Football Ground Guide: Weston Homes Community Stadium, Colchester United FC

Contents
What's The Ground Like? External View (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? West Stand (photo) Where To Drink? East Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park North Stand (photo) By Train South Stand (photo) Admission Prices Programme Price Local Rivals Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2009-2010 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu
What's The Ground Like?
After 71 years, the Club have left their Layer Road ground and moved to a new stadium on the edge of town. The new Weston Homes Community Stadium as it has been named in a corporate sponsorship deal, was built by Barr Construction at a cost of around Ł14m. The cost was largely met by Colchester Borough Council, who own the stadium, with the football club as tenants. The stadium is functional and well presented, but as with a number of new stadiums built in recent years, it lacks character and is nothing 'out of the ordinary'. The ground is comprised of four separate stands. The Main Stand on one side of the pitch is a little taller than the other three stands, which are the same height. All the stands are covered single tiered, all seated stands. The Main Stand has a row of executive boxes/corporate hospitality areas running across the top of it, whilst the others are simply seating areas. The South Stand though, at one end of the stadium, does have a Police Control Box incorporated into it, on one side beneath the roof. All the stands have translucent panels built into their roofs as well as a perspex strip just below them, which allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. Top Of Page
External View
Special thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the photos for this page. Top Of Page
What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
The Club have decided to relocate supporters for the 2009/10 season to the opposite end the North Stand. Away fans are housed at one end of the stadium in the South Stand, where up to 1,900 supporters can be accommodated. As you would expect from a new stadium the facilities and view of the playing action are good. The away stand is particularly steep, meaning that fans are kept close to the pitch and resulting in good sight lines. A varied range of food is available on the concourses, including the Chicken Balti Pie' (Ł2.30), amongst other pies, sausage rolls (Ł1.80) and burgers (Ł2.70). Adam Hodson a visiting Stockport County fan tells me; 'The ground is equipped with electronic turnstiles. The stadium is very similar to Shrewsbury's New Meadow with all 4 stands being of similar height'. John Hill a visiting Huddersfield Town fan adds; 'One pleasing feature was that at 6'2", I was still okay for leg room, which is not always the case at some other grounds. We caught the shuttle bus from the station and it worked surprisingly well. We got to the ground easily, and afterwards they let the buses out of the car park before cars, which led to a fairly swift return to the station and an easy getaway'. Peter Clark an Ipswich Town fan adds; 'There appears to be no facility to pay cash at the turnstiles, so you have to buy your tickets from the Ticket office if you haven't alreday bought them in advance'. Mick Hubbard informs me; 'The ground is not in a great place. Like Chester, the club has been despatched to a far-flung part of town, sitting the the edge of a new business park, surrounded by wasteland. Although the facilities were excellent, it is quite a depressing location for a "community" club'. Top Of Page
West Stand
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Where To Drink?
With the stadium being on the very outskirts of Colchester, then there is little in the choice of pubs. David Prior informs me; 'The Dog and Pheasant on Nayland Road, is probably the closest to the stadium, although it is till around 3/4's of a mile away. However, it is only admitting home fans'. Audrey MacDonald a visiting Hartlepool United fan adds; 'We visited the Dog and Pheasant and were admitted okay, although we weren't wearing colours. The pub had a good choice of beer and did food too. To find the pub, go down to the end of United Way, then at the end turn left into Boxted Road and at the mini-roundabout go straight over into Nayland Road. The Dog and Pheasant is on the right next to a fish and chip shop'. David Prior continues; 'If you are arriving at Colchester North Station then there are a few pubs within a five minute walk. Directly opposite Bruff Close (where the shuttle bus runs from) is the Bricklayers, but this is for home fans only. If you turn right out of the station and cross at the pedestrian crossing and keep going straight on down North Station road, you will come to the Norfolk, which is a Greene King pub and offers a good selection of lagers and ales. A little further on is the 3rd option being the Albert, which is a Beefeater pub'. John Hill a visiting Huddersfield Town fan adds; 'The Norfolk Arms, which is less than five minutes walk away from the station car park was happy to admit away fans. It looks like that it has recently been refurbished, plus they serve hand-pulled ale. Plus Sky Sports on screen & a new-looking pool table, so definitely recommended'. Alternatively you can take the short train ride from Colchester (North) mainline station to Colchester Town, around which there are plenty of pubs to be found. Ed Aitken adds; 'A decent bet for a pub near town station is the Odd Man Out pub at the bottom of Mersea road (about a two minute walk). It is the most traditional real ale pub in Colchester, although swearing is banned!' A 5-10 minute walk away is the CAMRA listed pub, the Fox & Fiddle which serves a number of real ales. Also on St John's Street and almost next door is the Playhouse, which is a Wetherspoons outlet. This former theatre is a spectacular setting for a bar, as the original dress circle and stage of the theatre have been preserved and is well worth a visit. Alcohol is also available inside the stadium. Top Of Page
East Stand
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How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
The original plans for the stadium included a new junction and slip roads from the A12 to it. However the stadium has been built prior to this road development taking place. From The North & M11: Leave the A14 and then join the M11. Come off the M11 at J8 (Stansted Airport/A120) and follow the A120 towards Braintree & Colchester. The A120 then joins the A12 after passing the stadium on your right,. Leave the A12 at Junction 29, which is the intersection with the A1232 & A120. At the roundabout at the end of the slip road take the exit signposted A12 London & Colchester Business Park. Then take the first left into Severalls Industrial Estate and then left again into the Business Park. At the next roundabout turn right into the Crescent and at the next one, turn right into Severalls Lane. At the next roundabout turn left into Axial Way and then straight onto into United Way for the stadium. Car Parking: There 600 car parking spaces at the stadium which cost Ł5. There is also an extensive residents only parking scheme in operation around the stadium, so you may need to journey to over a mile away, before you can find a legitimate parking space. Mick Hubbard adds; 'A lot of the local roads in the area have roundabouts on them where the roads leading off the island are short dead-ends, implying that one day roads will be built to other places. We parked on one of these 'dead-ends' off an island and so did a number of others, saving ourselves Ł5. I also noticed that parking places at the stadium seemed to be in short supply. Also, cars in the club car park are held back after the game to allow pedestrians to get away first, delaying your departure, whereas we got away easily. In addition there are a number of local businesses in the area also offering parking for around Ł5'. Andrew Goacher a visiting Leicester City fan informs me; 'As you are going through the business park to get to the ground there is a factory on the right hand side called the Lubina Kitchen Company. It costs Ł3 to park there and was really easy to get out of after the game. It is approximately a 10 minute walk away from the stadium.' Whilst Peter Bennett tells me; 'There seems to be no parking restrictions, north of the bridge over the A12.' For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and train station info, which you can print out click here. Top Of Page
North Stand
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By Train
The nearest station to the ground is Colchester North which is just under two miles away from the stadium. Located near to the station at Bruff Close is a free shuttle bus service that will take you to the ground. It takes around 10 minutes to reach the stadium. I have heard of some fans paying to park at Colchester North Station, where there is a fair sized car park and then taking the shuttle bus. Apparently there is some street parking to be had on Mile End Road near to the Bricklayers pub. Free Shuttle Bus to the Stadium: A shuttle bus operates from Bruff Close, which is close to Colchester North station (at the end of the station approach turn left and take the second exit at the roundabout, the buses park behind the "Big Yellow" storage facility that you can see from the station ). For 3pm kick offs it will run from 1pm, with the last bus returning from the stadium at 6pm. For 7.45pm kick offs, the service will commence at 6pm with the last bus returning from the stadium at 10.15pm. The cost of the bus is Ł1, but it is free for OAP's. Top Of Page
South Stand
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Admission Prices
Home Fans: West Stand: Adults Ł20-Ł26, Over 60's and members of the Armed Forces Ł13-Ł19. East Stand: Adults Ł24-Ł26, Over 60's, Under 21's and members of the Armed Forces Ł16-Ł19, Under 16's Ł12, Under 11's Ł9, Under 7's Ł5. East Stand (Family Area): 2 Adults + 2 Under 16's Ł48, Adult + 2 Under 16's Ł28, Adults Ł20-Ł22, Under 21's and members of the Armed Forces Ł13-Ł15, Under 16's Ł8, Under 11's Ł5, Under 7's Ł3. South Stand: Adults Ł18, Over 60's Ł13, Under 21's Ł12-Ł13, Under 16's Ł8-Ł10. Away Fans: North Stand: Adults Ł18, Over 60's Ł13, Under 16's Ł10. Top Of Page
Programme
Official Programme Ł3 Top Of Page
Local Rivals
Ipswich Town, Southend United and from further away Wycombe. Top Of Page
Ground Layout
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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. Top Of Page
Fixtures 2009-2010
For the Colchester fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) Top Of Page
Record & Average Attendance
10,064 v Norwich City League One, January 16th 2010. At Layer Road: 19,072 v Reading FA Cup 1st Round, November 27th, 1948. Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 5,084 (League One) 2007-2008: 5,509 (Championship League) 2006-2007: 5,466 (Championship League) Top Of Page
Fans Reviews
All at Sea Fanzine Team (Southend United) 21/2/09 Greg Trumper (Mk Dons) 20/9/08 Top Of Page
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 Colchester page click here. Top Of Page
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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