It’s time for our promotion party, and the fixture list saved the longest trip to last as we go to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. Sky have been kind enough to bring the kick-off forward to 12.30 making it all but impossible to get there without an overnight stop, and that’s probably what a lot of us will be doing.
If you haven’t managed to get a ticket for the game, live coverage is available if you’ve got Sky Sports Extra as part of your subscription. It’s not the main match on this channel, but you’ll still be able to select it.
The ground is well signposted from the outskirts of Plymouth. You need to take the A386 exit from A38, stay in the left-hand lane on the slip road, then take the second exit from the roundabout you come to at the top (signposted City Centre A386). After just over a mile you will see the sign to Home Park on the left-hand side.
There is quite a large car park next to the ground, which is free. It is operated on a 'first in before the game, first out after the game basis', so if you are last in, then on average it takes around half an hour to clear. The car park is normally full by half an hour before kick-off. There is also the Life Centre car park just beyond Home Park and some street parking to the north of the ground, the opposite side from the city centre.
It will of course be impossible to get there from Leeds by train before the game, but I'll still include directions from the station for the benefit of those of you who live nearer to Plymouth. You have to turn right outside the station, then right again at the bottom of this road, going under the railway bridge.
Just continue up the hill and it's a 20 minute walk uphill through the park, with Home Park will coming into sight by the time you've hiked all the way to the top of the hill. In the 1980s some of the locals used to hide in the bushes to ambush away fans who were walking to the ground this way, but I'm told that Plymouth is a bit more civilised these days.
The police have issued a statement saying there will be no pubs open to away fans near to Home Park, and even the one that usually tolerates our presence (the Britannia’ Wetherspoons) is going to be home fans only this time, with ticket checks on the door. And the pubs in the city centre won’t be open before kick off.
If you’re coming in by car you could try your luck at the Cherry Tree pub on Ham Drive, which is a right turn off the A386 as you come in from the A38, and a 10-15 minute walk from the ground. Going the other way from the A386 will bring you to the Hyde Park Social Club which also welcomes visiting supporters, but charges £2 for entry. Alcohol is normally available inside the ground.
During 2001 Home Park was transformed, with three sides of the ground being completely re-built. Both the ends and one side of the ground have been replaced by single tiered, covered all seated stands, and the corners between these stands have been filled so that the ground is totally enclosed on those sides.
This just leaves just the Grandstand at one side of the pitch as the only remnant of the old Home Park. This classic-looking stand was refurbished a couple of years ago, but dates back to 1952, and gives Home Park a bit of character, a relief from the bland modernity of the other three stands. The capacity is now 17,900.
Away fans get one side of the Barn Park End, where the usual allocation is 1,300, but this can be expanded to up to 2,022 on special occasions. They obviously don’t think this game is all that special, as this time they’ve given us a mere 1,637 tickets. They cost £29 for adults, with concessions from £4 to £24, and they did of course sell out almost as soon as they went on sale.
And as far as the actual facilities in the away section are concerned, the stewarding is usually quite relaxed and there have been good reports of the traditional pasties sold inside the ground, but the on the downside that the concourse can get a bit cramped.
Plymouth have only been selling tickets for the home stands to their own members, and a message on their website says they are out to stop us getting our hands on thenm. . "With much riding on the game for our visitors, we are expecting Leeds United supporters to travel to the South West in numbers and the surrounding area of the stadium to be very busy in the build-up to the match”.
"As a result, we will be enforcing an outer ring to aid security measures, meaning ingress into Home Park will be slower than normal. We will therefore open the stadium two hours ahead of kick-off for this game. Supporters will need tickets ready for scanning to enter the outer ring. Please have them ready to enter the stadium to ensure a smooth access for your fellow fans.”
"We would like to remind fans that it is a break of our ticketing terms and conditions to sell your ticket outside of the club’s approved methods, and anyone who does this will have their ticketing account suspended. Both home and away ticket holders may be required to show ID upon entry to ensure tickets are not sold on”.
"If Leeds are crowned champions, a small stage will be erected in front of the away end with the Leeds players able to celebrate with their travelling fans as per league traditions. This will take place once the Argyle players have departed the field of play”.
That will happen if we win or if Burnley are kind enough to drop points against Millwall, but it’s certainly something to look forward to after travelling all that way!
Some of this stuff came from www.footballgroundguide.com.