What do you miss most about Belle vue?.

[welloffside]

Climbing over the corrugated fence and the policeman stopping me and saying" Oy get back in"

[Bentley Bullet]

Sitting in the old town end stand drinking Oxtail soup from a flask with my dad and my brother back in the '60s. Win, lose or draw it was 90 minutes of magic and the best view in the ground.

[keyser_soze]

'good quality food and drink' not my memory at all! :D

That smell of onions and questionable burgers mixed with cigarette smoke and piss from the pop-stand bogs - any whiff off cigarettes still takes me straight back there now.

The ball ending up going in one of the food cabins window was a definite highlight.

Youth team players getting sent out to retrieve the ball from Asda car park .

Physio Eric Brailsford taking so long to get on the pitch that the player had invariably recovered (or more likely got bored of waiting)

[DonnyBazR0ver]

One of the few things I miss and I think the designers of the new stadiums miss a trick with, and that's being able to get food and drink from kiosks without losing sight of the game.

So many benefits from having such a simple solution to ease the half time madness had some more thought gone into it.

The other feature which was fairly unique  was the separate tunnels for home and away teams which make quite a bit of sense and could have been incorporated in the new design.

I'll take the Keepmoat any day over a dilapidated Belle Vue on a cold, wet and windy day thanks.

[TommyC]

'good quality food and drink' not my memory at all! :D

That smell of onions and questionable burgers mixed with cigarette smoke and piss from the pop-stand bogs - any whiff off cigarettes still takes me straight back there now.

The ball ending up going in one of the food cabins window was a definite highlight.

Youth team players getting sent out to retrieve the ball from Asda car park .

Physio Eric Brailsford taking so long to get on the pitch that the player had invariably recovered (or more likely got bored of waiting)

I'm sure it probably happened quite a few times but the ball went in the food kiosk on the pop side during the Doncaster v Carlisle game on 19th January 1991. A 4-0 victory on a bitterly cold day.  I remember it as it was my first ever Rovers game.

Totally agree with the posters who mention the smell. That tobacco mixed with burgers/onions smell is so evocative and it takes me back every time. We used to stand behind a group of older gents one of whom used to smoke Zephyr in his pipe throughout the game. Even as a non-smoker it smelled bloody lovely. Mal Smith he was called and he was a flagman at Donny station. All those old characters seemed to just disappear when we moved to the Keepmoat. Loads of faces I never saw at a game again!

The walk down to town I miss. A pint in The Rockingham, The Grand St Leger or the Park Hotel.

Simply being able to stand throughout the game and change ends at half time is a massive miss too.

I appreciate the need for progress and that Belle Vue was a shithole that was forever going to be the millstone around our neck. It was our shithole though and I don't half miss the old place. It really lost something for me when we moved.

What always puzzled me though was that it was often spoken about as one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in English football. Prime development land next to the Racecourse on one of the busiest roads into town. And it ends up as a bloody housing estate!

[Chris Black come back]

On a 1:1 basis I would always - without any exception or caveat - choose watching a game from the Pop Side than the Keepmoat. I’ve slowly reconciled myself to the fact that the move was necessary for the greater good. Doesn’t mean the games are anything other than a shadow of watching stood on that damp concrete mind.

[Bentley Bullet]

'good quality food and drink' not my memory at all! :D

That smell of onions and questionable burgers mixed with cigarette smoke and piss from the pop-stand bogs - any whiff off cigarettes still takes me straight back there now.

The ball ending up going in one of the food cabins window was a definite highlight.

Youth team players getting sent out to retrieve the ball from Asda car park .

Physio Eric Brailsford taking so long to get on the pitch that the player had invariably recovered (or more likely got bored of waiting)

I'm sure it probably happened quite a few times but the ball went in the food kiosk on the pop side during the Doncaster v Carlisle game on 19th January 1991. A 4-0 victory on a bitterly cold day.  I remember it as it was my first ever Rovers game.

Totally agree with the posters who mention the smell. That tobacco mixed with burgers/onions smell is so evocative and it takes me back every time. We used to stand behind a group of older gents one of whom used to smoke Zephyr in his pipe throughout the game. Even as a non-smoker it smelled bloody lovely. Mal Smith he was called and he was a flagman at Donny station. All those old characters seemed to just disappear when we moved to the Keepmoat. Loads of faces I never saw at a game again!

The walk down to town I miss. A pint in The Rockingham, The Grand St Leger or the Park Hotel.

Simply being able to stand throughout the game and change ends at half time is a massive miss too.

I appreciate the need for progress and that Belle Vue was a shithole that was forever going to be the millstone around our neck. It was our shithole though and I don't half miss the old place. It really lost something for me when we moved.

What always puzzled me though was that it was often spoken about as one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in English football. Prime development land next to the Racecourse on one of the busiest roads into town. And it ends up as a bloody housing estate!

Yep, I heard Walmart was desperate to buy it so as to extend Asda, but now't came of it.

[Bentley Bullet]

Belle Vue felt like a fortress. It was intimidating, especially to the big clubs who we came up against in cup games. It felt like being at home!

The Keepmoat, on the other hand, is like a neutral venue. It isn't intimidating whatsoever, and more often than not we look like the away team! In fact, I dare say we've lost more games at the Keepmoat than we've won.

[Leedsrover]

I really miss the crowd involvement at BV- always felt we were part of the match day experience - giving opposition the hard words when they went down the tunnel and giving the ref some (as most deserved it then as now). The KM stadium seems to have stifled the enthusiasm out of the crowd- or at least the West Stand . Maybe its the sitting down impact but it is now not disrespectful for the opposition to describe our place as a library! It is so quiet!
I also used to think of OBV as ours and the same feeling does not come to me as tenants.
BV was a bit scruffy and tired so maybe the tatty and faded banners of our past heroes displayed around the KM -Alick Jeffrey , Dougie etc are the managements idea to remind us of BV. Maybe its indicative of our current situation that we present the same tired look around the KM!

[Sammy Chung was King]

There was history soaked into the place at Belle vue. The crowds were on top the action, the place where the stadium was situated was perfect. The Keepmoat is a ‘sanitised on your best behaviour ‘sort of place.
Most of us were desperate to get a new stadium, we got it, they say be careful what you wish for.

The old girl had, had her day really. All those seasons she held up, if only she could talk, the things she has seen, the players and managers that have come and gone. The supporters who have loved the team but passed to the big stadium in the sky.
She was a dirty beauty, but she was our beauty.

[NickDRFC]

Belle Vue felt like a fortress. It was intimidating, especially to the big clubs who we came up against in cup games. It felt like being at home!

The Keepmoat, on the other hand, is like a neutral venue. It isn't intimidating whatsoever, and more often than not we look like the away team! In fact, I dare say we've lost more games at the Keepmoat than we've won.

Haha come off it. Even though we had years in the Championship as the underdog there’s no way we’ve lost more than we’ve won. Even this year, as bad as we’ve been, we’ve won more than we’ve lost.

[scawsby steve]

Climbing over the corrugated fence and the policeman stopping me and saying" Oy get back in"

My jokes on here getting plagiarised again.

Mind you, I'll admit I didn't make it up.

[TommyC]

'good quality food and drink' not my memory at all! :D

That smell of onions and questionable burgers mixed with cigarette smoke and piss from the pop-stand bogs - any whiff off cigarettes still takes me straight back there now.

The ball ending up going in one of the food cabins window was a definite highlight.

Youth team players getting sent out to retrieve the ball from Asda car park .

Physio Eric Brailsford taking so long to get on the pitch that the player had invariably recovered (or more likely got bored of waiting)

I'm sure it probably happened quite a few times but the ball went in the food kiosk on the pop side during the Doncaster v Carlisle game on 19th January 1991. A 4-0 victory on a bitterly cold day.  I remember it as it was my first ever Rovers game.

Totally agree with the posters who mention the smell. That tobacco mixed with burgers/onions smell is so evocative and it takes me back every time. We used to stand behind a group of older gents one of whom used to smoke Zephyr in his pipe throughout the game. Even as a non-smoker it smelled bloody lovely. Mal Smith he was called and he was a flagman at Donny station. All those old characters seemed to just disappear when we moved to the Keepmoat. Loads of faces I never saw at a game again!

The walk down to town I miss. A pint in The Rockingham, The Grand St Leger or the Park Hotel.

Simply being able to stand throughout the game and change ends at half time is a massive miss too.

I appreciate the need for progress and that Belle Vue was a shithole that was forever going to be the millstone around our neck. It was our shithole though and I don't half miss the old place. It really lost something for me when we moved.

What always puzzled me though was that it was often spoken about as one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in English football. Prime development land next to the Racecourse on one of the busiest roads into town. And it ends up as a bloody housing estate!

Yep, I heard Walmart was desperate to buy it so as to extend Asda, but now't came of it.

I remember a hotel complex being mentioned at one point.

[Colin C No.3]

Camaraderie.

[richtherover]

Walking to a night match from Bessacarr, across the aerodrome and just looking up at them floodlights. The players emerging from the tunnel and the smell of wintergreen. Alick smashing in a few looseners, just about breaking the net and rubbing his hands together winding up the opposition with a smirk. The passion of the crowd, the humour and the put downs. The changing rooms probably ranked as the worst in the country but I loved the old place dearly and Belle Vue to me will always be a little piece of heaven.

[TheFunk]

No idea who he was or even what he looked like, but still makes me smile now. Every time the opposition committed a foul a voice from behind me would shout "ref stick him in your jotter"

[DonnyBazR0ver]

'good quality food and drink' not my memory at all! :D

That smell of onions and questionable burgers mixed with cigarette smoke and piss from the pop-stand bogs - any whiff off cigarettes still takes me straight back there now.

The ball ending up going in one of the food cabins window was a definite highlight.

Youth team players getting sent out to retrieve the ball from Asda car park .

Physio Eric Brailsford taking so long to get on the pitch that the player had invariably recovered (or more likely got bored of waiting)

I'm sure it probably happened quite a few times but the ball went in the food kiosk on the pop side during the Doncaster v Carlisle game on 19th January 1991. A 4-0 victory on a bitterly cold day.  I remember it as it was my first ever Rovers game.

Totally agree with the posters who mention the smell. That tobacco mixed with burgers/onions smell is so evocative and it takes me back every time. We used to stand behind a group of older gents one of whom used to smoke Zephyr in his pipe throughout the game. Even as a non-smoker it smelled bloody lovely. Mal Smith he was called and he was a flagman at Donny station. All those old characters seemed to just disappear when we moved to the Keepmoat. Loads of faces I never saw at a game again!

The walk down to town I miss. A pint in The Rockingham, The Grand St Leger or the Park Hotel.

Simply being able to stand throughout the game and change ends at half time is a massive miss too.

I appreciate the need for progress and that Belle Vue was a shithole that was forever going to be the millstone around our neck. It was our shithole though and I don't half miss the old place. It really lost something for me when we moved.

What always puzzled me though was that it was often spoken about as one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in English football. Prime development land next to the Racecourse on one of the busiest roads into town. And it ends up as a bloody housing estate!

Yep, I heard Walmart was desperate to buy it so as to extend Asda, but now't came of it.

I remember a hotel complex being mentioned at one point.

B&Q was the golden goose. It's mentioned in the Moriarty trial transcript in which Phelan covers himself in glory.

Always makes me chuckle a bit when the inference is bricks and mortar can be intimidating, rather than the people in the stadium.

When the KM is near full, we don't tend to appreciate the noise generated. When you think back to the JPT semi v Crewe, the Play off semi v Southend, the clashes with Leeds, Rotherham, Sheff Utd, Sheff Wednsday, Barnsley and Newcastle etc, those atmospheres and volume were far better than at Belle Vue, particularly post 70s. Some might say the most noise was generated by the away fans but the stadium doesn't know who's home or away!!

[Filo]

The old guy who always went to the tunnel at ht and ft to shout at the ref, his false teeth shot out one game

[danumdon]

No idea who he was or even what he looked like, but still makes me smile now. Every time the opposition committed a foul a voice from behind me would shout "ref stick him in your jotter"

Used to always stand in the same place in the pop stand, listening to all the old lags each week coming out with some proper beauties always made me chuckle.

[phil old leake]

The little cafe/cabin at the top of the terrace that sold piping hot bovril that was too hot to handle and burnt your hand when it spilt

[Bentley Bullet]

Camaraderie.

Was he the Italian boy?

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Camaraderie.

Was he the Italian boy?

No, I think he must be on about Danny!

[danumdon]

Watching some poor bugger getting t**tted as great chunks of the main stand fell on his head.

[Lincoln Rover]

As a kid being lifted over the turnstile by my dad. Up the creaky old steep steps for the main stand. Seeing those floodlights for the first time & that immaculate playing surface. York City 7 th March 1969 won 2/1. The love affair began.

[Silkscarf]

I miss having a proper bus service outside the ground. Sometimes I could leg it straight from the main stand terrace after a match and straight on to a bus into town. With luck the driver would set off before the rest of the hordes arrived and I'd be in town within 5 minutes of the final whistle.

I miss the ground being part of the town rather than stuck out on a retail park that everyone has to drive to but where parking is made difficult.

But mainly I just miss it like I miss other buildings (or people) that were part of my heritage which have vanished. They were far from perfect but I just want to be able to go back and see them again but I can't.

[glosterred]

Absolutely nothing at all. It was a shit hole at the end, but it was our shithole, but I still don’t miss it.


COYR

[welloffside]

My first game would have been late 1960s.

It was a boxing day match. I was with me Mam and Dad at her parents in Ardeen Road. I suppose I was running around the house when she said " take him out for Gods sake"

My Dad took me to Belle Vue, why I've no idea, he wasn't into football at all.  I remember it surprisingly well. I recall shouting, words I'd heard but wasn't quite sure what they meant. I remember my Dad stiffening if something was said he felt was out of order (he always did that, right up to my 20s)

I think DR played in the white shirts with two red hoop bands.   I was in love. I remember walking back towards The Intake, I was so excited. I remember telling them at home (and demonstrating!)  how various goals were scored.

I still do that now when I'm pissed.                Aaah   memories

[scawsby steve]

Archie from Goldthorpe, "oomchiwawa". Always had a band of hillbillies with him.

I've heard he's sadly passed away now.

[DRFCSouth]

The car park like riding a roller coaster.

Outside khazi's at the Town end/Main stand end.

Walking the dog s**t gauntlet round the back of the town end to get to the pop side.

The smell of cheap burgers, farts & cigars in a cramped pop side.

Absolutely freezing my balls off watching any winter game.

[ravenrover]

Archie from Goldthorpe, "oomchiwawa". Always had a band of hillbillies with him.

I've heard he's sadly passed away now.

I was one of those hillbillies SS
Swayo, Cockney Cotton, Winston, the "Lovely" Sue great memories
Stood in the Popside until we knew which way we were kicking and went to the oppo's end before changing round at half time