| The Cobbold 07:21 - Jan 28 with 4030 views | jasondozzell |
As usual walked past the Cobbold on my way to the train for mid week commute and fornl the first time had a really strong feeling of not wanting it to go.
I know it has to for the development of the ground. But it's such a beautiful stand and so iconic. Love the white pillars and joists.
When it's gone it'll be another move towards the ground becoming modern in that non-descript style.
Ashton has talked about being sympathetic to the history. Hope that's the case. His desire to paint everything black and make it look like an Audi showroom doesn't always fill me with confidence but...
And what has he done with the white lettering of ITFC on the outside of the Cobbold? He talked about that being the first thing he and his wife saw when arriving here and how she insisted he had to keep it. It's what inspired the font we have used for a while now.
Hoping that original returns somehow on the new stand...
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| The Cobbold on 07:36 - Jan 28 with 3115 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
Think that’s somewhat harsh on Ashton, the ground looks stunning now. Walking out of the station with the floodlights on and SAR lit up blue really gets the adrenaline going. Contrast the mould covered, shabby state Evan’s left it in. It’s still going to be a distinctive ground rather than some Lego style out of town bowl.
As a younger fan the sense of nostalgia isn’t there and it’s not fit for purpose unless you are under 5ft and like sitting behind a pole. Onwards and upwards. |  | | |
| The Cobbold on 07:47 - Jan 28 with 3027 views | jasondozzell |
| The Cobbold on 07:36 - Jan 28 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Think that’s somewhat harsh on Ashton, the ground looks stunning now. Walking out of the station with the floodlights on and SAR lit up blue really gets the adrenaline going. Contrast the mould covered, shabby state Evan’s left it in. It’s still going to be a distinctive ground rather than some Lego style out of town bowl.
As a younger fan the sense of nostalgia isn’t there and it’s not fit for purpose unless you are under 5ft and like sitting behind a pole. Onwards and upwards. |
You're right, I am being a tad harsh. They've done a super job of tidying up PR and making it look good.
It's just that I suspect Ashton and I wouldn't agree on soft furnishings if we were house sharing...😁
Progress stops for no one. But it's a genuinely beautiful stand. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:03 - Jan 28 with 2874 views | Herbivore |
The Cobbold was where I spent my childhood as a Town fan so I'll always have a soft spot for it, and to an extent it is Portman Road in my eyes. But it is looking very old and tired and is no longer really fit for purpose so it does need to be redeveloped. I'd love to see some nods to the old stand in any redevelopment if possible. |  |
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| The Cobbold on 08:08 - Jan 28 with 2812 views | Deano69 |
It is from the outside I guess, but practically speaking, inside is not a great experience. Cramped seating, cramped concourse, dated facilities, the hospitality boxes are not to everyone’s liking. The addition of the glass screening hasn’t improved the view of the first 2 or 3 rows either.
I am very nostalgic for this brilliant club, hugely pleased with the way things are going and ordinarily prefer things that aren’t broken left alone. But would welcome a sympathetic refresh of that stand (as a season ticket holder in it) |  |
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| The Cobbold on 08:11 - Jan 28 with 2802 views | WestStanderLaLaLa |
Mr unobservant here. We’ve taken down the “Ipswich Town Football Club” on the Cobbold? When did that happen. |  |
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| The Cobbold on 08:12 - Jan 28 with 2783 views | jasondozzell |
| The Cobbold on 08:11 - Jan 28 by WestStanderLaLaLa |
Mr unobservant here. We’ve taken down the “Ipswich Town Football Club” on the Cobbold? When did that happen. |
A while ago. Think it was when they were respraying the black. To be fair I had forgotten about it until looking this morning. (This is the exterior in talking about, not the lettering inside the ground on the cobbold which is even more iconic.)
Ashton made a big thing about the lettering so hopefully it is stored somewhere. [Post edited 28 Jan 8:14]
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| The Cobbold on 08:18 - Jan 28 with 2723 views | Deano69 |
| The Cobbold on 08:12 - Jan 28 by jasondozzell |
A while ago. Think it was when they were respraying the black. To be fair I had forgotten about it until looking this morning. (This is the exterior in talking about, not the lettering inside the ground on the cobbold which is even more iconic.)
Ashton made a big thing about the lettering so hopefully it is stored somewhere. [Post edited 28 Jan 8:14]
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The club are quite aware of the potential impact of changing the iconic font on the cobbold.
They have got most things right around the ground and external facilities, I’m sure they will do the right thing. | |
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| The Cobbold on 08:22 - Jan 28 with 2672 views | SitfcB |
| The Cobbold on 08:11 - Jan 28 by WestStanderLaLaLa |
Mr unobservant here. We’ve taken down the “Ipswich Town Football Club” on the Cobbold? When did that happen. |
Been gone for a while, I imagine it’s in storage waiting to be put back up once the new stand is up? |  |
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| The Cobbold on 08:23 - Jan 28 with 2645 views | WestStanderLaLaLa |
| The Cobbold on 08:12 - Jan 28 by jasondozzell |
A while ago. Think it was when they were respraying the black. To be fair I had forgotten about it until looking this morning. (This is the exterior in talking about, not the lettering inside the ground on the cobbold which is even more iconic.)
Ashton made a big thing about the lettering so hopefully it is stored somewhere. [Post edited 28 Jan 8:14]
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Is Cobbold Stand still on the side? | |
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| The Cobbold on 08:31 - Jan 28 with 2588 views | StochesStotasBlewe |
I remember (vaguely) the Cobbold Stand being constructed. The old chicken run was its predecessor and was still in use when I started attending Portman Road so that would make the original structure before each end was extended 55 years old. At the time, it seemed absolutely huge to a young fan. I also hope that the future plans will take into account the aesthetics of the current structure but it’s clearly not fit for purpose and although I’ve not sat in there for several years, have it good authority from those who do that it’s quite cramped and looking tired now.
Good memories of sitting in there and especially the Osborne having Cruyff in his back pocket against Barcelona.
Time moves on and I’m sure the new plans for redevelopment will wow the supporters. |  |
| We have no village green, or a shop.
It's very, very quiet.
I can walk to the pub. |
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| The Cobbold on 08:33 - Jan 28 with 2548 views | Deano69 |
| The Cobbold on 08:31 - Jan 28 by StochesStotasBlewe |
I remember (vaguely) the Cobbold Stand being constructed. The old chicken run was its predecessor and was still in use when I started attending Portman Road so that would make the original structure before each end was extended 55 years old. At the time, it seemed absolutely huge to a young fan. I also hope that the future plans will take into account the aesthetics of the current structure but it’s clearly not fit for purpose and although I’ve not sat in there for several years, have it good authority from those who do that it’s quite cramped and looking tired now.
Good memories of sitting in there and especially the Osborne having Cruyff in his back pocket against Barcelona.
Time moves on and I’m sure the new plans for redevelopment will wow the supporters. |
Didn’t the old stand end up at the speedway stadium? | |
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| The Cobbold on 08:36 - Jan 28 with 2528 views | StochesStotasBlewe |
| The Cobbold on 08:33 - Jan 28 by Deano69 |
Didn’t the old stand end up at the speedway stadium? |
It did. I believe a storm caused it considerable damage and it was taken down, but I can’t be 100% sure. | |
| We have no village green, or a shop.
It's very, very quiet.
I can walk to the pub. |
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| The Cobbold on 08:39 - Jan 28 with 2490 views | jasondozzell |
| The Cobbold on 08:23 - Jan 28 by WestStanderLaLaLa |
Is Cobbold Stand still on the side? |
Yes pretty sure it is. Love that too! | | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:41 - Jan 28 with 2476 views | jasondozzell |
| The Cobbold on 08:31 - Jan 28 by StochesStotasBlewe |
I remember (vaguely) the Cobbold Stand being constructed. The old chicken run was its predecessor and was still in use when I started attending Portman Road so that would make the original structure before each end was extended 55 years old. At the time, it seemed absolutely huge to a young fan. I also hope that the future plans will take into account the aesthetics of the current structure but it’s clearly not fit for purpose and although I’ve not sat in there for several years, have it good authority from those who do that it’s quite cramped and looking tired now.
Good memories of sitting in there and especially the Osborne having Cruyff in his back pocket against Barcelona.
Time moves on and I’m sure the new plans for redevelopment will wow the supporters. |
Brilliant stuff.
Hopefully it will be both modern and with sympathetic nods to the history of the stand as you say. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:44 - Jan 28 with 2420 views | BluePG |
I watched my first game against QPR in 85/86 from the Portman Stand, and have a season ticket in Block B now. Hugely fond of the stand and its memories….however it is really poor inside now. A couple of weeks ago, the ladies toilets were blocked in the upper tier, and there was pretty much nowhere else for females to go. We sit in Row N, and it takes an eternity to get out post-match also.
I’m quite sure that Ashton et al will be sympathetic to the club’s history if/when a new stand is built, although I wish they’d get a move on! | |
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| The Cobbold on 08:45 - Jan 28 with 2397 views | Churchman |
| The Cobbold on 08:03 - Jan 28 by Herbivore |
The Cobbold was where I spent my childhood as a Town fan so I'll always have a soft spot for it, and to an extent it is Portman Road in my eyes. But it is looking very old and tired and is no longer really fit for purpose so it does need to be redeveloped. I'd love to see some nods to the old stand in any redevelopment if possible. |
Interesting how we see things. My early visits to Portman Road - I can remember the old Chicken Run stand. It was the first bit of the ground I saw, along with North Stand and it looked massive! First game was the old West Stand and it looked more massive! Well, until I went to Wembley that year.
The Portman Stand to give it’s correct title looked so modern when it was built. Bit short at each end, but the extensions completed by 1975 took care of that. Smart, stylish, modern. A real sign of the club growing and of its success to come in that decade.
Now? While inside the ground it’s still attractive to look at, it’s not to be in. Dingy, tight corridors and stairwells, seats for midgets, restricted views at the back, poor facilities and no space under it to do very much. For me, while the wrap images outside cover a multitude of sins, they remind me of covering up rusty panels on old vans and signal that the stand, beloved for 54 years, really is at the end of its life.
Trust me, it’s a lot better than the Selhurst Park main stands but in 2026 we could do with better. The lettering? Ithink Ashton in one of his early interviews said that’d be kept, or at least I presume the font. I hope so.
If it’s replaced, I hope the new one is ‘in scale’ with the rest of the ground and the West Stand is re-roofed (it needs it) to match it in whatever upgrade they give it. The new stand at Palace and indeed Fulham’s will make/make those grounds look lopsided. |  | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:47 - Jan 28 with 2380 views | Churchman |
| The Cobbold on 08:33 - Jan 28 by Deano69 |
Didn’t the old stand end up at the speedway stadium? |
Yes it did go to the Foxhall Stadium. It was finally destroyed by the 1987 hurricane. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:48 - Jan 28 with 2371 views | OldFart71 |
I met Sir Bobby for the first match when the Cobbold opened I was at PR in the morning standing where the players tunnel is now. It was of course all open then with the practice pitch behind. If my memory serves me correct it was season 70-71l
Oh course we all have some love for the old stand, just as possibly those did that sat in the chicken run. the wooden structure that was the Cobbold predecessor.
But we move on, just like myself who used to stand half way up the North Stand behind the goal.
It will of course be a balancing act between making sure what we have on the pitch is equal to the other facilities at PR.
Not that in any way are we in the same position as when Churchman's and the North were redeveloped and after a sixth place finish we were relegated and went into administration. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 08:55 - Jan 28 with 2303 views | Churchman |
| The Cobbold on 08:48 - Jan 28 by OldFart71 |
I met Sir Bobby for the first match when the Cobbold opened I was at PR in the morning standing where the players tunnel is now. It was of course all open then with the practice pitch behind. If my memory serves me correct it was season 70-71l
Oh course we all have some love for the old stand, just as possibly those did that sat in the chicken run. the wooden structure that was the Cobbold predecessor.
But we move on, just like myself who used to stand half way up the North Stand behind the goal.
It will of course be a balancing act between making sure what we have on the pitch is equal to the other facilities at PR.
Not that in any way are we in the same position as when Churchman's and the North were redeveloped and after a sixth place finish we were relegated and went into administration. |
I think it was open for 1971/72, being built during that summer. Quite an achievement really. It was essentially prefabricated off site.
The West Stand was opened in 1957 and the 1982 expansion basically over-sailed the original stand. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 09:01 - Jan 28 with 2238 views | Pinewoodblue |
To my mind there is one memory we all share, irrespective of how long ago or which stand.
Seeing the pitch for the first time and soaking up the atmosphere. |  |
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| The Cobbold on 09:21 - Jan 28 with 2056 views | AndrewRatcliffITFC |
What I love about the Cobbold is the sky lights at the back with the girders, when you see it on telly you immediately know it's Portman Rd, I hope they can make a nod to that when they design the new stand. | | | |
| The Cobbold on 09:42 - Jan 28 with 1917 views | LA_Tractor_Boy |
What happened to the SAR suite that I think was used by 'D' block ticket holders?
Is this now a general bar used by supporters in the upper tier, or is it part of Hall of Fame hospitality? | | | |
| The Cobbold on 09:49 - Jan 28 with 1869 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| The Cobbold on 08:22 - Jan 28 by SitfcB |
Been gone for a while, I imagine it’s in storage waiting to be put back up once the new stand is up? |
That was my thought when I noticed the letters were missing some time ago, did think to myself "I wonder if the new Cobbold is further along than we think"
But then I also thought to myself, I wonder if they have them down to try and replicate the font and replace the letters with new ones. [Post edited 28 Jan 9:59]
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| The Cobbold on 09:54 - Jan 28 with 1852 views | Ftnfwest |
It's a classic design which the addition on the west stand tried to mirror but never quite achieved. I think it was in one of the Simon Inglis books on football grounds that suggested pre executive boxes going in that the stands capacity was higher than Tottenham's west stand built around 1981, which cost them an absolute fortune. |  | | |
| The Cobbold on 09:58 - Jan 28 with 1818 views | hoppy |
| The Cobbold on 08:23 - Jan 28 by WestStanderLaLaLa |
Is Cobbold Stand still on the side? |
Yes, I think it would be quite difficult to move it behind either of the goals, to be honest. |  |
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