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Cheltenham
Town
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Cheltenham
Town
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| Contents | |
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What's
The Abbey Business Stadium Like? |
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Share
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| What's The Abbey Business Stadium Like? | |
| At one end of the ground is the newest
addition to the stadium. The Hazlewoods 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 Main
Stand, which was opened in 1963. It 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 terrace, called the Speedy
Skips Stand, 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 Away Supporters? | |
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After
a few seasons of being located in the In2Print
Stand, away supporters now find themselves
back in the Hazlewoods Stand at one end of the
ground. Just over 1,100 supporters can
be accommodated in this area. The view
of the playing area from the Carlsberg Stand
and the facilities inside are good, plus it
has good leg room. If demand requires it, then
part of the In2Print Stand can also be allocated
to away fans. The food
on offer within the ground is not bad; you
can choose from Burgers (£2.80, including for
those with a bigger appetite a half pounder with
cheese £4), Hot Dogs (£2.80), Home made
'Gourmet' Pies (£3), Bacon Rolls
(£2.80), Cornish Pasties (£2.80) and
Sausage Rolls (£2.50). |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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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 pub that I found to the ground was
the Fox & Hounds, but it
had more of a home feel about it. 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. Chris Clarke informs me; 'A good alternative is The Hewlett Arms which is a bit more cosmopolitan than other pubs in the local area, it can be found at the top of Hewlett Road which is about a 10 minute walk from the ground'. |
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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 are a limited
number of spaces available in the Club car park at
the ground which cost £5. The Parklands Social
Club does allow some parking at £4 per car (See Where To Drink). There is little in the way
of nearby street parking close to the stadium. Map showing the location of the Abbey Business Stadium (at the bottom of this page). |
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| Hazlewoods
Stand |
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| 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 | |
| Like a number of
Clubs, Cheltenham have a category scheme
(Standard & Premium), whereby the most
popular games cost more to watch. Premium prices
are shown below with standard prices in
brackets. Home Fans: In2Print Stand: Adults £21 (£20), Concessions £14 (£13), Under 16's £8 (£7) Main Stand: Adults £20 (£19), Concessions £14 (£13), Under 16's £8 (£7) Family Area: Adults £15, Concessions £11, Under 16's £5. Speedy Skips & Paddock Terrace: Adults £16 (£15), Concessions £12 (£11), Under 16's £6 (£5) Away Fans: Hazlewoods Stand: Adults £21 (£20), Concessions £14 (£13), Under 16's £8 (£7) Concessions apply to over 65's and students. |
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| 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 and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. | |
| Fixtures 2011-2012 | |
| Cheltenham Town FC fixture list (takes 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: 2010-2011: 2,980 (League Two) 2009-2010: 3,243 (League Two) 2008-2009: 3,854 (League One) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Whaddon Road | |
| Mark
Newbury (Bournemouth) 12/01/08 Chris Brown (Millwall) 26/08/06 |
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| Hotel Accommodation | |
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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. Access their Cheltenham 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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| Map showing the location of Whaddon Road, 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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