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Leyton Orient Ground Name: Matchroom
Stadium |
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| Contents | |
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What's The Ground Like? |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| The ground has seen a lot of re-development in recent
years, with the construction of three new stands. Finance for this
has chiefly come from the proceeds of selling part of the Brisbane
Road site to a property developer. In this ground breaking
development, the corners of the ground have been filled with blocks
of residential apartments, which certainly gives the stadium a
unique look. Some other clubs are looking at the scheme with
interest and I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar take
place at another league ground at some point in the
future. At one end is the single tiered, Tommy Johnston (South) Stand (capacity 1,336 seats), that was opened in 1999. This stand replaced a former open terrace and is named after the club's leading all time goal scorer. An interesting feature of this covered area is that it is raised above pitch level, meaning that you have to climb a small set of steps at the front to reach the seating area. The old Main (East) Stand, which was originally opened in 1956, has been reduced in length, but is still a fair size. This partly covered stand is now all seated after having seating installed on the former front terrace. Unfortunately, it has several supporting pillars and the roof doesn't quite cover all of the front seating. It does though have an interesting gable on its roof which has 'Leyton Orient' proudly emblazoned across it and gives a nice link to the Club's history. Opposite is the new
West Stand which was opened for the 2005/06 season. This all seated
stand which has a capacity of 2,872, has an unusual look about it,
as above the seating area is a tall vertical structure that houses
the Club offices. In fact to be honest it looks more like an office
block that has some seats installed on a large viewing gallery,
rather than a football stand. It also has some corporate hospitality
areas, which look a little precarious, as the outside seating area
of these overhang the lower tier. If you carry on with the office
theme, then you can almost imagine these being used by the window
cleaners to clean the office windows. At the very top of the stand
is a fair sized viewing gallery for television cameras and press and
the roof of the stand contains a lot of perspex panels to allow more
light to reach the pitch. | |
| Future Developments | |
| The Club have expressed an interest to move to the proposed Olympic Stadium, which will be built for London to host the Olympics in 2012. The stadium which will be built in Stratford in East London, will after the games have finished, have its capacity reduced from 80,000 to 25,000. Whether this possible move for Orient will materialise, remains to be seen. | |
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Thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the photos for this page. | |
| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
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Currently away
supporters are housed in one side (towards the South End) of the Main Stand,
where there are a couple of supporting pillars that may impede your
view. Around 1,000 fans can be accommodated
in this area. I have been to Orient a number of times
and have always been impressed by the state of the pitch. Even
in January it is immaculate and at the start of the season you could
almost play snooker on it! The Shire Foods
Chicken Balti Pie
(£2) is available inside. | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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There is a supporters club at the
ground that does admit visiting supporters at a cost of £1.
The supporters club which is located in the West Stand is
listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. However, it can get
uncomfortably full of people. Otherwise the nearest pub to
the ground is the Coach & Horses. To get there take a right out
of Leyton station and walk down for about half-a-mile. It is on your
left, within sight of the floodlights. The Three Blackbirds has been
recommended to me and that is a bit further up Leyton High Road, on
the right. | |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| Thanks to O-Net
for the following directions: Approaching London you will at some
point hit the M25. Use this to get to the M11 (unless you're coming
from Cambridge, in which case you'll already be on it) take the
southbound carriageway for about 6 miles and take the right fork
signposted for the North Circular. At the bottom of the flyover where the roads merge, move into the left-hand lane and turn left at the roundabout on to the A104. After about 1 mile at the next roundabout take the right exit - still the A104 (a landmark here is the quaintly-decorated Lamb's Cafe). Half a mile further on, turn left into Leyton Green Road (signposted to Leyton and Stratford), and left again into a short slip-road past the bus garage entrance and left into Leyton High Road - you'll see the Leyton Leisure Lagoon opposite as you wait to make the turn. Continue until you see the floodlights and then find a side turning to park in the back-streets. Street Parking. For a map showing the location of the ground and the surrounding area click here to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. | |
| By Tube | |
| The nearest tube
station is Leyton (about a 1/4 of a mile away) which is on the
Central Line. Come out of the station and turn right down Leyton
High Road. Cross over the road to the other side and continue down
it. You will come to Coronation Gardens on your left and the
floodlights of the ground can be clearly seen behind them. Take the
next left past the gardens into Buckingham Road for the
ground. Thanks to Dean Herbert & Joe Spraggins for providing the directions. | |
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| Admission; Prices | |
| Home
Fans: West Stand: Adults £22 Concessions £14 Tommy Johnston Stand: Adults £20 Concessions £13 East Stand: Adults £20 Concessions £13 North Family Stand: Adults £20, Concessions £13, Under 16's £5, Under 11's (when accompanied by an adult) Free. Away Fans: | |
| Programme Price | |
| Official Programme: £3 | |
| Local Rivals | |
| West Ham United and from further a field, Brighton, Boston & Southend. | |
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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 Leyton Orient fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| 34,345 v West Ham
United, FA Cup 4th Round, January 25th, 1964. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 9,100 v Tottenham Hotspur, Friendly, August 1st 2007. Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 4,692 (League One) 2007-2008: 5,210 (League One) 2006-2007: 4,828 (League One) | |
| Fans Reviews Of The Matchroom Stadium | |
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Will Thurlwell (Colchester United) 10/10/09 | |
| 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 Leyton Orient & general London 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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Return To The Main Menu | |
