Chesterfield
Proact Stadium

Capacity: 10,400 (all seated)
Address: 1866 Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8NZ
Main Telephone No: 01246 209 765
Fax No: 01246 556 799
Pitch Size: 111 x 71 yards
Team Nickname: Spireites
Year Ground Opened: 2010
Shirt Sponsors: Kick Energy
Home Kit Colours: Blue & White
Away Kit Colours: Gold & Black
Kit Manufacturers: Puma
Official Web Sites:
www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk
www.theproactstadium.co.uk
Unofficial Web Site:
Compton Street (Footy Mad Network)

Built at a cost of £13 million, Chesterfield’s new 10,400 capacity all seater stadium is located around one and a half miles north of the town centre. On one side is the HTM Products Main Stand. This stand has a capacity of 2,902 seats on a single tier, with a glass fronted executive lounge at the rear. The players emerge from the tunnel at the centre of the stand, whilst the centre seating of the stand is taken up by the Directors Box, Sponsors and Legends seating areas, with the press seating situated towards the North end wing section. The stand has a graceful curved roof with white steelwork and a glazed windshield at the north end, with a ground floor and top level viewing area for disabled supporters and their helpers in the South wing section. At one side of the stand, towards the Karen Child Kop is an unusual looking stadium control tower which extends beyond the touchline.

Opposite is the Midlands Co-operative Community Stand which is similar in appearance, having a curved roof line and a capacity of 3,144 seats with glazed windshields on either side, but with no executive facilities at the rear. The television camera gantry is situated in this stand below the roof steelwork. Both ends are similar affairs, both being single tiered, covered and housing just over 2,000 supporters. Unlike the other stands the roofs on these ends are not curved, but again glass windshields are in place on both sides. The only real difference is that the Karen Child Stand has two ground floor level disabled viewing areas as opposed to one in the Rubicon Print Stand. The ground is complimented at present by four modern slim corner floodlight pylons which each have 14 lights on four rows.

The stadium has a pleasing balanced feel with no single stand dominating the whole ground. Externally there are some nice touches too, with the 'wall of fame' from the clubs 'buy a brick scheme', in the South and North West corners and wide pathways that lead through the car park to the turnstile blocks from Sheffield Road. There is an electric scoreboard at one end of the ground located on the roof of the away fan stand. The only minor downside is that one corner of the stadium is overlooked by a Tesco's store and car park, which detracts from the overall look.

Special thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the information and photos for this page.

Top Of Page

 Top Of Page

Away supporters are normally housed in the Rubicon Print Stand at the North end of the stadium, where up to 2,112 supporters can be seated. If demand requires it then additional seating can also be made available in the Midlands Co-operative Community (East) Stand. Conversely if your team has a small following then only part of the East Stand is allocated and not the North end.

Unlike most new stadiums the fans are housed pretty close to the pitch, ensuring good views of the playing action. The leg room is good too. The concourses are built to a high standard, with large flat screen televisions (showing Sky Sports, plus the game going on inside with commentary) to keep the fans entertained. Food on offer from the concourse includes the locally produced Jacksons Pies (Chicken Balti, Steak, Meat & Potato) & Sausage Rolls (£2.80), Rollover Cheeseburgers (£3), Rollover Hot Dogs (£3), Rollover Nachos with dips (£3.50). Pleasingly, the refreshment areas stay open throughout the match (although no alcohol is allowed to be served after 9pm for evening games).

The roof of the away end is quite low, which ensures that a relatively small number of away supporters can really make some noise. I noted that the stewards allowed standing at the back of the stand but not at the front. When one away fan queried with one of the staff as to why this was, whilst pointing at some Chesterfield fans standing at the front of one of their stands, he was met with the response; 'That's football' with a shrug of the shoulders. In effort to further boost the atmosphere there is a drummer in the home end and on my visit a drum was also allowed into the away stand. If Chesterfield score then the tune 'Tom Hark' echoes around the stadium.

Please note that cash is not accepted at the turnstiles, entrance is by ticket only. Away fans can purchase their tickets from the small portakabin located outside the Rubicon Print (North) Stand.

  Top Of Page

Midlands Co-operative Community Stand

Nearest to the away end of the ground, along Sheffield Road (a five minute walk, passing a Chinese/Fish & Chip shop on the way) is the Derby Tup. This pub is featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and normally has ten ales available. Although the pub does not sell food, the landlord allows customers to bring in food from outside. Further on up Sheffield Road on the right is the tiny Beer Parlour shop, which is primarily a real ale and cider off licence, but also allows ales to be bought and consumed inside. A little further on, on the same side of the road is the handily located North Sea Fish and Chip shop. Whilst up on the left is the Red Lion pub, which is serves beers from the Old Mill Brewery and shows Sky Sports.

Other pubs located near to the stadium such as the Rose and Crown, plus the Crown and Anchor, do not admit away fans. Whilst the nearby Donkey Derby Pub which also offers food, is very busy on matchdays and is predominantly for home supporters.

Whilst in the centre of town is the Rutland Arms, which is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. As Sarah Greenan explains; 'A pub I would recommend for away supporters is the Rutland Arms on Stephenson Place in Chesterfield. If you arrive by train and walk towards the town centre it's just upon on your left - the pub is next to the huge church with the Crooked Spire - you can't miss it! The Rutland is a very old pub and in recent years has operated as a traditional ale house with a huge range of well-kept real ales and good food as well. It welcomes home and away supporters and is a pleasure to visit. In warm weather customers spill out into the adjcent churchyard'. On St Marys Gate is a Wetherspoons outlet called the Spa Lane Vaults.

If walking up to the stadium from Chesterfield Railway Station and you like good ale, then you may wish to make a small detour to the Chesterfield Arms. The pub which is situated on Newbold Road, is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and has normally ten ales and six ciders available.

Otherwise alcohol is served inside the ground in the form of; draught Carling (£3), Worthington (£2.80), Magners Cider (£3.30) plus bottles of Budweiser (£3.20), Wine (£3.50), VK Blue bottles (£3), Gin/Vodka with mixer (£3.50) and cans of Guinness (£3.30). The latter are first placed on a vibrating platform to give the stout a head. For an hour before kick off the Club offer 'Pie & Pint' (or alternatively 'Pie & Burger') deals for £5.

 Top Of Page

Looking Towards The Karen Child Stand

Top Of Page

Map showing the location of the Proact Stadium (at the bottom of this page).

 Top Of Page

 Rubicon Print Stand

Since this photo was taken an electric scoreboard has been installed on the roof.

Top Of Page

Chesterfield railway station is walkable from the stadium, although it will take you between 20 and 30
minutes to walk to do so. Alternatively, there is a taxi rank outside the station though as traffic is likely to be slow along Sheffield Road on a matchday this could end up costing you more time and money than you thought.

If you wish to travel to the ground by bus a 5 minute walk into the town centre will enable you to catch a bus from Cavendish Street. This will take 5-15 minutes to get to the ground, depending on traffic. Come out of the station and turn left and follow the road to the left side of the Chesterfield Hotel. There is a footbridge over the A61 Inner Relief Road, which will take you into Corporation Street. At the end of the street you will see the museum on the left, and the famous crooked spire church directly ahead of you. Go over the zebra crossing and turn right, carry on this road, walk past Eyres furniture store and The Winding Wheel. Cavendish Street is the next turning on the left. Bus stops T1 and T2 are on the opposite side of the road. 

Walking directions from the railway station:

Come out of the station and turn left. The Chesterfield Hotel will be directly ahead of you, take the road to the right hand side and carry on over the mini roundabout, into Brewery Street, up the hill and over the A61 Inner Relief Road with Chesterfield College on your right hand side. After 5 minutes walk you will reach the end of the road at the Old Post Office Restuarant. Turn right and after a minutes walk you will come to a mini roundabout. Take the right turn into Sheffield Road. This road dips down, up and then down again for around 15 minutes. At the big roundabout with the car showrooms you will see the Donkey Derby pub in front of you and the ground further along Sheffield Road. Visiting fans must carry on past the HTM Products Stand to reach the Printabilty Stand at the north end of the ground.

Shuttle Bus

The Club are also have a shuttle bus which operates on matchdays (every 10 minutes 13.30 - 14.40 Saturdays and 18.20 - 19.30 weekdays). It departs from Rose Hill by the Town Hall. The bus is also in operation after the game (last bus on Saturdays is 17.45, weekdays 22.25). The fare is £1 each way.

 Top Of Page

A Closer Look At The Karen Child Stand

 Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Ground Layout

Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Top Of Page

Samuel Walker (Neutral) 13/4/13
Dominic Bickerton (Stoke City/Doing The 92) 17/3/12
Steve Ellis (Exeter City) 7/1/12
Gary Parker (Doing The 92) 7/1/12
Seb Brichet (Port Vale) 2/4/11
Paul Thompson (Rotherham United) 18/3/11
Karl Jukes (Doing the 92) 1/3/11
Ed Jones (Shrewsbury Town) 23/10/10
Martyn Stimson (92 Club) 7/8/10 
David Reynolds (Neutral) 7/8/10

Top Of Page

Other Places Of Interest

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 Chesterfield 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. 

Top Of Page

Map showing the location of the Proact stadium, railway station and listed pubs

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.

Top Of Page

Return To The Main Menu