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Accrington Stanley Ground
Name: Fraser Eagle
Stadium |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground
Like? Main Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Looking Towards The Sophia Khan Stand (photo) Where To Drink? Looking Towards The Coppice Terrace (photo) How To Get There & Where To Park By Train A Closer Look At The Sophia Khan Stand (photo) Admission Prices Programme Price Ground Layout Local Rivals So Who Is Stanley? Fixtures 2010-2011 Record & Average Attendance Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
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Although the ground is on
the smallish side, it is set in a
picturesque area, with views over fields and
hills behind the Coppice Terrace at one end of the
ground. On one side of the ground is the
Main Stand, which at first glance looks like one stand, but in fact
it is comprised of two small stands; the
Main & Thwaites Stands. They sit on either side of the
half way line, with an open gap between the two. Both are all seated
covered stands and have a row of floodlights at the back of them. To compensate for the fair
slope of the pitch which runs up along the ground from the Coppice
Terrace to the Sophia Khan End, the Thwaites Stand has less
rows of seats than the Main Stand. Both these stands also have an usual array of tubular
steelwork, running across the top of them.
Opposite is a very small covered seated area, called the Whinney Hill side. This former terrace had seating installed before the start of the 2009/10 season, in order that the Club could meet Football League stadium criteria of having a minimum of 2,000 seats (further seating was also into the Sophia Khan End). Behind this stand is a relatively new housing development, which overlooks the ground, meaning that some residents can see the game for nothing. Both ends are fairly new looking affairs, of which the home end, the Sophia Khan Stand covered, whilst the Coppice Terrace opposite is open to the elements. The Sophia Khan Stand looks a little odd, with a terracing at the rear, but with seating at the front, especially when you consider that the stand is quite a small structure. Another unusual aspect of the ground is that it has a total of eight floodlight pylons, with three on either side of the ground and another being located at one end. | |
| Main & Thwaites Stands | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
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Away fans
are mostly housed in the Coppice Terrace at one end of the
ground, where around 1,500 fans can be
accommodated. Additionally fans can also access part of the Whinney
Hill terrace at one side of the pitch. This is particularly handy in
poor weather, as the Coppice Terrace is open to the elements, whilst
the Whinney Hill terrace does at least have some cover. Unusually
the Club have taken the decision not to provide away fans with any
additional seating in the Main Stand, so only the terrace is
available. Han van Eijden adds; 'The burgers were excellent,
although this did lead to long queues for refreshments'. Otherwise in the Coppice Terrace the facilities are
basic with some rather old toilets (which have known to flood from
time to time). There are supplemented with some portaloos.
Whilst Shirley Lawrence a visiting Swindon Town supporter tells me; 'We had a pleasant day at the Crown Ground. Before the game we went to the Crown Pub which was crowded, but as they had six staff serving, we were able to get our drinks relatively quickly. Inside the ground there was not much atmosphere due to the away end being uncovered. Although we had over 800 supporters who were in good voice, the noise just wasn't carried around the ground'. | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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There is a Club Bar at the
ground, however this is for home fans only.
The nearest pub is the Crown, which is just behind the ground
on the main Whalley Road.
This pub welcomes all fans, has some Accrington Stanley memorabilia,
and displays scarves and pennants given by visiting fans. A little
further down Whalley Road (five minutes walk in the direction of the
motorway), is the Greyhound pub, which is a Sam Smith's
house.
John Schmidt a visiting Darlington fan adds; If you go from
the ground to the main road and head towards the
town centre, then five a minute walk away,
down on the right is the Grey Horse
pub, It is only a
small pub but served decent real ale.
This area also seemed to be good for street
parking'.
If you
arrive early and have a bit of time on your hands then you may
consider visiting the 'Peel Park Hotel' in Turkey Street. This pub
serves food and is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. It also
overlooks Peel Park, the site of Accrington Stanley's old ground. Go
along Whalley Road (A680) towards the town centre. Before reaching
the town centre turn left onto the B6237 Queens Road (if you miss
this turning proceed into the town centre and turn left onto the
A679 Burnley Road). Continue along Queens Road into Penn House Lane.
At the end of this road you will reach a T-junction with the A679
Burnley Road. Turn left onto the Burnley Road and then go almost
immediately right into Alice Street. The Peel Park is down on the
right in Turkey Street.
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| How To Get There & Where To Park | |
| Leave
the M6 at Junction 29 and take the M65 towards Blackburn. Continue
past Blackburn towards Accrington and leave the M65 at Junction 7.
Then take the left hand exit at the roundabout
onto the A6185 towards Clitheroe
(this is in the opposite direction to Accrington). At the first set
of traffic lights turn right onto the A678, towards
Padiham, and then at the next traffic lights, turn right onto the A680 towards Accrington.
After about half a mile along the A680 you will
pass the Crown pub on your left. Take the next left into
Livingstone Road and then an immediate left for the
Club car park. The car park is of a
reasonable size and is free, however as you
would expect it fills up pretty quickly. Otherwise street
parking. For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Streetmap website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. | |
| By Train | |
| Accrington station is about a mile away from the ground. Leave the station and travel down the slope towards the large viaduct roundabout in the centre of town. Take the Milnshaw Lane exit at the opposite side of the roundabout alongside the Perry's Peugeot dealership. After approximately 100 metres this road then joins Whalley Road. Bear left up the hill and follow Whalley Road for about a mile, passing the hospital, a set of traffic lights and then a mini roundabout. Take the next right after the mini roundabout junction into Livingstone Road. The football club is approximately 100 metres on the left on Livingstone Road. Thanks to Rob Heys for providing the directions. | |
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Please note that since this photo was taken, seating has been installed along the front of this stand. | |
| Admission Prices | |
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Seats:
Adults £15, Over 60's £10, Under 16's & Students £6*, Under 12's £1*. Terrace: Adults £13, Over 60's £8, Under 16's & Students £5*, Under 12's £1*. * These tickets are only available from the ticket office where proof of age/evidence of student status must be shown. | |
| Official Programme | |
| Programme £3 | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Blackburn, Burnley and from a little further a field, Morecambe, Southport & Barrow. | |
| So Who Is Stanley? | |
| Many visiting fans wonder why the Club ended up being called Accrington Stanley. Was it after a former player? Well no. The Club were originally formed as Stanley Villa FC, so named as a number of their team lived in Stanley Street in the town. The Club was renamed Accrington Stanley in 1894. | |
| Fixtures 2010-2011 | |
| For the Accrington Stanley fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record
Attendance: At The Crown Ground: 4,368 v Colchester United FA Cup 3rd Round, January 3rd, 2004. Average Attendance: 2009-2010: 1,980 (League Two) 2008-2009: 1,414 (League Two) 2007-2008: 1,634 (League Two) | |
| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Football Hotels who are powered by Activehotels, who specialise in locating accommodation near or within a short travelling distance of the football ground. They also have the added advantage over some other hotel booking services that you pay on departure. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will go to help with the running costs of keeping the Guide going. To access their Accrington page click here. | |
| Fans Reviews Of The Interlink Express Stadium | |
| Peter Moor
(Groundhopper) 17/9/09 Rob Allen (Chester City) 5/1/08 Jordan Pattison (Bradford City) 1/1/08 John Ingle (Blackpool) 31/10/06 | |
| Feedback | |
| If anything is
incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail
me and I'll update the guide. | |
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