Portman Road – Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town Club Contact Info
Official Website: www.itfc.co.uk
Address: Ipswich Town Football Club, Portman Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DA
Telephone No: 01473 400 500
Ticket Office No: 03330 05 05 03 or mainticketoffice@itfc.co.uk

General Info
Portman Road has been the home of Ipswich Town since 1884 and it is a structure which still maintains most of its old charm. It underwent considerable redevelopment in the early part of the millennium and increased capacity from 22,000 to 30,000, beating rivals Norwich as the biggest stadium in East Anglia.

The Tractor Boys, as they are now affectionately known, played their earliest games at Broomhill Park but moved to Portman Road in 1884 when the ground was also used as a cricket venue. The East Suffolk Cricket Club had played on the site since 1855.

Portman Road

Following the death of club hero and former manager Bobby Robson in 2009, the club announced that the North Stand would be renamed as the Sir Bobby Robson Stand. Fittingly, the unveiling took place at half-time during a game against the club with which Sir Bobby is synonymous – Newcastle United.

Undersoil heating is an expense that Ipswich Town have wrestled with for a long time, so far it seems that the scheme has seemed too cost prohibitive. The pitch is all natural grass and the playing area measures a standard-to-short 102 metres by a wider than normal 75 metres.

Capacity
Currently just over 30,300 people can occupy Portman Road for home league fixtures.

Stands
Portman Road’s makeup is, clockwise from the north; the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, the Cobbold Stand, the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the East of England Co-Operative Stand. As an old-style stadium, the corners are not filled in at Portman Road though the atmosphere and the noise do not suffer.

Away Fans At Portman Road
Opposition supporters visiting Portman Road are housed in the Cobbold Stand, an old structure which runs the length of the field on the eastern side. Away fans tend to be on the second tier of the stand with an allocation of 1,900.

The main gripe or away fans surrounds the fact that, as an ageing stand, the structure was clearly nor meant for seating in most places and thus it tends to be cramped and uncomfortable. The noise however which is generated makes for a good atmosphere and the amenities by all accounts are decent.

Ticket Prices
Rather than categorising matches as other clubs do, Ipswich keep the same pricing structure for home fans in all Championship games at Portman Road.

Adult single prices for the lower tiers are £25, goal end upper tiers and side stand wings are £30, side stand central tickets are £35 and premium seating is £40, £43 and £52. Concessions are offered for over-65’s, under-23’s and under-19’s as well as special pricing for the disabled.

Hospitality
Ipswich Town offer a range of hospitality options at Portman Road easily seasonally or on a match-by match basis. Guests are welcomed into Robson Hospitality, Premier Hospitality, Suites, Cobbold Boxes or the 1878 Club.

Prices are by enquiry only though the club has a dedicated sales and hospitality team who will reply quickly and discuss options with you.

How To Get To Portman Road
Very handily situated right in the middle of Ipswich, Portman Road is only a 5-minute walk from the town centre and the main railway station.

Buses serve the area too, while driving could not be simpler; follow directions to Ipswich Town Centre from any direction and as directed above, any car park will be a very short walk from Portman Road.

Future Developments
Partly due to the club’s extended stay outside of the Premier League, Ipswich Town currently have no immediate plans to redevelop, extend or massively modernise Portman Road.