To not want to live next to a football stadium?

[Nataliaa]

We’ve found a house that in all ways is perfect for us. In terms of price, close to work, size, minimal work needed - we could happily live with the interior, as it is- so no rush to put our stamp on it. No renovations needed. However, it is very close to a football stadium. My DH is saying if I let that one negative sway my decision, we would be turning down our dream family home and as we have been house hunting for 6 months and have not come close to finding any house that ticks so many of our wants, we would regret not going for this one.
My DH says that whilst there may be some disruption on match days, it’s not going to be every single weekend, and therefore minimal.
Am I really being picky, or would this be an issue for others?? Would you happily live near a football stadium?

My DH is saying if I let that one negative sway my decision, we would be turning down our dream family home and as we have been house hunting for 6 months and have not come close to finding any house that ticks so many of our wants, we would regret not going for this one.

What's DH's reaction going to be if you really put your foot down? Could it go as far as affecting your marriage?

You sound like you're so against it that even if your worst fears don't happen you would always be on edge, and small incidents would cause you to react disproportionately.

Absolutely not a problem, don't let that sway you. You get used to the pattern of matches.

I grew up near a football stadium in Scotland and it was generally no issue except on match days when there were swarms of people and no parking for a few hours. Plenty people peeing and throwing up in the street but more to do with the pubs than the football. Only once in 20+ years was there an actual riot with police horses blocking the street.

When I was a child, we did live near a football stadium. There was noise from the stadium on match days - we could hear the roar of the crowd. Latterly, we also had the noise of stock car racing on a Sunday afternoon: that was a bit more annoying.

The only issue was that we'd get people parking in our street on match days.

I lived in Bristol and could hear the fans at the memorial stadium but was far enough away for the traffic to not be an issue.

My sibling lived opposite a stadium in a lower league, they moved.

I've spent all afternoon watching football but I wouldn't want to live near a stadium.

I used to live in the next street to a football stadium and to be honest the only real issue was getting parked outside our own home on matchdays. It was a pain in the neck but as has been said, if you have a driveway it shouldn't really be an issue. A bit noisy every other week maybe but I don't think the noise that comes from a football stadium is too bad - it's not like a stadium concert for example. Any disruption is only really for a couple of hours.

I am a football so maybe biased in that sense, but this wasn't my team's stadium so maybe balances out the bias.

Well how much more would your dream house (ie ticks all the same boxes AND is in a nice area) cost?

Could you buy this house and improve it then sell and move to the dream house? Or would the dream house still be unattainable?

I would only go for this house if you have a solid exit plan should you need it. The fact that it seems to be newly renovated yet is in your budget, suggests that the location has pulled the price down, because you haven’t found anything similar in 6 months.

It might be worth continuing to save for a year to buy a better house. Personally I can’t imagine living near or raising a family near a football stadium because there will be certain days of your life that are off limits to normal life, because of the noise/footfall/drunks etc. I could deal with that as a one off per year eg bonfire night or divali, but the entirely of the football season? F that

If it's the Bermondsey Art Studio that's for sale, I'd live with the stadium, as it's so unique you'd not find anywhere like it. 😍
However for a "normal" house I'd look elsewhere. In fact almost anywhere else in London than near The Den.

From Gov data: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-2023-to-2024-season/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-england-and-wales-2023-to-2024-season#summary-of-statistics

Millwall supporters had the third highest number of football banning orders in force (82) and for the third consecutive season they ranked in the top 5.

There 'catchy song/phrase' is 'no one likes us we don't care.. they are a vile club.

For about a year I lived opposite a large sports ground and round the corner was another. Both popular sports and teams. There was very little disruption, the pubs weren't in the road we lived in so no drunken revelry late into the night or trouble.

I live near a premier league ground and it’s fine. Maybe consider that your stereotypes are wrong.

Thank you, I’m not actually a Crystal Palace fan but I am very fond of them and was delighted with their win!

I think living near a school is the worst. The noise, bells, traffic and cheeky parking issues M-F, kids yelling during PE, etc. GRIM. 🤣

My grandparents lived close to a Premier League stadium. They made a fortune over the years on match days renting out their massive drive way as it could fit 6 cars. Also rented it out at events like concerts held there. Never had any issues at all and it sold straight away over the asking price when they passed.

My DP is a fan and has been going to matches there for years. I will ask him tomorrow what he thinks. If you want to pm me any specifics on property location that might help but even with what you’ve said he should be able to advise.

I grew up near a major football ground in North London .lots of cars on .match days.no issues as I remember. Dad was A spurs fan .that was the 60s however. My DS was at Cardiff Uni, rugby matched lots of noise ,and people throwing rubbish in gardens.
Maybe see if you can ask others on the street any issues?

Football has changed since the 80’s. On local derby days fans are usually kept apart and bussed in and out and if you cause trouble you are looking at a lifetime ban now so most genuine fans wouldn’t bother. I know loads of people banned from our local championship sides matches, it’s really not worth the hassle anymore.

We live very near a Premiership/championship team (they have been both in the last few years). In 15 years of living here it's been inconvenient from a travel point of view a handful of times, when going out coincided exactly with the end of the match. Football fans are a bit annoying in their belief that main roads are footpaths too as they wander straigt across, but that's about it. The stadium is used for concerts, but it's a limited number of times a year so it doesn't bother us over much. I think visiting on a match day is a must to see how the house is impacted and how the fans behave but living near a football ground has not impacted us anywhere near as much as I thought it would.

This. Man united makes all traffic in the area snarl up (plus its a dump nearby) whereas Sheffield Wednesday is in a nice area and you don't really notice the traffic plus the drinking doesn't spoil out to anti social behaviour. It depends on the team and the area. I remember the well kept terraces with beautiful window boxes near Anfield.

My neighbour takes his two young kids to Millwall games as it’s cheaper than our nearer PL club( Palace) . He says it’s quite family friendly these days.

We live very close to two premier stadiums. We have on the street parking and residents passes which is the major issue. If you have off street parking that would be part of the headache gone. (And you could make money from renting your driveway!)
The match days are very busy and if we time journeys wrong we are stuck in traffic for a considerable amount of time.
Have you been there on a match day? Bit late now if you haven't but could talk to neighbours? I have lived here 20 plus years and never had any issues from fans. The club also pay for street cleaning so no rubbish either. There tends to be police presence on match days so fan generally tend to behave in the residential streets, though my friend lives opposite anfield, and has recently had her car damaged in the recent celebrations! She does get free tickets occasionally though.
Our closest stadium is moving soon and I admit I am pleased, but it is parking that is the major issue. My neighbours use cones outside their houses which seems to work. If the house is perfect don't let it put you off.

When I read the title of this thread, my first reaction was well as long as it’s not Millwall.

I wouldn’t leave next to Millwall, no. Not so long ago (last year), I arrived at London Bridge station to find more police than I had ever seen at the station and sure enough Millwall was playing. No actual trouble apart from shouting, drunkenness etc but deeply, deeply unpleasant. The atmosphere was highly charged. This is not what you want on your street on a regular basis.

i also used to take the train with their fans around 1800 on a Wednesday. Used to be unpleasant but last time I saw them (a few months ago as I cycle now) I have to say it was better and one of them even offered me his seat.🤗

You should go and hang around on match day and also speak to neighbours and the owners of the house before you make an offer. Perhaps there is a residents association you could get in touch. Maybe ask in the nearby shops as well.

I’d imagine the police move people on pretty quickly, they wouldn’t let fans loiter and start fighting in the street. I’d be more concerned with not being able to leave the house in the car at certain points on a Saturday due to traffic. Maybe start supporting them too if you have DC, see what you think. If it was my dream home, I think i’d put up with it. My oldest DS supports a team in league 2 and wants to live on the same street as his stadium! Guess if you’re a fan, it’s a big plus!

I live a similar distance from a football ground. It's actually been fine, I can hear cheering when a goal is scored in my garden but actually that's quite nice. Road is tricky for parking on Saturday afternoons occasionally but other than that it's really been no bother at all.

I lived within a mile or so of Selhurst Park for years, and I hated it. For a few years, they ground shared with other clubs, so every Saturday was a match day during the season.

I didn't have off street parking, so if I went out in the car on a match day, I couldn't come back until well after the game had finished. Even friends with their own parking would often find they were blocked in or out of their drive. They lived so close to the ground that they could hear the noise of the crowd, even when they were indoors.

There would be hordes of noisy fans walking the streets before and after games. The local pubs would be no go areas on Saturdays, except for one that didn't allow football fans in. The traffic was dreadful.

One day I thought it had started raining. I looked out of the front window to see a fan pissing into my front garden. I vowed never to live near a football ground again.