No.1 - Sat. 11th August 2007; Football League Division 2                                     3.00pm at the stadium:mk, Stadium Way West, Milton Keynes, Bucks (Att: 7740; Admn: £15; Prog: 84pp, £2.50)

View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 MK Dons (1) 1 Bury (0) 2 Ten-man Dons bury-ed by Bishop! 'The Beginning of a New era'  is printed on the front cover of the matchday programme. After some four years playing at the National Hockey Stadium, the club has finally moved into a purpose-built stadium on the outskirts of  Milton Keynes. And what an impressive arena this is!  Built at a cost of around £50m, the all-seater stadium boasts a present capacity of 22,000. Designed by HOK, architects responsible for the Emirates & Wembley stadiums, it has a similar bowl design.   The ground has a modern appearance from the outside. There is plenty of silver-coloured cladding, a large amount of glass and a clear roof which allows light to easily reach the playing surface below. A spacious concourse inside separates the seated lower tier from the currently empty upper one above it. Despite this unfinished look the capacity will rise to 30,000 when these extra seats are added!   Spectators are well catered for here: there is easy access to the ground courtesy of electronic turnstiles which read the bar code on your ticket; comfy padded seats with ample leg room and a terrific unobstructed view of the game from every angle. The images will hopefully convey this.   The infamous concrete cows of Milton Keynes make their mark too. The Club have a mascot called Mooie; the South Stand is called the 'cowshed' and the locals have apparently christened the new stadium 'The MooCamp!'   For the record it was Bury substitute Andy Bishop who brought his side back into the match with a second-half double. After a cagey opening period an absolute cracker from Keith Andrews (26) saw the first ever competitive goal at the stadium:mk. His shot fired in low from the edge of the box was unstoppable. But within minutes of the second half starting it was the blonde locked Bishop who nipped in behind defender Dean Lewington to poke the ball past the stranded keeper (47). The pacey front-runner scored his second (50) from the penalty spot after being brought down in the box following a clumsy challenge. This sent the sizeable group of away fans who had made the journey from Manchester into raptures. With no further goals it was Paul Ince’s ten man team who finished the game feeling frustrated on the opening day of the new Football League campaign. The attendance was 7740 had witnessed a poor game played on what turned out to be a beautiful hot summer afternoon.   A commemorative 84-page glossy programme was issued for the game. Packed with news, stats and colour photos the magazine cost £2.50. The many retail outlets around the ground provided the usual refreshments but pices were rather OTT for the usual bland fare on offer!   The stadium is situated at Denbigh North, just off the A5, south of Central Milton Keynes and just north of Bletchley. It is adjacent to a Retail Park with ASDA and IKEA, so you can expect some traffic congestion. Travellers familiar with MK’s grid road system should find the ground on V6 Grafton Street at junction with H9 Groveway. There is plenty of parking on site and it is very close to the main entrance. After the game we managed to avoid the expected long queues and completed our journey back home to Newmarket in just over an hour! A great day out and a visit to this terrific venue comes highly recommended.   And finally. FGIF Rating: 5*. A great day out. Despite a poor game the new stadium lived up to all expectations! Travellers intending to make a visit may be interested to note that the club is due to play Lincoln City here on Sunday 14 Ocober kick-off 1.30pm.    Website / Map

edited on 17/08/07