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Cheltenham Town Ground Name: The Abbey
Business Stadium (but still known to many fans as Whaddon
Road) |
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| Contents | |
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What's The Ground
Like? |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| At one end of the ground is the newest addition to the
stadium. The Carlsberg Stand which was built by Barr Construction,
was opened in December 2005 and has a capacity of 1,100 fans. It is
particularly steep in its design, has a perspex windshield to
one side and perspex panels incorporated into its roof, to allow
more light to reach the pitch. The stand is unusual in the respect
that it has a couple of more rows of seats on one side of it. There
is also a small electric scoreboard on its roof. On one side of the
ground is another relatively new stand. The In2Print
Stand was opened in November 2001 and was built by Barr Construction. This stand
sits proudly at one side of the pitch and houses
2,034 supporters. It is a covered, all seated, single tiered
stand, part of which
is given to away supporters. The ground is now
enclosed in one corner where the two new stands meet, although it is
not used for spectators. On the other side of the pitch is
the Stagecoach Main Stand, which has seating
to the rear and terracing at the front. Straddling the half way
line, it does not
extend the full length of the pitch, having open spaces to either
side. At one end is the small, covered, Cheltenham & Gloucester
Terrace, which is the home end of the
ground. In April 2009 the ground was renamed the Abbey Business Stadium, in a corporate deal with local business; Abbey Business Equipment. | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away supporters are housed on one side of the
In2Print Stand at one side of the pitch. Around 1,100 supporters can
be accommodated in this area. Away fans also used to be housed at
one end in the Carlsberg Stand, but this has now been given over to
home supporters. The view of the playing area from the In2Print
Stand and the facilities inside are good, plus also has it has
good leg room. The food on offer within the
ground is not bad; you can choose from burgers (including for
those with a bigger appetite a half pounder with cheese £3), hot
dogs, pies (including the Pukka Chicken Balti Pie £2) and bacon baps
(£2). I found Cheltenham itself to be quite pleasant and the supporters friendly. The picturesque Cotswold Hills around Cheltenham can easily be seen from inside the ground. The atmosphere is also pretty good and there is a drummer in the home end. I did find the p.a. to be a bit deafening though. Robert Middleston a visiting Nottingham Forest fan adds; 'The view from the In2print stand was excellent, as was the general atmosphere'. Neil Le Milliere, a visiting Exeter City fan, informs me 'I have found some of the stewarding to be over the top, and some supporters were ejected from the ground for little reason'. Peter Llewellyn adds 'Don't go on race day like I did - it's worse than getting away from Old Trafford!' | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| There is a club
bar at the ground called the Robins Nest which allows in small
numbers of away fans for a small admittance fee. The closest
pubs that I found to the ground were the Fox & Hounds &
The Greyhound, but they both have more of a home feel about them. Away fans are probably better heading to the
'Sudeley Arms' or 'The Conservatory' on Prestbury Road on the
outskirts of town. There is even a decent fish & chip shop
situated in-between the two. To find these pubs, turn right out of
the club car park, and then turn left at the end of the road. Go
straight over the roundabout, and The Sudeley Arms is on your left
and the Conservatory is further up on your right. It is no more
than a ten minute walk from the ground. Otherwise there is the Parklands Social Club, where you can also park your car (£4). Simply go down Whaddon Road, passing the ground and the bowling club on your left. Take the first left hand turn and the entrance to the social club car park is a short distance down on the left. Robert Middleston a visiting Nottingham Forest fan adds; 'The Club had a friendly welcome, and the locals we met were all happy to chat football. The club has a number of TV screens including a very big screen, on which the Sky Premier plus game was broadcast, a nice way to pass time over a sandwich and pint before the match'. | |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park | |
| From The North Leave the M5 at junction 10 and take the A4019 towards Cheltenham. Keep straight on through the traffic lights, until you come to large roundabout (there is a McDonalds on the left), at which you turn turn left. Continue up this road going over a double mini roundabout. Keep going for about 300 yards and then turn right into Swindon Lane. Go over the level crossing and straight over the next roundabout (signposted Prestbury) passing the race course on your left. Turn right into Albert Road (signposted Gloucestershire University) and at the bottom at the roundabout turn left into Prestbury Road, (the ground is signposted from here) and then further down Prestbury Road, turn right into Whaddon Road. The ground is down on the left. From The
South There is no usable car park at the ground and nearby street parking is limited. The Parklands Social Club does allow some parking at £4 per car (See Where To Drink). Otherwise there is a free 'Park & Ride' service to the ground operating from Cheltenham Racecourse, which is well signposted around the town. Journey time on the 'Park & Ride' service is obviously dependant on traffic, but is around ten minutes on average. For a map showing the location of the
ground click here (to take you to
the Street Map website). | |
| By Train | |
| Cheltenham Station is over two miles from the ground, so best to jump in a taxi. If you are going to embark on the 35-40 minute walk then thank Dave Lucas for the following directions; 'Turn right out of station car park and follow Queens Road for around half a mile. At end of Queens Road and turn left into Lansdown Road. At the next (Montpellier) roundabout, turn left into Montpellier Walk (which later becomes the Promenade). At the end of the Promenade, turn right into the High Street. Go along High Street for around 100 yards and then turn left into Winchcombe Street (by a branch of the Cheltenham &Gloucester Building Society). Continue straight along Winchcombe Street and into Prestbury Road. Straight across the next roundabout and then first right into Whaddon Road. The entrance to the away end is down on the left'. | |
| Admission Prices | |
| Home Fans: Carlsberg & In2Print Stand: Adults £20, Concessions £14, Under 16's £7. Stagecoach West Stand: Adults £19, Concessions £13, Under 16's £7. Family Area: Adults £15, Concessions £11, Under 16's £5. C & G Terrace: Adults £15, Concessions £11, Under 16's £5. Paddock Terrace: Adults £15, Concessions £11, Under 16's £5. Away Fans: In2Print Stand: Adults £20, Concessions £14, Under 16's £7. Concessions apply to over 65's and students. | |
| Programme Price | |
| Official Programme £3. | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Swindon Town and from non-league days; Gloucester City. | |
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| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
| Fixtures 2009-2010 | |
| For the Cheltenham fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record Attendance
At Whaddon Road: 8,326 v Reading, FA Cup 1st Round, November 17th 1956. At The Athletic Ground: 10,389 v Blackpool, FA Cup 3rd Round, January 13th, 1934. Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 3,854 (League One) 2007-2008: 4,310 (League One) 2006-2007: 4,359 (League One) | |
| Fans Reviews Of Whaddon Road | |
| Mark Newbury (Bournemouth)
12/01/08 Chris Brown (Millwall) 26/08/06 | |
| 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 Cheltenham page click here. | |
| 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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