Newport County
Rodney Parade

Capacity:
11,676 (Reduced to 5,511 for football matches)
Address:
Rodney Parade, Newport, South Wales, NP19 0UU
Main Telephone No: 01633 670690
Pitch Size: 112 x 72 yards
Team Nickname: The Exiles or Ironsides
Year Ground Opened: 1877
Home Kit Colours: Amber & Black
Official Web Site:
www.newport-county.co.uk
Unofficial Web Sites:
www.the-exiles.co.uk (Message Board)
Supporters Trust

The Club moved to Rodney Parade, the home of Newport and Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby Clubs at the beginning of the 2012/13 season after spending eighteen years at Newport Stadium. The Club have signed a contract that will see them stay at Rodney Parade for the next three seasons. However the Club have an 'opt out' clause whereby they can return to Newport Stadium after one season, if the ground move is not deemed to be a success.

Situated on the Eat bank of the River Usk, the stadium has seen some recent investment with the opening of two new stands. On one side is the Bisley Stand that was opened in 2011. This covered all seated stand has a capacity of just over 2,500 seats. It is single tiered and incorporates 13 executive boxes, that run along the back of the stand. The roof is situated quite high up above the spectators area and incorporates a television gantry an dpleasingly there are no supporting pillars to obstruct your view of the playing action. One unusual aspect of the stand is that the seats comprise a number of different colours, making for an eye catching 'polka dot' effect. The stand has a row of four floodlight pylons protruding from its roof. Opposite is the much older but classic looking Hazell Stand. This covered stand has seating to the rear (with windshields to either side) and terracing to the front. There are a row of thin supporting pillars running across the middle of this stand. It does not run the full length of the pitch and has a portion of open terracing on one side towards the North End. It too has a set of four (rather older looking) floodlight pylons protruding from its roof.

The North or Town End as it is also known was re-built in 2010. It is a small open terrace which is quite set-back from the playing area. As it is small and open it does allow views of Newport itself from other parts of the stadium. in one corner between the North Terrace and Bisley Stand there are some Club offices. Normally this end is not open for matches but may be employed for some of the bigger games.

The South End is largely unused for spectators. On one side is a strange looking 'double decker' type structure which I assume is used for corporate hospitality. On the other side in the corner is another strange looking building with a large pyramid shaped roof. This houses the dressing rooms and the teams come onto the pitch from this corner of the ground. There is an electric scoreboard mounted on the front of this building.

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Bisley Stand

Special thanks to Ryan Hiscott for providing the photos for this page.

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Away fans are housed at the South End of the Bisley Stand, where around 580 fans can be accommodated. This stand is all seated and covered and being a realtively new stand the facilities inside are good. The Stand is shared with home supporters who are separated by a portion of green netting, draped over the seats.

For visiting supporters the move to Rodney Parade is good on at least two counts. Firstly unlike the Newport Stadium at Rodney Parade there is no athletics track to contend with so fans are housed closer to the playing action. Secondly Rodney Parade is located near to the city centre where there are plenty of choice of watering holes and eating establishments. So overall I think this will be a better overall experience for the visiting supporter than Newport Stadium.

Simon Wright a visiting Hereford United fan adds; 'It’s bewildering in a 11,000 capacity mostly modern stadium that only half this number are permitted for football matches.  One of the curiosities is that all the signage around the stadium appears to be for the two rugby clubs with no mention either inside or outside the ground that County are in residence. If you follow a big sign “Away Supporters This Way” from the main approach road, you’ll end up at the home end as we did -  and this is completely at the wrong end of the stadium. Inside the away supporters are housed in a modern new stand, close to the corner flag. During my visit, everyone stood up throughout the game with no problems. The stewarding was generally low-key and friendly. There is a bar above the away seats but it does not appear to be signposted (spotting a common thread here?) so keep a good look out for it'.

Please note that the entrance to the away section is located at the bottom of Corporation Road (the same road as the ticket office and club shop).

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Hazell Stand

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Where To Drink?

There is a Clubhouse at the ground which welcomes away supporters. The nearest pub is 'The Dodger' on Chepstow Road. Further along Chepstow Road (going towards Maindee) is a Wetherspoon outlet called the Godfrey Morgan, which is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Otherwise the city centre is a 10-15 minute walk away where there are plenty of pubs to be found including three more Wetherspoons outlets. Two of these the John Wallace Linton in Cambrian Road and the Queen's Hotel in Bridge Street are located quite close to the railway station. Otherwise alcohol is available inside the stadium.

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View From The Away Section

How To Get There And Where To Park

Leave the M4 at Junction 26 and take the A4051 towards Newport. After going under a flyover (which is the A4042) you will reach a large roundabout where you take the 2nd exit keeping in the filter lane towards the City Centre/Railway Station (do not go up the adjoining slip road onto the A4042). At the next roundabout take the 1st exit going across the river onto the B4591 towards Maindee. At the traffic lights bear right onto Chepstow Road and then take the first right into Corporation Road. Take the next right into Grafton Road and the entrance and ticket office are down on the left.

There is no parking available at the ground for supporters and there is a 'residents only' parking scheme in operation in the street around the stadium. So it is either a case of finding street parking further away or use one of the city centre car parks, such as Kingsway Shopping Centre, which costs £2 for five hours.

Map showing the location of Rodney Parade (at the bottom of this page).

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Looking Towards The South End

Newport railway station is situated around a quarter of a mile away from the stadium and is a relatively short walk. The station is served by trains from London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads & Birmingham New Street. As you come out of the main station entrance turn left along the main (Queensway) road. Follow this road until you reach a large roundabout. Take the pedestrian underpass down underneath the roundabout and at the centre turn left towards Clarence Place/River Usk. After you have come back up to street level you should see a bridge in front of you going across the river. Cross the bridge and then take the first right hand turn into Rodney Parade and the stadium is down this road on the left.

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Ground Layout

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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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