Location
- Country: United Kingdom
- County:
- City: Ipswich
Sport
- Sport: Soccer / Football
- League: Championship
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Package
- Robson Hospitality
- Price indication: 2
- ???
Rating
- Fun factor:
- Sports factor:
- F&B factor:
The Stadium
Portman Road is an association football stadium and has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium underwent significant redevelopments in the early 2000s, which increased the capacity from 22,600 to a current figure of 30,311, making it the largest capacity football ground in East Anglia.
The pitch is surrounded by four all-seater stands, the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, the Cobbold Stand, the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the East of England Co-operative Stand Stand. All stands are covered and are multi-tiered. The Cobbold Stand was constructed in 1971, and originally known as the Portman Stand. With two tiers and a cantilever roof, it is used to accommodate away fans, with an allocation of up to 3,000 seats per game and for family seating. It also contains a number of executive boxes as well as regular seating for home fans. The Sir Alf Ramsey Stand is a two-tiered stand which has a match-day capacity of approximately 7,000. It also houses the “Sir Bobby Robson Suite” restaurant and “Legends Bar”.
The tunnel, from which the players emerge onto the pitch from their dressing rooms, is unusually located in the corner of the stadium between the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the East of England Co-operative Stand. The East of England Co-operative Stand was originally constructed in 1952 as a simple concrete seating area. It was updated to an all-seater stand in 1990 and currently has three tiers consisting of home fan seating and an additional family area. It also contains the directors’ box, further executive boxes and the press area. The Sir Bobby Robson Stand was completely rebuilt in 2001 and has a capacity of around 7,500. It is a two-tier cantilever stand which is divided into an adults-only lower tier “…traditionally for the ‘hard core’ Town fan…” and a mixed upper tier.
The hospitality venue
Hospitality entrance
Entrance for ticket holders in the possession of a hospitality ticket / package is done via the main reception entrance located in the West Stand. Here also the allocated hospitality tickets can be collected from 12PM onwards (for matches with kick-off at 3PM). No queues here and some very friendly hostesses.
Sir Bobby Robson Suite (for Robson Hospitality)
The Sir Bobby Robson Suite is located mid-level in the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand (South Stand). Although, by its location, not positioned on the half-way line, the view from the Suite is quite spectacular overlooking Portman Road from an uninterrupted view. The Tunnel from which the players enter the pitch is located in the corner of the stadium between the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the East of England Co-operative Stand. Hence, by its location you have a very nice view from the Suite looking to the players as they come out of the Tunnel to enter the pitch. What makes the Suite somewhat special is the livelihood that emerges from the Suite as you enter it, as well as the fact that it is named after legendary football manager Sir Bobby Robson. The suite opens 2-2,5 hours before kick-off and although quite big, gives you quite a relaxed and personal feeling. With its long size, almost entirely stretching over the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand, the view from each dining table is near perfect. What we encountered as quite pleasant, is that there is a possibility to ask for a fully dressed private dining table when dining in the suite. As one could imagine there is dedicated host/hostess and waiting staff, complimentary matchday programmes, teamsheets, match quiz, pay bar facility and TV’s showing Sky Sports.
One thing that definitely stands out in this Suite is the presence of John Wark, a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club’s Hall of Fame. John is the premier host in this Suite and his enthusiasm, friendliness, knowledge of the game truly stands out.
Man of the Match (MoM) question and answer sessions and photograph opportunities also primarily take place in this Suite, there is ample opportunity to get a picture with one of the local heroes.
Seating
Padded seating is provided right outside the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand. The seats themselves are not extremely luxurious, however they are padded and they are placed literally one step outside the Suite. The views are uninterrupted and are positioned quite close to the pitch.
Food & Beverages
Included in the package is a bottle of wine per person, for which there is choice between white and red. No fault here. If you fancy something else, please go to the very large private pay bar located in the Suite. I would guess there are not many drinks that are not for sale here.
The package includes a three course pre-match meal, with the food being of a high standard. Would have expected to have choice options for each course but the menu is fixed. Despite this everything is again well catered for with a lovely meal to watch a good game of football. Accompanying bread with different condiments was provided shift. A nice touch in this Suite is there are nametags on each table, a nice eye for detail
During half-time tea and coffee with pie was provided and upon entering the Suite, this was already placed on your dining table. Full-time refreshments included a very nice cheese platter that was of excellent quality variety of fried snacks. The private pay bar service ends approximately 1,5 hours after the final whistle.
Price indication
Costs: 3 out of 5
Good to know
Please do enquire beforehand if John Wark is your host iof the day, the man is brilliant. A nice touch that we haven’t seen earlier, is the location of the Tunnel versus the Sir Bobby Robson Suite, very nice to see the players come out of the Tunnel as you are enjoying a fine dinner. The toilets are also located in the Suite, so nothing to worry at all, just relax and enjoy.
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Disclaimer: This is not a paid review and we haven’t been asked to write this. All views and words are our own and have not been influenced by anyone else.
