Bromley

at 14th Feb Bromley Away.

Getting there
We arrived via car around 11.30am for a 3pm KO, parked on Mead Way off Hayes Lane just a stones throw from the ground and caught the 119 bus to the train station/town where we met up with friends for a pre match meal and drinks. The bus is free for wheelchair users and their carers courtesy of TFL and the journey takes approx 4 minutes. They’re fitted with automatic ramps in the middle of the bus which my carer had no issues with when punching my wheelchair on and off. We then got a black cab back to the ground for convenience but these do not come cheap but our away day routine is important to me and we always try to make a day of it. There is a small car park at the ground but getting out at the end takes forever so this season I opted for street parking.

The Ground
Access to the ground is up a narrow lane that is pretty much smooth until you get to the top and it turns into a very stoney pothole ridden moonlike surface. With all the rain we’ve had this winter it was not easy to traverse but eventually we got to the away turnstiles (not without much cursing I hasten to add). A Steward stopped us, opened up the double gate and handed us over to another Steward who walked us to our seats/Wheelchair bay. The Steward explained that we had to be seated in the home section as we were not allowed with our own fans like last season and the two seasons prior to that. This despite Bromley having a brand new stand all the way down the touchline that housed both home and away fans, (extremely poor planning). So we parted company with the people we had come to the game with and headed to the home section. If this is where Bromley intended to put us without our prior knowledge, then why did they force us to go across the flooded lunar surface to access the ground only to be seated 50 yards from a very reasonable entrance? With a little thought from Bromley we could have accessed the ground through the very same turnstiles the home fans used with whom we were sat with. If you’re placed in the home end and allowed to wear your club colours then entering through the home entrance is not an issue.

Toilets/Food/Bar
There are 3 disabled toilets in the club bar etc in the opposite corner to where you’re sitting for the game. This is a very large spacious warehouse type unit with a double slope down to the main floor. This gets absolutely rammed at half time and it took us the entire interval just to use the toilet as several people were queuing which was made worse with 1 of the 3 toilets being used as a store cupboard for some spare chairs and non-disabled people using them too. That said the natives were friendly and courteous so no worries there, as were the home fans we were sat with who did not object to us putting up our Notts flag. I cannot comment on the counter for food/drinks etc as we did not use them due to it being so busy in there and the players were already coming back out onto the pitch so we just headed back.

Exiting the Ground
At the end of the game one of our wheelchair supporters was denied access to the away section despite his bus being adjacent to the away turnstile and was told to leave via the home fans entrance that the club refused to open up for us for easier access prior to the game., Therefore forcing him to cross the lunar surface to get to the coach. However, they let me and my carer through (the mind boggles)!

As we made our way down the touchline to the away end all the Bromley fans were pleasant and some wished us a safe journey home etc. All’s well, or so we thought. As we approached the gate to the away section there were around 8-10 young fans aged between 12-15 really abusing the away fans with the stewards just standing by allowing this to happen. As we passed them, I stopped my chair and gave them some choice words. Their faces as they turned and saw a spiky green haired man in a wheelchair growling at them was a picture. The steward that moved the barrier for us was informed but I fear it fell on deaf ears.

Getting away
Once we had traversed the Lunar surface which was quite terrifying as they were so many people that you just could not see the craters. People jumping and hopping over them and my chair being in the way did not help one bit. We walked down the closed off road and onto Hayes Lane without issues, again the home fans were friendly. However, before we managed to get onto the M25 I received a message from our DSA secretary that the away fans for the second season in a row had been subject to missiles being thrown over the fences at them during the game in both the seated section behind the goal as well as the standing section along the touchline. It tends to be the younger element that do this and Bromley FC are going to be informed in full.

Summary
All in all it’s a mixed bag, both good and bad. There’s nothing around the ground to do if you arrive early but the town is 20 minutes walk away or a 4 minute bus ride. The majority of the natives are very friendly but they do have real issues with some of their younger fan base. Away wheelchair users should be seated with their home fans period! Especially after installing a new stand (no excuses). And that hell hole of a car park needs sorting out along with the missiles removing.

Would I go again? Yes, but I would contact the club beforehand to ensure adequate entry and exit is secured.

To get to the away the surface is very uneven and full of pot holes not suitable for wheelchairs,crutches or sticks. No disabled toilet at away end it’s situated on opposite side of ground which we can use but they have no wheelchair. All together not a great experience for anyone with any kind of disability. Only positive was safeguarding officer who was brilliant