As a Hull City fan who remembers standing on the crumbling terraces of Boothferry Park.  I know what it is like to watch football from a less than magnificent arena. Now that we (Hull City) have the luxury of a brand new stadium, some fans may look down on the older grounds. Not me, for Saltergate is very much an old fashioned football ground, with its open ended concrete terrace of ten or so rows, smelling loos and dodgy catering kiosks. In my view, you would have to have missed several meals in order to be tempted to purchase anything edible. I am not picking on the qualities of the catering at Saltergate when I say this, but the qualities of catering at most football grounds.

Saltergate has got a certain charm and oozes nostalgia from a bygone age. On a reasonably fine February night, the fact that I was stood on an open end didn’t matter in terms of temperature. I suppose this was helped by the fact that around 2,000 Hull fans were standing with me. The atmosphere was excellent with the local fans in the covered terraced end opposite making a fair-to-middling amount of noise. The stand to the left of the away end, is an old  wooden structure with steep seating. A set of short staircases lead up the seated area from the pitch side. ( I assume for Health and Safety purposes). On this night, about 500 Hull fans were seated in the away section of this old stand, which is at the same end of the pitch as the away terraced area. The away fans in the seats can generate far more noise than the 2,000 or so on the open terrace. The stand to the right of the away end is about the same height as the away terrace, but has had several rows of seats anchored to the concrete. A low tin roof protests the punters from the elements. Above this is a small digital clock which counts down the minutes. This is perhaps the side of the ground that does need attention most.

One thing I did notice about Saltergate was the excellent playing surface. Considering that it was the 1st of February, the pitch looked very healthy and better than most in this division, including the KC Stadium. In my opinion Saltergate is definitely better than the likes of Layer Road and Belle Vue, and on a par with London Road and Plainmoor.

Before the game I wondered down a side street, about three hundred yards from Cross Street (the away end) and found myself in a pub called “The Industry.” The pub although small was welcoming and the ale was of a fair quality. Away fan coaches were parked right at the back of the away terrace, which assisted in gaining a quick get away. Policing for the game was about right with a fair number of local bobbies hanging around, but there was never any hint of trouble with fans freely mixing together before and after the game. One thing that lost points for Saltergate was the fact that there were no stewards or police at the ground until about six-thirty which caused problems for our coach driver, who didn’t know where to park.

At the end of the game the coaches carrying the away fans were given the customary quick exit and escort from the ground, which meant that we were turning onto the M1 within fifteen minutes of leaving the ground. All in I found Saltergate a decent ground to visit and not a bad match to boot (1-1 draw).