Away from home the colours vary although lime green and purple is a popular choice amongst supporters. Following the successful introduction of cashless outlets at the stadium towards the end of the 2019/20 season, we will be further extending the operation and going cashless across the stadium. These games would last for hours until we were called in for tea and would only stop to pause when the shout of ‘car’ went up. Although this was a rarity. The ages of the players would range from me at age 6 up to Steve and Andrew who would have been 11. No one supported Rovers. This was south Bristol after all and so it was all about City. I knew from the older boys of the existence of a team called Rovers but they were the enemy I was told. I thought about the name too. Bristol City. Well, Bristol was a City and was where I was from. It sounded from the name that they represented our West-Country home. Rovers sounded like some kind of travelling band or a dog. Little did I know that they would soon be leaving Bristol for Bath. Also, City played in red and it was my favourite colour. Rovers played in blue and that was a colour I never warmed to. Liverpool was the best team in the land and they played in red. It could only have been City for me. Fans will still be able to bring smaller handbags into the stadium, although these will be subject to the usual search process.

My first memories of interest in City started on my street. In the mid-eighties, there were loads of kids there and everyone loved football. This was in the early days of computers and games consoles hadn’t really arrived from Japan yet. We were the last generation where being outside and playing football was the ultimate. There weren’t as many cars on the road as today and so it was easy to play the game on the street using a wall and gate and fence posts as the goals.If you see or hear any racist, homophobic or any other abuse around the stadium, please report it to our text line: 07770 736 047 In that promotion year, Bristol Rovers were beaten in the FA Cup at Eastville. A rare occasion where City was the underdog. At 1-0 down Cooper brought himself on and dragged his young side to a 2-1 victory. In 1986 City reached Wembley for the first time in the final of the Freight Rover Trophy. Bolton was beaten 3-0 and Cooper cried tears of joy remarking that he had played for England but this was the best day of his footballing life. This coming from a man who had also experienced titles with Don Revie’s legendary Leeds United. It was clear how huge a job he had done. He had taken over a club on its knees, got them challenging for promotion from the Third Division and led them to a Wembley trophy. He had also joined the board as a director remarking that financial prudence was paramount. He was not going to be the man to bankrupt Bristol City and it was so important that future generations had a club that was still playing at Ashton Gate.

The Bristol Sport Store at Ashton Gate Stadium will be open from 1pm-10:30pm, with access to fitting rooms. Bristol City was lying in the play-off positions in the old Third Division in the spring of 87. I had no idea at the time but just seven years previously they were in the First Division. I had always assumed we were just a lower division club and no more. Watching Liverpool win the double the previous season and clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal seemed light-years away. When City was relegated in 1980 it was a huge fall from grace. Legendary Scottish striker Joe Jordan was leading the line for City in my first match and Cooper had brought him to the club intending him to be his successor. After City had missed out on the play-offs several times, Cooper stepped aside in 1988, recommending Joe finally take over. It’s not an understatement to say that Terry Cooper played a huge part in the club’s rebirth and revival. It was such a pity that he couldn’t take that final step to the Second Division which is par for a club like us but he still played a part as it was Joe who finally managed it with a promotion in 89-90. With our Junior Reds in mind, the Family Area is the perfect way to experience game day at Ashton Gate.Make the most of your matchday by visiting the new-look Family Area on Level 4 in the Upper Lansdown Stand.