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| Contents | |
| What's The
Crown Ground Like? Main Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Looking Towards The Coppice Terrace (photo) Where To Drink? The Sophia Khan Stand (photo) How To Get There & Where To Park Whinney Hill Side (photo) By Train A Closer Look At The Coppice Terrace (photo) Admission Prices Programme Price Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Local Rivals So Why The Name Stanley? Fixtures 2012-2013 Record & Average Attendance Hotel Accommodation Fan's Ground Reviews Crown Ground Location Map |
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| What's The Crown 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 unusual 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 installed 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. |
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| 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 up to 1,800
fans can be accommodated after this area was
recently extended. If demand requires it then
part of the Whinney Hill side can also
be allocated. This small stand has a
mixture of seating and terrace and has the
benefit of some cover, unlike the Coppice
Terrace which is open to the elements. Adam
Hodson a visiting Stockport County fan adds; 'As
it was raining I decided to head for one of the
200 or so seats in the Whinney Hill
stand. I found that there is very little
leg room between the rows of seats, of which
there are only four. I was
though located very close to the playing
action as I sat in the front row'.
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 | |
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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. |
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| By Train | |
| Accrington railway 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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| Admission Prices | |
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All parts of the ground*
Adults £15 Over 60's £10 Under 17's & Students £5** Under 12's £1** * Please note that the ticket prices above are for those tickets purchased on the day of the game. Adult tickets bought in advance of matchday cost £2 less per ticket. ** These tickets are only available from the ticket office where proof of age/evidence of student status must be shown. |
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| Official Programme | |
| Programme £3 | |
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For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Blackburn, Burnley and from a little further a field, Morecambe, Southport & Barrow. | |
| So Why The Name 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 2012-2013 | |
| Accrington Stanley FC fixture list (takes 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: 2011-2012: 1,785 (League Two) 2010-2011: 1,868 (League Two) 2009-2010: 1,980 (League Two) |
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| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require
hotel accommodation in the area then first try a
hotel booking service provided by Late Rooms. They
have a huge choice of places to stay and their
booking facility is straightforward to use. 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. The Hotels
listing includes details of how far they
are away from the Crown ground. Access their Accrington Hotels and Guest Houses page. Remember that you can use the above link or panel below to book any other hotels that you may need for business or leisure, either in the UK or abroad.
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| Fans Reviews Of The Crown Ground | |
| 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 |
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| Map showing the location of the Crown Ground, railway station and listed pubs. | |
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Instructions
for using the map: |
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| Feedback | |
| If
anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide. |
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