Hi, I'm a Scunthorpe United fan currently living and working in London. When I lived up north I went to most home games and a few away games. So, to make up for all the games I missing I started to go a new ground every weekend.
The aim of this blog is to show people different grounds in and around London. Also, as I can't drive the blog will tell people how easy it is to get to grounds using public transport.
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
Holiday Flashback - Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake City
Outside of Providence Park
Last Autumn I travelled to the Northwest United States and Canada with view of seeing some football and a lot of music. It was an area that has always appeared for being a different part of America to the bits I had visited previously as well having some stunning scenery. I knew Portland and Seattle loved their soccer and so the two teams were a big draw. Going into the last round of matches of the regular season, Portland required a home win to secure a play off berth and they had a decent chance of doing so against Real Salt Lake City and they would of course reach the final losing to Atlanta United at The Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Kick off at Providence Park. The stand on the left has finished it's redevelopment
Although Portland won the match three nil, Real Salt Lake City certainly had their chances and a mixture of wayward finishing and decent shot stopping at one nil set the platform. I was very impressed with my first experience of MLS - a ground walkable from the centre, free programme, being able to drink in the stand, a fantastic atmosphere and some decent football - were a great mix.
Packed stand behind the goal
When I flew to Portland I had to first fly from Heathrow to Seattle and change there for the quick connecting flight. If you like craft beer then Portland is the place to be. There were some world class bars and breweries my favourites being Bailey's Tap Room, Mt Hood Brewing (mainly as part of the bar is in a train carriage) and Rogue Brewery Eastside. There are a lot of art galleries and there is no end of street food to try. If you have time it is worth going on a day trip to see the waterfalls As I said early, it doesn't take long to walk to the ground from the centre and near the ground is The Kells Brew Pub which had a great selection of beers (as everywhere in Portland did) and if want a sports bar then Kingston Sports Bar is next to the ground. In the ground there is a great choice of food and you get either draft beer (not Carling standard stuff like here) or cans. A really great start to the trip.
Programmes can be grabbed for free at the turnstile
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