[ Sat 6th Oct ] v Rushden & Higham Utd KO 3pm AWAY

[BartonRaz]

Is someone from the club able to clarify with R&H what the capacity is at Hayden Road?

I plan to get there early to avoid disappointment but it may not be that easy for those travelling from further afield.

[Drunken Debanker]

Or those that normally stay in the pub until 14.45????? :oops: :lol:

[Stalin]

Cant make the game tomorrow but the thought of 1,000 fans watching the game is very exciting even if it doesn't happen.

Its amazing to think we are talking of a gate of 1,000 at Hayden Road yet the Poppies will be lucky to get 250 fans at Nene Park.

[UttoDiamond]

Tiny bit of coverage in the ET I see, more focus on bloody Desborough yet again. They really aren't playing to their readership (or lack of) are they? :roll:

[AndyKirkup]

Is someone from the club able to clarify with R&H what the capacity is at Hayden Road?

I plan to get there early to avoid disappointment but it may not be that easy for those travelling from further afield.

Think about it this way:

You can view the pitch from 4 sides at Hayden Road.

Minimum pitch size is 100mx64m and therefore the fence that goes round it must be at least 104m x 68m x104m x 68m = 344m of fence. If a person needs 0.5m to stand in then you can get 688 people round a pitch, less a few for the various bits where you can't stand so call it 650.

Then there's the terracing, seems to have about 4 steps above ground level from the photos and runs the length of one end so thats 68m x 4 steps / 0.5 = 544, lets round that to 550.

Then there's the seating on the far side. I think I remember from somewhere that there are 80 seats, but of course you can't stand in front of the stand. I reckon it's probably 15m long so take take 30 people off that could have stood there but add on 80 = +50

So the "back of beermat" capacity is 650+550+50 = 1250.

At the end of the day it is very unlikely that R&H would turn people away, but if the game is as hugely popular as some people suggest it might be then you may have to stand behind someone on the pitch perimeter.

In summary: disappointment = very unlikely!

[Trek]

Now all we've got to do, AK, is to persuade 1250 fans to attend to test your theory.

[BartonRaz]

Anyone would think you've got time on your hands AK. ;)

[AndyKirkup]

Anyone would think you've got time on your hands AK. ;)

I just don't want people to be put off coming because they think they might not be able to get in.

This is probably something which needs adding to the FA ground grading - grounds with grades H, G and F should have a documented safe capacity, regardless of how large it is(for grade E it must be 1000).

[rushdenman]

Given that over 500 spectators watched the Olney match without the aid of any terracing or banking, and that there were still large gaps available, the additional stepped terracing at Haydn Road should easily accomodate 1000+.

[Trek]

Given that over 500 spectators watched the Olney match without the aid of any terracing or banking, and that there were still large gaps available, the additional stepped terracing at Haydn Road should easily accomodate 1000+.

I was thinking exactly the same when trying to get my head around AK's calculation. From looking at the photos attached to the groundhopper's blog, posted earlier in this thread, there is additional terracing adjacent to the condemned main stand, in addition to terracing behind the goal so that's another 250 at least. ;)