To The Valley: Bradford City's big old home

Words: Declan Dyson and Jason McKeown

Images: Ian Parker

Bradford. A city that thrives from and is immensely proud of the diversity within.

A city that loves its football club and the football club certainly loves its citizens.

Declan Dyson from The City Vent podcast describes his club and what it means to him.

“Following Bradford City has been a huge part of my life, from my first game with my Grandad and Uncle to the away days with the lads, there is nothing that compares to supporting Bradford City.

The way the club sets itself in the community of Bradford and spends time to get an understanding from the fanbase, is something to be proud of.

©Ian Parker/ Terrace Edition. Bradford City AFC.

It’s not only the fact we have affordable season tickets, it’s the pure passion from the moment you walk into Valley Parade that makes you want to come back. You instantly feel part of something and over the years, this is something the club have really tried to implement and have been very successful with.

All we ask for as fans is a group of players, management and backroom staff that share the same passion for the club as we do. We have seen this a lot in recent years, which is probably one of the reasons we get so frustrated when sometimes we don’t feel the managers or players are matching up to what Bradford City means to us.

The group we have this year is something special and I feel like there is more to come from them over the final games of our campaign.

When you have players matching your passion, the ground is bouncing and when the ground is bouncing, I feel we can help the team get over the line and get a winner.”

Meanwhile, Jason McKeown, award winning website editor and author of two books on his beloved club BCAFC spells out why, to him, Valley Parade is more than just a football ground

“The bonds between Bradford City supporters and Valley Parade run deep. This is more than just our home. It’s the place where, as a community, we experienced unimaginable tragedy, when in May 1985, fire broke out in the Main Stand.

56 people lost their lives, hundreds were injured, many more still carry the mental scars to this day.

Part of the healing for Bradford City supporters then was getting the club back to Valley Parade. Something that was in serious doubt in the aftermath, as the club spent 18 months without a home, and with no guarantees they could ever return. But ultimately, Valley Parade was rebuilt, the club and supporters returned.

We go forwards, but we never forget.

The modern day Valley Parade stands heads and shoulders above the rest of League Two, the division that Bradford City currently occupy.

It is by some distance the biggest ground in the league and thanks to imaginative and fair-minded season ticket policies, it attracts attendances three times higher than the average of the rest of the division.

For the Grimsby match, more than 19,000 people were packed in to watch a 3-2 thriller. Home supporters are paying under £200 for a season ticket which is remarkable value in a cost of living crisis.

In truth, Valley Parade is a Championship ground. Its towering Kop and Main stands are a representation of what this club is capable of, and in turn is an unfortunate symbol of the scale of its underachievement in the 21st century.

Any visitor to Valley Parade on a matchday taking in the sights, sounds and noise generated by a passionate home crowd could only conclude that this is a club in the wrong division.

Valley Parade is an unusual stadium in that it’s built on a hillside. Go through the turnstiles on the Main Stand side of the ground, and you’re above the pitch. Enter on the opposite Midland Road side, and you’re below it.

In many ways, it reflects the geographical nature of the city of Bradford itself, built and developed improbably over rolling hills. Bradford is the highest city in the UK, with the highest average altitude. We don’t do flat land around here.

The stadium is also unusual for the contrast between the different stands, which in their own way are signposts to the up and down history of the club. The Bradford End, regularly housing travelling support is a basic, modest affair built in the early 90s, a time when ambition and vision was in short supply.

The Midland Road stand, which partly overhangs the road behind the stadium, constructed during the mid-90’s rise of the club up the leagues. Famously, the intent to build this 4,500 capacity stand was announced at a time when the Bantams were attracting gates of less than 4,000. It shows real vision and imagination.

The towering Kop, North West corner and Main Stand are exclusively used by home fans and were developed during City’s turn-of-the-century ascent to the Premier League. The financial commitments involved with building these areas would, in time, almost bankrupt the club.

It all leaves City with a stadium that can generate one of the best atmospheres in the country. With the stands so close to the pitch, a sold out and vocal Valley Parade can give the feeling that the crowd is right on top of the players.

There’s no surprise that much of City’s famous 2013 cup triumphs over Premier League teams such as Arsenal came on the Valley Parade stage. The atmosphere can be hostile and difficult, even to some of the world’s best players.

Bradford City is a special football club. In its early days it was one of the best clubs in the country, the potential is always there. We’ve had some extraordinary times, climbing to the Premier League, reaching a major cup final as a fourth division club.

I’ve supported them since 1997 and seen them play in all four divisions, having faced 90 of the other 91 clubs currently in the league. I’ve watched them play Barnet standing 91st in the football pyramid, I’ve marvelled at the day Jose Mourinho praised our giant-killing players for having “big balls”.

We’ve enjoyed incredible highs and some miserable lows. It would be nice if the rollercoaster had more ups than downs, but you wouldn’t swap the good times for anything. This is a club to be proud to support.

Bradford City is Valley Parade. The deep-rooted character of the ground a mirror reflection of the club itself.

Largely unchanged since 2001, Valley Parade could do with a spruce up here and there (not to mention reliable hot water in the toilets) but there is nowhere else that you could ever imagine this club calling its home.