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| Contents | |
| What's The Griffin
Park Like? Future Ground Developments Brook Road & Bill Axbey Stands (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Looking Towards The Brook Road Stand (photo) Where To Drink? Braemar Road Stand (photo) How To Get There And Where To Park By Train/Tube BIAS Ealing Road Terrace (photo) Admission Prices Ground Layout Programme & Fanzines Local Rivals Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2012-2013 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Griffin Park Location Map |
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| What's Griffin Park Like? | |
| The
ground is rather compact and certainly has an
individual feel. On one side is the recently
christened Bill Axbey Stand (formerly the New Road
Stand), which is named after a long time supporter
who watched the Bees for an incredible 89 years
before passing away in 2007. This stand is a
single tiered, covered all seated stand, which has
a number of supporting pillars running across the
front of it. The roof of the stand is painted with
a large advert, designed to catch the eye of
passengers flying into Heathrow Airport. Currently
this is an advert for Qatar Airways, but in the
past amongst others, it has been for KLM and
easyJet. Opposite is the Bees United (Braemar
Road) Stand. Again this stand is single tiered,
all seated and has a number of supporting pillars.
It has a very low roof, which makes you wonder
what the view would be like from the very back row
of the stand. At one end is the BIAS Stand (aka the Ealing Road Terrace), which up to 2007, was an open terrace that was given to away supporters. However the Club have now erected a roof on this end and decided to give it back to the home fans. This should really help boost the atmosphere within the stadium. Interestingly the sponsors of the terrace BIAS are not a company but the Brentford Independent Association of Supporters. Opposite is the Brook Road Stand. This stand which was opened in 1986, is a strange affair; a small double decker stand that has seating on the first tier and terracing below. It is known affectionately by the Brentford fans as the 'Wendy House'. The ground is complete with a set of four imposing floodlights. Griffin Park is also used for Chelsea reserve team matches. |
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The Club have signalled their intention to leave Griffin Park and move to a new stadium, with the Club's owner purchasing a potential site at Lionel Road (in-between Kew Bridge Railway Station and the M4), just under two miles away from the present ground. It is believed that the Club will now seek planning permission from Hounslow Council to build a 20,000 capacity stadium, that could also be shared with London Welsh Rugby Club. If things go to plan then Brentford could be kicking off in their new home for the start of the 2016/17 season. |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are
housed in the Brook Road Stand at one end of the ground. This covered
two tiered stand has 600 seats in its upper tier and
room for around 1,000 fans below in the terrace. The
upper tier has good unhindered views of the playing
area, whilst below in the lower terraced area there
are a couple of prominent supporting pillars, which
may affect your view. There is a good selection of
refreshments on offer including a selection of Pukka
Pies & Pasties (£2.70), Herta Hot Dogs (£3),
Burgers (£3), Cheeseburgers (£3.20) and Sausage
Rolls (£2.50). I had an enjoyable visit to
the ground and didn't experience any problems. Tim Porter a visiting Torquay United supporter adds; 'The home fans were the most friendly I've come across for a long time - before kick-off, the stadium announcer asked all the home fans to put their hands together for the Torquay fans who had made such a long journey. I expected indifferent silence or abuse, but there was almost universal clapping!' |
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| Looking Towards The Brook Road Stand | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| Brentford
is famous for being the only ground in England that
has a pub at every corner of the ground. The surrounding land was formerly
owned by the Griffin Brewery, hence Griffin Park. If
you are feeling thirsty, get there early and have a
pint in all four. They are the Royal Oak (a small locals pub), The
Griffin (serves Fullers real ale),
The Princess Royal & The New Inn. The New Inn is
the favoured pub for away supporters. Derek Hall a visiting Hartlepool United
fan adds; 'Probably the best pub out of the four is
the Griffin, with the New Inn a fairly close second,
although this was packed on our visit'. Roger Stamp informs me; 'Probably the best real ale pub in Brentford is the 'Magpie & Crown' which is only five minutes walk away from the ground, on Brentford High Street. The pub has four real ales on tap and welcomes both home and away supporters'. |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park | |
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Leave the M4 at
junction 2 and take the A4, going around the Chiswick Roundabout so
that you end up coming back on yourself. Continue along the A4 and at the
first roundabout take a left onto the B455 (Ealing
Road). The ground is located
about half a mile down this road on your
right. There is no parking at the
ground for supporters. So apart from a small pay
and display car park in Layton Road (first right
off Ealing Road) which costs £5 for three hours (but is free after
6.30pm), then it is street parking. However
there are residents only parking schemes in
operation on some of the roads, so please pay attention to the small parking information signs. Some
roads in the area (such as Somerset Road, which is off the A3002 Boston Manor Road) do also allow pay
and display parking
at a cost of £1 for 30 minutes, so
you would be looking at a cost of £6 for three
hours. |
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| By Train and Tube | |
| The
nearest railway station is Brentford. This is around a
five minute walk away from the ground. This station is
on the London Waterloo to Reading line, which normally
has services running every 15 minutes on Saturday
afternoons. To get from the station to the ground,
exit onto Station Road. Take the first right into
Orchard Road, right again into Windmill Road and then
first left into Hamilton Road which leads into New
Road and the ground. Caleb Johnstone-Cowan informs me; 'The nearest Underground Station to the ground is South Ealing, which is on the Piccadilly Line. This tube station is around a 15 minute walk from the ground, down Ealing Road'. Mick Hubbard adds; 'Finding the ground is easy enough though - you simply turn right out of the tube station and just go straight down Ealing Road, then taking your life in your hands to cross the A4 at the bottom! Otherwise as you come out of the station cross over to the other side of Ealing Road and catch a number 65 bus down to the ground'. |
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Thanks to Daniel Riemersma for providing the above photo. |
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| Admission Prices | |
| Home Fans*: Bees United Stand: Adults £21, Over 60's £15, Students £13, Under 18's £5 Bill Axbey Stand: Adults £20, Over 60's £14, Students £12, Under 18's £5, Family Ticket 2 Adults + 2 Under 18's £30 BIAS Ealing Road Terrace: Adults £19, Over 60's £13, Students £11, Under 18's £5 Away Fans*: Brook Road Stand (Seating): Adults £21, Over 60's £15, Students £13, Under 18's £5 Brook Road Stand (Terrace): Adults £20, Over 60's £14, Students £12, Under 18's £5 * These prices are for tickets purchased prior to matchday. Tickets bought on the day of the game can cost up to £2 more. |
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| Programme & Fanzines | |
| Official
Programme £2.50 Thorne In The Side Fanzine £1 Hey Jude Fanzine £1 Beesotted £2 |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Queens Park Rangers & Fulham. | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. | |
| Fixtures 2012-2013 | |
| Brentford FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| 39,626
v Preston North End, FA Cup 6th Round, March 5th, 1938. Average Attendance: 2011-2012: 5,643 (League One) 2009-2010: 6,018 (League One) 2008-2009: 5,707 (League Two) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Griffin Park | |
| Jack
Griffin (Portsmouth) 13/3/13 Matt Brooker (Shrewsbury Town) 2/10/12 Dan Brennan (Sheffield Wednesday) 28/4/12 James Spring (Notts County) 14/4/12 Craig Milne (Doing The 92) 3/4/12 Marc Batt (Neutral) 28/1/12 Oliver Thewes (Visiting German Groundhopper) 15/10/11 Jason Jandu (Neutral) 27/8/11 Luke Phillips (Bristol Rovers) 26/2/11 Joe Fisher (Gillingham) 6/2/10 Peter Silvey (Gillingham) 28/3/09 Joe Myall (Wycombe Wanderers) 14/3/09 |
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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 offer all
types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets
from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast
establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced
Apartments. Plus their booking system is
straightforward and easy 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 also includes
details of how far away the accommodation is located
from the football ground. Access their Brentford and general London 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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| Map Showing The Location Of Griffin Park, 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 at duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide. |
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