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Ground Name: Prostar Stadium |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground Like? Future Developments Rear Of East & South Stands (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Roland Wycherley Stand (photo) Where To Drink? West Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park North Stand (photo) By Train South Stand (photo) Admission Prices Ground Layout Programme Price Local Rivals Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2009-2010 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Feedback |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| After 97 years at playing at their Gay Meadow ground, the
Shrews have moved to a new stadium on the outskirts of the town. The
New Meadow as it is currently called, has a capacity of 9,875 seats.
It is comprised of four separate stands and at first glance looks
similar in design to some other new stadiums that have been recently
built. Yes it is smart looking, functional and tidy, but lacks that
certain something to make it stand out from the others. Each of the stands are simple single tiered stands, that are covered. Below the roof at the back of the stands is a sizeable strip of perspex that runs along the length of the stands. This is to allow more light into the stadium to facilitate pitch growth. Each of the stands are 18 rows high, with the Roland Wycherley Stand (named after the Club Chairman) on one side, being the 'Main Stand'. This stand has a slightly different layout to the others with a press area and eight corporate boxes at its rear, the type of which that you can sit outside of. The North Stand at one end of the stadium where the away fans are located also houses a prominent looking Police Control Box. Four small floodlights pylons are present on the roofs of the side stands. An unusual feature of the stadium is that the areas for disabled fans are high up at the very back of the stands and are accessed by lifts. There is also a small electric scoreboard next to the away end. | |
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The stadium has been built in such a way that the corners of the stadium can later be filled with seating, which would raise capacity to around 12,500. However the Club have not announced as to when this will take place. | |
| Rear Of South & East Stands | |
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Thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the photos on this page. | |
| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are located in the North Stand at one end of the
ground. Leg room is good and the stands are quite steep keeping the
fans close to the action and there is good height between
rows. The concourses are quite well laid out, although the
swing doors at the entrances to the toilets were met with a bit of
trepidation. Although they were clearly marked one for entrance and
one for exit, the inevitable occurs with fans piling out of each.
The catering is provided by a local company called Jennys and
includes amongst other things; Burgers (£3), Cottage Pie (£2.50),
Steak Pie (£2.50), Balti Pie (£2.50), Pasties (£2) and Sausage
Rolls. Plus the club provide handy plastic forks to tackle those hot
pies and I have to say that my steak pie was very tasty, one of the
better that I have had on my recent travels. Alcohol was also
available in the form of Lager (£3.10) and Bitter (£2.90). There are
also large plasma screens
on the concourses showing Sky Sports throughout the
afternoon. I had a pleasant visit to the New Stadium as was surprised by the reasonable atmosphere inside. This is boosted by a drummer in the home end, whilst most of the Shrewsbury singers tend to congregate close to the right of the away supporters in the West Stand. Even though I was at a local derby, the atmosphere was not hostile and I encountered no problems around the stadium. Still, the main drawback with the new stadium is its location. Literally built on a field on the very edge of town, there is little in the way of facilities around it. There is a Retail Park nearby, which has some eating outlets such as a McDonalds, Pizza Hut and a supermarket cafe, but there seems to be little else. | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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David Matthias informs me; 'There are a couple of pubs within walking distance of the stadium. Firstly there is the 'Brooklands Hotel', just off Meole Brace Island, about 5 minutes walk away. It also has aout 100 car parking spaces costing £5 each. Big screens & catering on matchdays. There is also the Charles Darwin Pub; 10 minutes walk away from, with 70 car parking spaces. There is also a good chippy opposite'. Peter de Courcy a visiting Macclesfield Town fan adds; 'The Charles Darwin pub now charges £5 to park, but you get one free drink at the bar with the parking ticket, even if it’s the most expensive drink in the round, so it can be a good deal! It also has a good selection of ales, a very welcoming landlord and friendly local fans.' The Brooklands Hotel is situated on Mill Street. From the stadium turn left along the B4380 Oteley Road. Head around the large roundabout towards Shrewsbury Town Centre. Then turn left into Roman Road and then left again into Mill Street. The hotel is down on the right. The Charles Darwin Pub is in the opposite direction. From the stadium turn right along the B4380 Oteley Road. Take the second left into Sutton Road and the pub is down on the right. Neil Le Milliere a
visiting Exeter City fan recommends; 'The Prince of Wales Hotel on
Bynner Street. Although near the town centre (albeit on the new
stadium side), in the Belle Vue area, this CAMRA Good Beer Guide
listed pub was an excellent find. Good ale, food and a friendly
welcome. The pub also runs a coach to the ProStar stadium for each
home game, which away supporters can use for £2.50 (if there is
space)'. More information can be found on the Prince of Wales Hotel
website. | |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| At the end of the
M54 continue onto the A5. After about seven miles, there is a
traffic island which is at the junction with the A49. Bear left at
this island still following the A5. At the next
roundabout take the 3rd exit onto the B4380 (Thieves Lane). Continue along Thieves
Lane going straight over two roundabouts and this will lead you into Oteley Road.
You will reach the stadium down further down Oteley Road on the
left. There is a large car park at the stadium, holding almost 700 cars, however, this is for permit holders only (although I have received reports of fans turning up early and being admitted for £7). Parking is prohibited in the nearby Retail Park and nearby streets, so to find some street parking you may have to drive a bit further away. Check though for any parking restrictions detailed on posts, before parking up. Otherwise there is a car park costing £5 at the Brooklands Hotel, or for the same price at Prichards Van Hire, opposite the hotel.' Alternatively you can
use the
Park & Ride scheme operated by the Club. This costs £2 per
person and commences at 12.30pm on Saturdays & 5.30pm for
evening matches. It operates from Shire Hall (but not the nearby
Meole Brace which is a park & ride for the town centre). It is
located off the A5 (just take the A5064 towards the town centre) and
at the roundabout with Lord Hill's Column, take the 3rd exit and
then first right into the car park. I have heard though of delays in
getting back to you car after the match (in some cases up to 40
minutes) so bear this in mind. For a map showing the location of the
ground click here (to take you to
the Street Map website). | |
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| By Train | |
| Shrewsbury train station is around two miles away from the stadium. So it should take around 40 minutes to walk. Otherwise you can grab a taxi up to the ground, or take a bus from the town centre bus station (service numbers 8, 16, 23, 25 & 544/546 all stop near to the stadium). There are also plans to introduce a dedicated bus service on matchdays. Shrewsbury train station is served by trains from Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly & Crewe. | |
| Admission Prices | |
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Home
Fans*: | |
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| Programme Price | |
| Official Programme £2.50 | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Hereford United, Wrexham, Walsall, Wolverhampton Wanderers and AFC Telford. | |
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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 Shrewsbury fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| At the New Stadium: 8,753 England v Spain (Women's International) European Championship Qualifier, November 25th 2007. For a Shrewsbury game: 8,429 v Bury League Two, Play Off Semi Final May 7th, 2009 At The Gay Meadow Ground: 18,917 v Walsall, Division 3, April 26th, 1961. Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 5,664 (League Two) 2007-2008: 5,659 (League Two) 2006-2007: 4,730 (League Two) | |
| Fans Reviews Of The New Meadow | |
| Rob Haynes (Doing The 92)
11/3/08 Roddy Hankins (Hereford United) 23/2/08 Tim Robinson (Neutral) 26/12/07 Glyn Berrington (TNS) 14/8/07 | |
| 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 Shrewsbury 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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