Before Belle Vue got blown up!

January 2007 was a strange, albeit exciting, period for Doncaster Rovers fans.

The club has just completed their long-awaited move to a brand-new £32M 'Community Stadium' (as it was initially dubbed), having spent the previous 80-odd years playing at the ramshackle old ground opposite Doncaster Racecourse, Belle Vue and there was a multitude of emotions felt by many following the move.

On the one hand there was sadness and reflection at what had been left behind; familiar faces who'd been so frequent on the terraces at Belle Vue who were now nowhere to be seen in these new surroundings. However, on the flip side, backed by John Ryan's very vocal burning desire to succeed further and drive the club into the Championship, there was hope and excitement about what the future would hold.

On the pitch, though the team had shown glimpses of promise throughout the dark winter months, they were still very much 'in transition' under new boss Sean O'Driscoll and languished in a mid-table position in League One. Excitement, nevertheless, was growing about the potential for an appearance at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy as they had reached a two-legged Northern Area Final against Crewe Alexandra.

But with one eye on the future, what became of Belle Vue?

Well, for a few weeks in the New Year, it was still the main drop-off/pick-up point for the Supporters Club coaches which ran to away games. There was no doubt the old ground was deteriorating rapidly though with crush barriers stripped from the old terraces and sold for scrap, the roof of the Popular Stand removed, seats from the Main Stand took out and flogged at auction, whilst the pitch quickly became overgrown because maintenance on it was no longer necessary.

It was, effectively, an abandoned site that was free to roam around and a hide-out for the scumbag element of society to vandalise before a petty criminal blew a gaping hole in the Main Stand just after three o-clock in the morning on Wednesday 7th February, 2007.

Photographs after the explosion can be found in this excellent online article by the Doncaster Free Press on the 10th anniversary of the ground's untimely demise. During a quick browse of the internet I also found these excellent photos (seen below) of Belle Vue in it's decaying and abandoned state from the 28 Days Later Forum which were taken around 10 days before the explosion.

They were taken by @RTID75 on Twitter - fair play, sir, because they're absolutely brilliant to look back on all these years later.

Now, who'll admit to owning those red furry handcuffs...

Looking towards the Town End from the Popside Terrace. 

The Main Stand minus several seats and in a decaying state.

Built in 2004, this breeze-block structure housed the Supporters Bar and club offices
in the immediate years prior to leaving Belle Vue.

Signage and the roof removed from the old bar/offices. 

The front of the Main Stand before the explosion.

Inside the sponsors' lounges at Belle Vue.

Another look inside the sponsors' lounge.

A poster on the wall advertises events for Belle Vue's final hurrah in December 2006.

The steps leading up to the Main Stand seating area. 

A look at one of the old entrances which led into the Main Stand.

The steps up to the Directors Box at Belle Vue.

The view from the Directors Box looking out, across what was the Disabled Section, and onto the pitch.

Looking towards the Town End - note the 'Executive Box' portacabins had already been removed.

The view from the Directors Box towards the Popular Stand.

Furry handcuffs in the PA Announcer's Box. Who did these belong to?

A discarded telephone lies on the steps of the Main Stand adjacent to the Directors Box.

Seats in the back two rows of the Directors Box remain in place, though the rest have gone.

Another view inside the Main Stand seating area.

Looking back towards the entrance to the Main Stand (including what was a turnstile block).

'Gate C' of the Main Stand - possibly the entrance to what was the away fans' seating section.

The steps up to the Directors Box.

Seats removed from the Main Stand, but the wooden structure remains in place. 

An old turnstile - possibly for the Main Stand terrace. 

Signs are abandoned on a cold winter's morning at Belle Vue.

More signs and debris close to the steps up to the Main Stand terrace.

The view enjoyed by many initially after passing through the Main Stand terrace turnstiles.

A snack bar and the old Police Box (last used in the 1990s?) in an abandoned state.

Former steps of the Town End/Cowshed Stand.

Looking out across to the Main Stand from the base where the portacabin 'Executive Boxes' once stood.

Another view looking across to the Main Stand as some rusty steel
blocks out the floodlight-cum-phone mast.

The Racecourse (in the distance) from the rear of the Town End terrace.

The steps up to the former Police Control box.

The Popside toilets (probably with a great scent of piss wafting through the air at the time).

The old Popside turnstile block.

Another view of the former Popular Stand turnstile block.

The snack bar at the rear of the Popside Terrace with a note thanking fans for their service over the years.

Litter on the Popular Terrace.

Looking from the Popside across to the Main Stand.

A close-up of the phone-mast which survived for a few more years before it was pulled down.

The concrete six-a-side pitch at the rear of the Rossington End which backed on to ASDA.

A young Steven Gerrard on one of the perimeter boards on the six-a-side pitch.

Looking through the wire across to the Popular Stand and Police Control Box
(used in the years immediately before leaving Belle Vue).

The point where the two sections of the Rosso End met - the 'new' section (far right)
was constructed during May/June 2004.

Looking towards the Main Stand from the away terrace.

The exit from the Rossington End.

More debris close to the Rossington End turnstile block.

The wind-shields in the Main Stand - many of which were blown out following the explosion.

An abandoned barrier on the steps of the Main Stand terrace.

A bike wheel on the dirt-track in close proximity to the Main Stand terrace and Disabled Section.

The concrete of the home team tunnel in a damaged state.