Visiting Loftus Road

[salange]

I'm going to be in London on my own next weekend and I just realized there is a QPR game Friday night (Stoke City, 7:45). A few tickets seem to be available on-line, albeit buried in the corners.

As I've never been to a game outside the US, I'd love any advice anyone can offer. Should I grab a ticket now or try to wing it once I get there? Any particular seats not good for some reason? What's the atmosphere like for QPR? Anything in particular I should know about this game/opponent?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.

[nyrmetros]

Make sure you wear your USMNT or Silverbacks jersey and scarf.

[salange]

Well the plan was to wear my US gear to the Fulham game to see McBride and Boca Saturday, but somehow they managed to switch the game to Sunday when I wasn't paying attention and so now I'm going to be in Rome when they are playing. I'm trying to salvage some soccer on my trip by making the QPR game, even though the game I built the trip around I'm going to miss.

[cappuccino_kid]

I'm going to be in London on my own next weekend and I just realized there is a QPR game Friday night (Stoke City, 7:45). A few tickets seem to be available on-line, albeit buried in the corners.

As I've never been to a game outside the US, I'd love any advice anyone can offer. Should I grab a ticket now or try to wing it once I get there? Any particular seats not good for some reason? What's the atmosphere like for QPR? Anything in particular I should know about this game/opponent?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.

I went to see Bocanegra and McBride play there last year before Fulham moved back to the Cottage.

The place seats only about 13,000 folks(?) so regardless of where you are you're pretty close to the field. If you get the corner seats they can be somewhat obscured by pillars by it's not too bad. I can't tell you what the atmosphere will be like, obviously (Fulham fans not QPR fans). It was nice to see first hand how the fans sing and chant and abuse the opponents instead of that annoying MLS horn thing. Ek.

As it is just about everywhere in the world, scalpers will be happy to sell you tickets.

Hope you have a great time.

[art]

I'm going to be in London on my own next weekend and I just realized there is a QPR game Friday night (Stoke City, 7:45). A few tickets seem to be available on-line, albeit buried in the corners.

As I've never been to a game outside the US, I'd love any advice anyone can offer. Should I grab a ticket now or try to wing it once I get there? Any particular seats not good for some reason? What's the atmosphere like for QPR? Anything in particular I should know about this game/opponent?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.

If you dont know someone or whatnot, you should definately try to get a ticket before you go, Loftus this season has been packed to the rafters more often than not (Loftus actually seats a little under 20,000, roughly the same size as Craven Cottage). If the only tickets available are up in the corners you may end up with a crappy seat, there are some very odd seats in Loftus Road that dont even face the field. Someone who's been there more recently than I can maybe give you better advice, I havent been there in over 2 years now.

Having said that, Loftus is, IMO, one of the stadiums with the most character in all of England, there is absolutely no where like it, and the atmosphere at QPR games this season has been phenomenal.

As for Stoke City, the city of Stoke is a total shithole and the club's supporters reflect that. They're notoriously some of the least well behaved supporters in England, and there's a bit of a recent history of trouble at Stoke-QPR games. QPR, from what ive heard and read, seems to be attracting a bit of a seedy element of "supporters" now that they're back in the Championship so I wouldnt be utterly surprised if something happened, especially as neither team has been playing well lately so there might be some frustration pouring out of someone. If something does happen it shouldnt be a big deal....thrown stuff, spitting, verbal abuse, maybe a little punch up here and there....you know, the usual. :D

Having said that just make sure you dont wear anything that has Stoke colors, and dont do anything stupid, and I cant imagine there would be any trouble for you. I can't imagine anyone would care if you wore a US shirt, they probably wouldnt even know wha it was....I dont know what Atlanta's shirts look like but Stoke wears red and white striped shirts and this year's change strips (not sure what they'll be wearing) are mostly white with black fringes. So dont wear anything like that.

Otherwise have fun! be sure to check out some of the local "flora and fauna", my fave is the Bush Ranger.

[salange]

Any difference between tickets on the Ellerslie Road (south) side as opposed to the South Africa Road (north) side?

[TNJOHN]

Any difference between tickets on the Ellerslie Road (south) side as opposed to the South Africa Road (north) side?

My wife and I went on our honeymoon to London the week before Labor Day. We attended the QPR vs Sheffield United game at Loftus Road and sat in the South Africa Road side. We purchased our tickets from the QPR site and got tickets in the upper right(facing field) of S A Road. The seats were narrow, touching my knees, forcing both of us to kinda sit sideways a bit. They don't sell alcohol there but allow smoking (backwards from us!). It was early in the season but the environment was electric. Now that QPR has made a name for themselves in this promotion to the Champions League the attendance has gone up and I am sure it will be awesome and the availibility of getting tickets gameday will be harder. They don't sell out every game..depends on who they are playing and what night. You can email them and ask them about specific seats and their view after looking at what's available online. The bathrooms for men are the long tub looking urinals that offer no privacy. Great fan shop.

[Atouk]

Of note regarding tickets, the box office has more tickets available than those listed online. For some reason, it seems the box office and online system aren't tied into one another, so if you don't like the tickets online, I'd recommend giving them a call.

Also, I'd recommend getting your tickets in advance (or, at least purchasing them in advance even if you have to pick them up on the day). A good number of the games this season have been "all ticket" with no ticket sales on matchday.

Here are three old threads from this board that detail various aspects of going to a QPR match (how to get there, what pubs to go to, etc.). Hope they help. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to help.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24467
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38340
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131167

[K.P.]

Although I'm sure the threads Atouk pointed you to are fairly complete (although I haven't read them all), you may also want to check out this football ground guide website as well. It has some pictures and gives you a sense of what to expect.

http://www.footballgroundguide.co.uk/

[salange]

I just called the box office and got a ticket in section C (lower section near midfield) of the South Africa Road side. This for the same price as on-line which would have put me in the upper section in one of the far corners.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be printing your suggestions out and taking them with me. If anyone reading this is at the game and sees a tall, vaugely clueless looking American wandering around, say hi. Thanks again!

[salange]

Well, thank you everyone for your help, but as it turns out I didn't get to make use of it. A plane rolled off the runway at Hartsfield when I was leaving Thursday, meaning I missed the flight to London, meaning I didn't get here till Saturday, meaning I missed the game. I did get to see Fulham on Sunday and again tonight, but I regret not getting to go to Loftus Road. Maybe next time.

Thanks again for all the help.