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Ground Name: Recreation
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Ground Name: Recreation
Ground |
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| Contents |
| What's The Ground
Like? North (Main) Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? South Stand (photo) How To Get There And Where To Park By Train East Bank Admission Prices Ground Layout Programme Price Local Rivals Fixtures 2008-2009 Record & Average Attendance Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
| What's The Ground Like? |
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The interior of the ground hasn't changed a great
deal since the days of Aldershot FC who alas went out of business in 1992. A new
Club was born shortly after named Aldershot Town, who took over the Recreation
Ground and have successfully risen through the lower leagues and now find
themselves, back in the Football League. The ground itself is set in a pleasant setting with plenty of trees visible around its perimeter. This is particularly so at the High Street End of the ground which is an open end. Some of the trees there are almost as tall as the floodlight pylons of the ground. This end doesn't have any terracing as such, but merely a narrow path that runs along behind the advertising hoardings. On one side is a two storey green portakabin that serves as a Police Control Box, otherwise this end is unused for spectators. Opposite is the East Bank. This is a covered terrace that has a barrel shaped roof and a number of supporting pillars running across the front of it. On one side is the North (Main) Stand, which was built in the late 1930's. This partly covered (to the rear), is slightly raised having small sets of steps in front of it, so fans can access it. It once was all terrace, but a number of seats have now been added to the middle portion of the stand, with terrace still present on either side. Opposite is the South Stand, which is another covered seated stand, which looks a lot more modern than its age suggests (it was built in 1929). This stand only runs for around the half the length of the pitch, sitting astride the halfway line. The ground benefits from an impressive set of floodlights. Special thanks to Ben Smith for helping me out with some of the information for this page. |
| North (Main) Stand |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
| Away fans are housed in
the South East corner of the ground, where there are 212 covered seated
places available in the South Stand and space for a further 888 in the East
Bank Terrace. This stand is shared with home supporters - and those
familiar with the Rec will notice that the dividing fence has been moved
during the Summer of 2008 to reduce the away area significantly. However in
good weather the area shouldn't feel cramped as access remains to the
uncovered terrace on the South side. There are a
number of supporting pillars in the East Bank, which could obstruct your
view. Although the stand is showing its age, at least it does allow a good
atmosphere to be created. Despite the club having done significant work to
improve facilities for away supporters, they
remain pretty basic. Robin Carder informs me; 'Travelling fans are also reminded that the Away turnstiles (11 and 12) are not at the front of the ground but via the park entrance accessed off Redan Road (Hill). The walk from the High Street entrance to the Away turnstiles can take 10 minute so allow plenty of time, and factor in potential queues due to there being only two turnstiles (there are plans to increase this to three). The only access to away supporters permitted via the front entrance is for disabled supporters who now have 2 dedicated wheelchair bays in the away seats. Please enquire with the club for more information. |
| Where To Drink? |
| Away fans are treated to their own bar underneath the South Stand called 'Walley's Bar' (I am sure this was not meant to be an insult to away fans!). Otherwise the ground is located only five minutes walk away from Aldershot Town Centre where there are plenty of pubs to be found. 'The Beehive' & 'Crimea' are the closest pubs to the ground. Otherwise you may want to try the CAMRA listed Royal Staff pub on Mount Pleasant Road. Although located on top of a hill, it does look down onto the football ground and serves a good pint of Fullers Pride. For a map showing the location of this pub click here (to take you to the Streetmap website). |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park |
| Leave the M3 at Junction 4 and take the
A331 towards Farnborough/Aldershot. Continue towards Aldershot
passing the North Camp turn off. At the next junction (Aldershot South)
turn right at the roundabout towards Aldershot Town Centre (A323). Keep
straight on this road and after going under a railway bridge, the ground
is visible on your right. There is little parking available at the ground itself. Most fans tend to park in one of the many pay & display car parks, located around the town centre. For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. |
| By Train |
| Aldershot station is less than a ten
minute walk away from the ground. Upon leaving the
train station, go down the station approach and turn right into Windsor Way.
Continue down Windsor Way passing the
Holy Trinity Church on your left. The road bends to the left and leads into
Victoria Road. Turn right along Victoria Road and at the bottom of the road
you will see floodlights of the Recreation Ground in front of you. Thanks to Ben Smith for providing the directions. |
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| Admission Prices |
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Seats* |
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| Programme Price |
| Official Programme £3 |
| Local Rivals |
| From their 16 years in non-league there were numerous battles with Woking and Farnborough. So the younger supporters struggle to understand the older fans obsession with Reading from the old league days. Local interest in division 2 with Brentford, Wycombe and Bournemouth could easily develop some interesting stories over the coming years. |
| Fixtures 2008-2009 |
| For the Aldershot fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) |
| Record & Average Attendance |
| Record Attendance: For Aldershot Town 7,500 v Brighton, FA Cup 1st Round, November, 18th 2000 For Aldershot: 19,138 v Carlisle United, FA Cup 4th Round Replay, January 28th 1970. Average Attendance: 2007-2008: 3,031 (Conference National) 2006-2007: 2,360 (Conference National) 2005-2006: 2,294 (Conference National) |
| 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 Aldershot page click here. |
| Fans Reviews Of The Recreation Ground |
| Martyn Stimpson (Neutral) 6/09/08 |
| Feedback |
| If anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail me and I'll
update
the guide. |
