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| Contents |
What's Stamford Bridge Like?
Future Ground Developments
The
West and Matthew Harding Stands (photo)
What Is It Like
For Away Supporters?
West Stand
(photo)
Where To Drink?
East Stand
(photo)
How To Get There And Where
To Park
Shed End
(photo)
By Train/Tube
Peter Osgood
Statue (photo)
Local
Rivals
Admission Prices
Programme & Fanzines
Ground Layout
Fixtures 2011-2012
Disabled Facilities
Stadium Tours
Record & Average
Attendance
Fans Ground
Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
Stamford Bridge Location Map
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| What's Stamford
Bridge Like? |
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The ground has been
transformed in recent years with three sides of
the ground being re-built. The completion, at one side of the pitch, of the attractive looking West
Stand in 2001, means
that Stamford Bridge is now an
impressive sight. A
far cry from the Stamford Bridge of old, which was
largely open with one huge three tiered stand, the
East Stand, being at one side of the pitch. This stand, opened
in 1973, has been retained and the
developers have taken advantage of the fact that
the 'old' Stamford Bridge was oval shaped and
stretched the new stands right around the ground
filling the corners, so that the ground is totally enclosed. The team dug outs are located on
this side of the stadium.
Both ends are two tiered, with the North
Stand now renamed the Matthew Harding Stand in
memory of the man who did so much to transform the
club. Below the roof of the
Shed End, is a Police Control Box, which keeps a
look out over proceedings. The new West
Stand is a superb three
tiered affair having a row of executive boxes
running across its middle, the
type of which you are able to sit outside. Its roof is virtually transparent,
allowing more light to reach the pitch and
gives it a unique look. Outside the ground,
behind the West Stand is a statue of former
playing legend, Peter Osgood.
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Future
Ground Developments
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The
Club have announced that they have submitted a
bid to buy the Battersea Power Station site and
build upon it a new 60,000 capacity stadium.
Interestingly the Club are not going to go with
the dull 'bowl' like structure of most modern
stadiums that have recently been built, but will
instead go with four separate stands. One of
these behind one goal, will be single tiered and
house 15,000 fans, which would make it the
largest single tiered stand in the UK. The Club
have also confirmed that the existing towers of
the Power Station will be retained making it an
iconic looking venue. It will now be a long
process for this scheme to get off the ground,
but if the stadium were to materialise it could
turn out to be one of the most interesting
stadiums in the world.
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| The
West and Matthew Harding Stands |
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| What Is It
Like For Away Supporters? |
Away
fans are located on one side of the Shed End lower tier
(towards the East Stand side), where the
normal allocation for league games is 3,000
tickets. For cup games the whole of the Shed End
can be allocated. The view from this area of the
ground is pretty good and the refreshment areas
and concourses were modern and new looking. There
are televisions on the concourses, showing amongst
other things at half time, highlights from the
first half. A range of pies and
pasties are on offer, including the Chicken Balti
Pie (£3)
and roll over hot dogs (£3.50). Alcohol is
also available with Heineken & Guinness
on offer at £3.50 a pint. There is also a
'meal deal' available for a pie and a
pint (£6).
On the whole I found Stamford Bridge a pleasurable
day out. There was a good atmosphere within the
ground and even though there wasn't a lot of space
between the home and away fan sections, in didn't
feel intimidating. The stewards were pretty laid
back. The only 'hassle' I had was trying to get
through two lines of stewards to gain entrance to
the away turnstiles as they seemed to assume that
I was a Chelsea fan and kept ushering me towards
the home end. Only after showing my ticket for the
away section for a third time did I finally make
it inside! I was seated in the Shed End
and I found a little difficult to go up and
down the steps of the stand as they were quite
small and there were extra steps between each row.
Considering that the stand is quite steep then
they seemed quite awkward, or do you think it
may have been something to do with the few beers
that I had consumed beforehand?
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West Stand
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| Where To Drink |
The
pubs near the ground can be quite partisan, so I
would recommend getting a drink somewhere on the
journey there. Gordon a visiting Newcastle fan
adds 'there are quite a few pubs on the Kings
Road that are okay as
long as you don't break into a chorus about your
team!'. Alcohol is available inside the
stadium, however for certain fixtures the Club
opt not to sell any to away supporters, so
don't bank on it!
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East Stand
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| How To
Get There And Where To Park |
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Leave the M25 at
Junction 15 and take the M4 towards London, which
then becomes the A4 up to Hammersmith. Carry on over
the Hammersmith flyover and after a further one and
half miles, take the turning Earls Court.
Continue past Earls Court station and down the one
way system until you reach the junction with Fulham
Road. At this junction, turn right at the traffic
lights and after about half a mile, you will see the
ground on your right.
A number of local resident schemes are in
operation around the stadium, so you may well end
up having to park some way from the ground itself.
Thanks to Andy Harris for providing the
directions.
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Shed End
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| By
Train/Tube |
The
nearest tube station is Fulham Broadway which is on
the District Line. Take a tube to Earls Court and if
necessary, change for a Wimbledon bound tube. The nearest
overground train station is West Brompton, which
is served by trains from Clapham Junction (which
is in turn served by trains from London Waterloo
and Victoria stations). It is around a 15 minute
walk to the ground from West Brompton station. Turn
right outside the station past the Tournament Pub,
then right again into Brompton
Cemetery. Walk on through
the Cemetery (just follow the crowd) and Stamford
Bridge is soon visible to the right. If it is a night game then turn
right after the cemetery into Finborough Road. After
a half-mile, turn right onto the Fulham
Rd. Thanks
to Jim Millington for providing the directions.
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Peter Osgood
Statue
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Peter
Osgood was a striker, who to this day is a legend at
Stamford Bridge. He was part of the FA Cup winning
side in 1970 and the Cup Winners Cup Final winning
team a year later. He spent a total of 10
seasons at Chelsea, scoring 105 goals in 289
appearances. He was capped four times by England. He
passed away in March 2006. The statue was
unveiled in October 2010 and is located behind
the West Stand.
Thanks to Joris from the Doing the 116
website for providing the photo above.
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| Local Rivals |
Fulham,
Arsenal, Tottenham and from a little further afield
Leeds & Manchester United.
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| Admission Prices |
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Like a
number of Clubs, Chelsea operate a Category
(AA, A & B) pricing policy for home league
games, whereby the more popular games cost
more to watch. Category AA game prices are
shown below, with Category A & B prices in
brackets:
Home Fans*:
West Stand Upper Tier: £87 (A
£75) (B £70 )
West Stand Middle Tier: Season Tickets Only
West Stand Lower
Tier: Adults £69 (A £61) (B
£56)
Shed End
& Matthew Harding Stands Upper Tiers: Adults £64 (A £60) (B
£55)
Shed End &
Matthew Harding Stands Lower Tiers:
Adults £61 (A £57) (B £52 )
East
Stand Upper Tier: Adults: £69 (A £61) (B £56), Senior
Citizens/Under 16's £27.50 (A & B
£26)
East Stand Middle Tier: Season Tickets Only
East Stand Lower Tier (Family
Area):
Adults: £50 (A £46) (B £41), Senior Citizens/Under 16's
£19.50 (A & B £18)
Away Fans:
Shed End Stand Upper Tier:
Adults £59 (A £55) (B
£50), Senior Citizens/Under 16's £25
(A & B £23.50)
Shed End Stand Lower Tier:
Adults £56 (A £52) (B £47),
Senior Citizens/Under 16's £25
(A & B £23.50)
* Members of the club can get a discount of up
to £5 on these ticket prices. These prices
are also for Premier League games, cup games may
be priced differently (usually more
cheaply) than those quoted above.
Category AA games are against: Arsenal,
Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United
& Tottenham Hotspur. Concessions are only
made available in the East Stand and to away
supporters.
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| Programme & Fanzines |
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Official Programme £3.
Chelsea Independent Fanzine: £1.50.
CFCUK Fanzine: £1.
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Ground
Layout
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| Fixtures 2011-2012 |
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Chelsea
FC fixture list (to take you
to the BBC Sports
Website)
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| Disabled
Facilities |
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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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| Stadium
Tours |
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The club offer tours of
the ground, which are available three times a day,
except match days, the day before a Champions League
fixture & bank holidays. The tour lasts for
around 75 minutes and is coupled
with a visit to the new Chelsea Museum. It costs*;
Adults £16, Concessions
£11, Children £10
(Under 5's go free), Family Ticket 2 Adults
+ 2 Children £46. To book your tour call 0871 984 1955 or book online via the club
website. If you wish you can
just visit the museum. This costs; Adults
£10, Concessions £9, Children
£8 and this does not need to be
pre-booked.
* The prices
quoted are for tours booked and paid for in advance.
Prices increase by £2 per ticket for those
paying on arrival.
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| Record
& Average Attendance |
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Record
Attendance:
82,905 v Arsenal
Division 1, October 12th,
1935.
Modern All Seated Attendance Record:
42,328 v Newcastle United
Premier League, December 4th, 2002.
Average Attendance:
2010-2011: 41,435 (Premier League)
2009-2010: 41,423 (Premier League)
2008-2009: 41,661 (Premier League)
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| Fans Reviews Of Stamford Bridge |
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Thomas
Ling (Norwich City) 27/8/11
Martin Hart
(Visiting Scottish Fan) 11/5/08
Luke
Smith & Ryan Underwood (Leicester
City) 31/10/07
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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 Stamford Bridge.
Access their Chelsea
And Central London Hotels & 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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| Map
showing the location of Stamford Bridge,
Railway/Tube stations and listed pubs |
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Instructions for using the map:
- Use the bar
on the left of the map to zoom in / out using the
+ / - keys.
- Click and
drag an area of the map to move around or use the
up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the
Satellite button to see aerial view photograph.
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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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