – any closures are announced here.
Note 2: A new stretch of the A14 is now open which impacts both the outward and return trip. On the outward trip the junction of the A14 / A428 / M11 on the edge of Cambridge is not well signposted, so take it slowly, and beware of even locals getting confused and doing late lane changes!
On the return trip the new stretch is from the A1 to about 5 miles west of Cambridge, so you must follow road signs and not your Sat Nav. In particular, if you are joining the A14 from the north on the A1, you will now follow the A1 for a few extra miles before reaching the junction for the A14 East.
The Sat Nav postcode for the Bloomfield Road is FY1 6JJ.
From Ipswich, there are two main road options. The journey time for both is likely to take around 5 hours, though it could take longer if roads are busy.
The first route takes you via the A14 and M6 (you may want to use the M6 toll to avoid any potential hold-ups around Birmingham). The M6 is usually very busy and has two long stretches either side of Birmingham with low speed limits due to roadworks. Exit the M6 at junction 32 and take the M55 towards Blackpool. At junction 4 of the M55, take the A583 exit to Blackpool/N'Shore. Continue on Preston New Road/A583. Continue of this road which becomes Park Road/B5390. Turn left onto Bloomfield Road.
The second route, which is often the quicker option, is via the A14/A1 and M62. From the M62 join the M60. At Junction 15, take the M61 exit to M6N/Preston/Wigan/Bolton. Continue on the M61 to the M6. At the Broughton Interchange junction, use the left 2 lanes and follow signs for M55/Blackpool. Continue on the M55 to junction 4 and follow the instructions above.
As noted above there are also major long-term roadworks on the A14 for several miles either side of Cambridge, with a 40mph limit policed by cameras.
Note that the Blackpool website recommends that at the end of the M55 you take the second exit at the roundabout (rather than the third as per the instructions above) and head straight down Yeadon Way onto Seasiders Way. Yeadon Way is however currently closed for repairs with a diversion in place which will add 10 minutes to the journey time.
We would recommend that, whichever route you choose, you allow at least an hour beyond the AA / Google / Sat Nav suggested journey time.
Parking
On-site parking is extremely limited at Bloomfield Road so visiting supporters are advised to use the council pay and display car parks over the road from the stadium.
There are 40 parking spaces available in the St Cuthberts Church Car Park in Lytham Road, which is only a five-minute walk away from the ground. It is pay-and-display, costing just £3 for three hours, £4 for five hours, or £7 for all day. The Church address: 177 Lytham Road, Blackpool, FY1 6EU.
Disabled Supporters Parking
Parking at the stadium for disabled supporters is limited, with the disabled bays currently available on match days reserved by home season ticket holders. However, a council car park adjacent to the stadium offers free parking for up to three hours for those with a blue badge clearly displayed.
Train
Note 1: There are engineering works on the Ipswich to London line with buses replacing trains between Ingatestone and Newbury Park.
The nearest train station to Bloomfield Road is Blackpool South (one mile), which also passes Blackpool Pleasure Beach en route to the ground. However, trains to this station only run hourly from Preston and vice-versa. More frequent trains serve Blackpool North train station, which is some 30 minutes walking distance from the ground.
There are some direct trains from London Euston to Blackpool North, although most journeys will involve a change at Preston to a local train (Northern Rail). To get to London Euston from Newbury Park take the Central Line to Liverpool Street and change to the Circle or Metropolitan or Hammersmith & City Line to Euston Square and walk to Euston. Alternatively, take the Central Line from Newbury Park to Oxford Circus and change to the Victoria Line to Euston.
The journey time is around 6 hours.
After the game there is a train from Blackpool North at 17:27 to London Euston although it may be tight to make this. There are two options from this train, the first changing at Manchester Piccadilly and the second changing at Preston and Crewe. Note that www.greateranglia.co.uk doesn’t show this connecting at Newbury Park for Ipswich.
There is a later train out of Blackpool North at 18:21. With a change in Preston this arrives at London Euston at 21:40. www.greateranglia.co.uk shows this as connecting to a bus from Newbury Park at 23:10 and train from Ingatestone at 23:59 which arrives in Ipswich at 00:53. Following the same route the 19:25 from Blackpool North should get you back to Ipswich at 01:59. www.greateranglia.co.uk indicates a cross-country option on the outward journey. There are trains from Ipswich at 06:00 and 06:16. Leaving Ipswich at 06:00 with changes in Peterborough and Leeds will get you to Blackpool North at 12:02. There is another option also leaving at 06:00 with changes at Peterborough, York, Manchester Victoria and Salford Crescent. This arrives in Blackpool at 11:45. The 06:16 from Ipswich includes changes at Cambridge, Peterborough and Leeds arriving in Blackpool North at 13:02. www.greateranglia.co.uk is not indicating any viable cross-country options after the game – there is an option leaving Blackpool North at 17:20 but this will be very tight unless you leave the game early.
Whatever your travel plans, it’s worth checking www.greateranglia.co.uk and for updated times and any late changes to engineering works.
Getting to the ground from Blackpool North
Blackpool North is around 1.5 miles from Bloomfield Road. It will take around 31 minutes to walk.
The easiest route is probably via the sea front. From the station walk straight down Springfield Road. At the end turn left onto the Promenade. After about one mile turn left into Lytham Road and then left into Lonsdale Road. Turn right into Seasiders Way.
It is also possible to catch a number 11 bus from the bus station opposite the station. Buses to Lytham St Annes pass the end of Bloomfield Road and run every 15 minutes. You should alight at the Old Bridge House pub and walk down Lonsdale Road to the ground.
Taxis are also available at the station.
Pubs www.footballgroundguide.com mentions the Old Bridge House pub on Lytham Road – if you catch the bus from the station to the stadium this is the stop you will alight at. The pub is only a short walk away from the stadium. Just a little further along Lytham Road on the corner with the seafront is the Manchester Bar, which welcomes away fans and wearing colours is not a problem. This pub has large screens showing Sky Sports and normally has a DJ playing loud music, who tries his best to entertain the visiting fans. However, the bar prices are quite high by Blackpool standards. Also on Lytham Road (but this going in the direction of the Pleasure Beach) is the Albert Pub which normally has a good mix of home and away fans in attendance. This pub also shows BT and Sky Sports.
Other pubs mentioned in www.footballgroundguide.com include the family-friendly Waterloo in Waterloo Road and the Bloomfield Brewhouse (seven minutes’ walk from the ground, on Bloomfield Road). There is also the The Swift Hound pub on Rigby Road near to Bloomfield Road which is part of the Greene King 'Flaming Grill' chain. It is located on a small retail complex that also has a Frankie & Benny's outlet.
If you are a fan of Wetherspoons pubs than on the seafront near to the Pleasure Beach is the unmissable Velvet Coaster. When opened in 2015 it was the largest Wetherspoons outlet in the country and it is a really impressive building. It is though a good twenty-minute walk away from Bloomfield Road.
Otherwise, there are plenty of pubs in Blackpool town centre to choose from. Alcohol is also made available to away supporters inside the stadium.
At the ground
Tickets on the day
It is not yet known if tickets will be available on the day. Information will be published on the club website (www.itfc.co.uk), twitter (@IpswichTown and @ITFC_Tickets) and facebook (www.facebook.com/officialitfc).
Away end
We will be located in the East Stand which is along the side of the stadium.
Please note that our fans will include older fans, families, those unable to stand for long periods of time and ambulant disabled fans. The front few rows have been sold to those advising that they need to sit for periods of time. Please respect this as we want everyone to enjoy the day safely.
Disabled Supporters
There are nine wheelchair spaces for away supporters in Block B of the North Stand. Disabled supporters not requiring wheelchair access can sit in the away stand providing they are able to access the area, subject to safety requirements of the ground.
Accessible Toilets
There are accessible toilets located all around the stadium and these are clearly signed. Should you require assistance, please seek advice from the nearest steward.
Commentary for blind/partially sighted supporters
A match commentary service is provided for blind/partially sighted supporters, with five complimentary headsets available from the ticket office, allowing supporters to enjoy the game. For further information, please contact the Blackpool Disability Liaison Officer Chris Beveridge on 07875236576, or via email - [email protected].
Bag Policy
Bags are permitted in the stadium, providing that they don't exceed the size of 297mm x 210mm. Exceptions will only be made, at the club's discretion, for medical supplies. Please note that all bags will be searched prior to entering the stadium.
Security
As at all grounds, expect to be searched before entering the ground.
Pyrotechnics
As with all grounds and to comply with legislation, the use of pyrotechnics or even trying to get them into the stadium is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.
Programmes
Blackpool’s official matchday progamme at £3 is available from in and around Bloomfield Road every home game.
Food and Drink facilities
A range of food and drink options are available inside the stadium. More information can be found here: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/siteassets/image/documents/bfc-concourse-menu.pdf
Smoking
Bloomfield Road is a no smoking facility.
Anti Social Behaviour – Matchday Text Line
Racism or discrimination of any form is not OK, ‘Not Today or Any Day’ and supporters are reminded that instances of discriminatory or prejudiced behaviour will not be tolerated at any EFL game.
If you encounter any form of discrimination please approach your nearest steward to report any incident you are involved in or witness.
You can also report any discrimination or anti-social behaviour to Kick it Out using the Kick It Out app which is available to download from the App Store or Google Play, or via: Facebook /kickitoutofficial; Twitter @kickitout; email [email protected]; phone 0800 169 9414.