Salford Community Stadium - In Pictures

I LIKE stadiums.

Whenever I go anywhere on holiday, or for a city break, I seek them out. 

'The council and its joint venture partners Peel Group won't confirm the Sale Sharks move, but half the seats in the stadium are blue, so you work it out.'

I've been to the Bernabau, the Nou Camp, the Mestalla, the Amsterdam Arena, the Parc du Prince, and whatever the name of the Hungarian national stadium is.

I've been to Rome's Olympic Stadium as well as the homes of Legia Warsaw and Wisla Krakow.

And I once accidentally broke into Siena's stadium in Italy, but that's another story.

Now, Salford has a new stadium. It's called the Salford Community Stadium, and although it's primarily for the use of Salford City Reds Rugby League Club, it will (probably) also be home to Sale Sharks.

The council and its joint venture partners Peel Group won't confirm the Sale Sharks move, but half the seats in the stadium are blue, so you work it out.

And so were my hands when I had a poke around the place last week. It was freezing.

The banqueting hall

But the stadium itself is nice looking although it looks odd to see cars whizzing across the top of one of the stands, as its apex sits at the same level as the nearby M60.

There's a large banqueting floor in the main stand, which will hold its first official do on January 5, the day before the stadium's 'proper' opening. The first game takes place a week later.

The access road off the A57 was still being finished as I drove up, but apart from a few last minute tweaks (the press room looked like a tip, but still tidier than most - one wag suggested they could just leave it as is) it's pretty much there.

The concourse

The plans for a footbridge over the motorway still stand, although work hasn't started yet.

There are community pitches tacked on to one end of the ground too, for football primarily.

Anyway, here are the pictures and a little bit of video, for a flavour.

If you want the full experience, I can come round your house and throw buckets of freezing cold water at you if you like.

Or maybe not.