Darlington Football Club chairman George Reynolds vowed to resolve teething troubles which emerged at the opening of his multi-million pound stadium.

Fans turned out in force for the first game at the Reynolds Arena - describing the stadium as 'magnificent' - but problems over ticket arrangements, catering and traffic caused frustrations.

The 11,600 turnout on Saturday tested the efficiency of ticket offices and it soon became clear that more would be needed.

In response, Mr Reynolds has spent this week organising the installation of new ticket offices, additional turnstiles and a high-tech system of producing on the spot tickets.

Food kiosks and bars in the stadium's concorse were also stretched to the limit, with fans complaining about how long they had to wait to be served. As a result, immediate preparations are being made to open four more bars.

At one point, traffic outside the stadium came to a standstill with tailbacks stretching for half a mile.

A police spokesman said: "A lot of people turned up on the day just expecting to buy tickets and the queue was horrendous, right up until ten minutes before kick off."

Fans wanting to pay for tickets by credit card were told they could only pay by cash and some went home disappointed.

Because of the huge queues there was a 15-minute delay in the kick-off of the match against Kidderminster Harriers.

Supporters who resorted to street parking prompted Jan Mazurk, of the Neasham Road Action Group, to say: "The streets were full of cars. It was ridiculous. Darlington Borough Council should have ensured the residents' parking scheme was in place before the day."

Businessman Marcus Nimmo, who had earlier attacked the council for being 'weak-willed' over the parking scheme, opened up a field near his farmhouse and charged fans £4 to park their cars.

Mr Reynolds, who saved the club from bankruptcy before embarking on the stadium development, spoke of his pride when he walked out on the pitch before the kick-off.

He said: "I felt very emotional when I saw the terraces packed with supporters, it was tremendous."

And he promised that continuing big gates would ensure more spending power for the club. Steve Carvey, who attended the match with son Harry, nine, and his friend James Donald, said: "The stadium's great, its really impressive. Now I hope the chairman spends some money on some players."

On Monday, Mr Reynolds met his staff to assess the high points and teething troubles encountered on the stadium's first day and pledged: "We'll get it right."

After the lengthy meeting he announced that work had begun on installing new ticket offices and four bars. He said: "We had our hiccups, but the man from the Football Association said we were very impressive.

"We have still got one or two things to get right, but we have got on top of them right away."

Mr Reynolds said the extra facilities would be put in place this week, with more to follow.

Darlington play their next game at the Reynolds Arena against Leyton Orient on Bank Holiday Monday.