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Northampton Town
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| Contents | |
| What's
Sixfields Stadium Like? Future Developments Sixfields Stadium (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters West Stand (photo) Where To Drink? Dave Bowen Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Alwyn Hargrave Stand (photo) Local Rivals Admission Prices Programme & Fanzine Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2011-2012 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Sixfields Stadium Location Map |
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| What's Sixfields Stadium Like? | |
| The Club moved from their old County Ground to the new stadium in October 1994. This neat all seater stadium is located on the outskirts of Northampton. Sixfields has three small covered single tier stands, and another larger single tier covered West Stand (capacity 4,000), at one side of the pitch. Away supporters are housed at the South Stand end. The club has received awards for the facilities provided for disabled supporters. A large hill overlooks the ground, where small numbers congregate to watch the game free, even though they can only see half the pitch! | |
| Future Developments | |
| Kevin Dunn informs me; 'Following the Club's successful bid to buy a 150 year lease on Sixfields Stadium, they have announced that the stadium is to be further developed so that the overall capacity will rise to 15,000. This will mean new North, East & South Stands as well as executive boxes being added to the West Stand. Part of the development will also the feature the building of a hotel behind the South Stand of the stadium. The home end at Northampton's old County Ground was called the Hotel End, so it is quite apt that the new stadium will also feature its own Hotel End. It is believed that it will take five years for the plans to be fulfilled.' However, it would appear that the Club do not have the necessary finances in place to go ahead with these developments, so it may be quite a while yet before things come to fruition. | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters | |
| Away fans are located
in the attractively named
'Paul Cox Panel & Paint South
Stand' at one end of
the pitch, where 800
supporters can be accommodated. If demand
requires it, then an additional 300 seats can
also be made available in the Alwyn Hargrave
Stand. One slight pain about Sixfields is that
you can't pay at the turnstiles. You have to
buy your ticket first from a Portakabin and
then you have to queue again. Some away fans
have got caught out by this when arriving
late. However, I have
received a number of reports complementing
the standard of stewarding, other club
officials and the Northampton fans
themselves. Please note that if you club has
a large away following to make sure that you
have a ticket before travelling as it has
not be unknown for away fans turning up on
the day, to find that the away section has
sold out. Food on sale inside the ground
includes: Cheesburgers
£3.30, Burgers £3, Hot Dogs
£3, Pasties £3, Various Pies
£2.50, Sausage Rolls £2.50,
Pizza slices £2.50 and Chips £2. Having lived in Northampton for a year and watched Northampton Town win the old fourth division (giving away my age now...), I have a soft spot for them. The fans themselves are quite passionate and this makes for a great atmosphere especially at cup games. Robert Dunkley informs me; 'outside the West Stand there is a used programme stall stocking a wide range of programmes from different clubs and seasons'. |
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| The ground is built on a leisure
complex on the outskirts of Northampton. This
consists of a couple of fast food
establishments (including a McDonalds and a
Pizza Hut), a cinema and the stadium
itself. There are two pubs on this site, the Magic Tower (formerly
called Chevys),
which is for home supporters only and The
Sixfields Tavern (no away colours). I managed
to get into the Magic
Tower when I went to see Northampton
play Gillingham. The bouncers on the door
asked me which club I supported. When I
replied "Birmingham City", they were totally
confused as they had obviously not been
programmed for this response. Nevertheless
they still let me in. Steven Jones informs me; "a couple of other bars have opened recently opened on the Sixfields complex, both of which are better than the Sixfields Tavern and the Magic Tower in terms of service, space, atmosphere etc. Old Orleans is one (a restaurant & bar) and the Sports Bar is the other (bowling alleys, 9-ball tables, big screens for post-match scores round-ups etc, equally popular with home and away fans)". Whilst Carl Brown adds; "I found myself drinking in a 'T.G.I. Friday's' outlet opposite the Main Stand. Maybe not your stereotypical pre-match watering hole but very convenient for a drink, plus there was a wonderful array of fine waitresses on display, serving the goods!" If you are coming into Northampton from the M1, via the A45, you will pass the Turnpike Pub, which is okay for away fans. |
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From The South: Steve Riches adds; 'If
Northampton Saints rugby club are also at
home at the same time as Northampton Town,
then the parking can get critical as the
Saints play just down the road, so allow
extra time on those occasions'. |
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| By Train | |
| Northampton
train station is over two miles from the
ground, so it is probably best to hire a taxi.
However if you feel like braving the 25-30
minute walk then Phil Spokes provides the
following directions; 'Turn right from the
station and follow the road past the express
lift tower (you can't miss it, a tall tower
that was once used for testing lifts), passing the Wickes
store on the left. Continue
down to the Leisure Centre, turn left down the
path beside it and then turn right onto the
road. You will see the stadium in the distance
in front of you. Liz
Williams adds; 'From
the railway station you can take the D2 bus
towards Daventry, which also
goes by the Sixfields retail
park and stops about 200 yards from the
stadium. The buses go from the bridge over
the railway at the south end of the station.
To return, get on at the same stop, but make
sure to check which direction the bus is
heading as the same stop serves both
directions. The trip takes 10-20 mins
depending on traffic (which can be heavy if
there is a Saints rugby match on the same
day)'. A timetable can be downloaded from
the Stagecoach
website (PDF file).
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Alwyn Hargrave Stand |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Peterborough United, Rushden & Diamonds, Milton Keynes Dons. | |
| Admission Prices | |
| Home Fans West Stand: Adults £19, Concessions £15, Under 18's £6, Under 7's Free Dave Bowen Stand: Adults £19, Concessions £15, Under 18's £6, Under 7's Free Alwyn Hargrave Stand: Adults £18, Concessions £13, Under 18's £5, Under 7's Free Away Fans South Stand: Adults £19, Concessions £15, Under 18's £6, Under 7's Free Concessions
apply to over 60's. Under 21's can also be
admitted at the concessionary price,
providing that they first become members of
the club. |
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| Programme & Fanzine | |
| Official Programme
£3 HotelEnders Fanzine £1 |
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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 | |
| Northampton Town FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| At the County Ground; 24,523 v Fulham, Division One, April 23rd, 1966. At Sixfields Stadium; 7,557 v Manchester City, Division Two, September 26th, 1998. Average Attendance: 2010-2011: 4,605 (League Two) 2009-2010: 4,375 (League Two) 2008-2009: 5,200 (League One) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Sixfields | |
| Nick
Murphy (Dagenham & Redbridge)
24/9/11 Tim Sansom (Neutral) 11/9/10 Andy Saunders (Shrewsbury Town) 25/4/10 Jack Douglas (Southend United) 13/4/09 Andrew Willock (Leicester City) 31/1/09 John Hubble (Birmingham City) 20/1/09 |
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| Hotel Accommodation | |
| 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. The Hotels listing also includes details of how far away the accommodation is located from the football ground. Access their Northampton Hotels and Guest Houses page. | |
| Map showing the location of Sixfields Stadium, railway station and listed pubs | |
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Instructions
for using the map: |
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Feedback |
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| 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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