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Walsall
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| Contents | |
| What's
The Banks's Stadium Like? Future Developments Looking Towards The Floors 2 Go Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? The Walsall Bite Size and Extra Bet Stands (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Admission Prices Programme & Fanzine Ground Layout Local Rivals Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2011-2012 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Google map of the area around the Banks's Stadium |
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| What's The Banks's Stadium Like? | |
| The Saddlers moved to the Bescot
Stadium in 1990 from Fellows Park. With
the opening of the now
named Floors 2 Go Purple Stand in 2003 the Club are
finally getting a ground to match their ambitions. This new
stand is for home fans and is a large two
tiered affair that completely dwarfs the rest
of the ground. It is smart looking, with a glassed area running
across its middle, which
houses the concourse. Unusually, it
has a slightly larger upper than lower tier. This end before
it was re-developed was previously called the
Gilbert Alsop (a former Walsall playing great)
Stand, but in a commercial sponsorship deal,
has been renamed the Floors
2 Go Stand. Similarly
the H.L. Fellows Stand has been renamed the
Txt 64446 Health Stand. A sign of the times I
guess... The rest of the stadium is totally enclosed with three of the stands being roughly the same height, giving it a 'box-like' feel. These stands are not particularly big, around 15 rows high. The corners are filled, but only for advertising hoardings. Above the Extra Bet (William Sharp) stand there is a small electric scoreboard, whilst on one side there is a small television camera gantry precariously perched on the roof. One unusual feature are the strange looking floodlights, which sit on the roofs of the side stands. The main disappointment is the large number of supporting pillars in each of the older stands (the new Floors 2 Go Stand is pillar free). As Walsall unfortunately very rarely fill the stadium, this is not a huge problem. However, for big games this can be very annoying if you are unlucky enough to get seated behind one. There is also a small electric scoreboard on top of the Homeserve (William Sharp) Stand. In a corporate sponsorship deal with Marstons Brewery, the stadium has been renamed the Banks's Stadium. |
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| Future Developments | |
| The Club have announced that they have been granted planning permission to re-develop the Homeserve (William Sharp) end of the ground. The new stand would look similar to the Floors 2 Go Stand and add 2,300 seats to the stadium, raising the overall capacity to 13,500. It would also mean that up to 4,000 away supporters could be accommodated at that end. The back of the stand will also feature a giant advertising hoarding, clearly visible from the M6. The Club are seeking a suitable sponsor for this proposed development. | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away supporters are housed in the
Extra Bet Stand at one end of the ground,
where around 2,000 away supporters can be
accommodated. There are a few supporting
pillars at the front which
could impede your view. The good news though,
is that even a small amount of away fans can
really make some noise and
make a good atmosphere. A trip to
Walsall can be disappointing in terms of
trying to get there and the stadium itself,
but is more than countered by the relaxed
atmosphere around the ground and the
friendliness of the Walsall fans themselves.
Neil Harding a visiting Hull
City fan provides his thoughts on the
stadium; 'In my opinion The Bescot
has to be one of the poorest grounds in the country. It has a strange
look to it with three covered stands all the
same size, but
one large stand that towers over the rest of the ground,
giving it a somewhat lopsided feel. I found
the away end to be rather cramped and the
view distorted by one of
the four pillars that run across the front.
The only good thing is that it the stand is
covered, which
means a good away following can create a lot of noise. The away end is
served by a food kiosk stuck in each corner,
and near to the
toilets which created a bit of a bottle neck at half time,
especially as a large away following was
present. The food though,
if you are prepared to wait, was excellent,
especially the chicken balti
pies. The home
fans didn't appear to be threatening in
anyway and the stewards came
across as a friendly bunch of people. The amount
of police on duty though
did seem a little excessive for what was a bit of a
nothing game'. Neutral supporter
going to the game? |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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This is the
Saddlers Club situated just outside the
stadium, that is happy to admit away
supporters on matchdays on payment of a
£2 entrance fee, although under 16's
are admitted free. The Club has two rooms, a
smaller one at the front which is for home
supporters and a larger function room at the
back, which is for away fans. This area has
seating for 300, has a large screen showing
Sky Sports news, has food on offer, such as
pies, burgers etc.. and also offered real
ale (on my last visit this was Wychwood
Hobgoblin). Overall, I was very
impressed with the facilities, but as you
would expect if there is a large away
following it can get full pretty quickly. Also on the adjoining retail park, that you pass on the way in to the stadium, there is a McDonalds, to keep the kids happy. |
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The Walsall Bite Size and Extra Bet Stands |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
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The ground is
right next to the M6, in fact you can see it
from the motorway just north of the RAC
Control Centre. Unfortunately, this stretch
of motorway normally has a large traffic jam
on both Saturday lunchtimes and early
weekday evenings, so allow extra time. Map showing the location of the Banks's Stadium (at the bottom of this page). |
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| By Train | |
| Note that if you go by train, Bescot Stadium has its own station, situated behind the away end only a few minutes walk from the turnstiles. Trains run there on a local line from Birmingham New Street and the journey time is around 20 minutes. There is a regular service on Saturdays along this line and you should not have too many problems getting away after the game. | |
| Admission Prices | |
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Home
Fans*: Away Fans*: |
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| Programme & Fanzine | |
| Official Programme £3. There is also an
excellent programme shop behind the William
Sharp Stand. Ninety Minutes From Europe (NMFE) Fanzine 50p |
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| Ground Layout | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Aston Villa & Shrewsbury Town. | |
| 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 | |
| Walsall FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record Attendance: 11,049 v Rotherham United Division One, May 9th 2004 Record Attendance At Fellows Park: 25,453 v Newcastle (Div 2) August 29th, 1961. Average Attendance: 2010-2011: 3,846 (League One) 2009-2010: 4,029 (League One) 2008-2009: 4,572 (League One) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Bescot Stadium | |
| Danny Brennan
(Sheffield Wednesday) 23/4/11 Teresa Jewell (Sheffield Wednesday) 23/4/11 Paul O'Shea (Doing the 92) 26/2/11 Tino Hernandez (Bournemouth) 12/2/11 Alan McKeown (Doing the 92) 23/10/10 Steve Ellis (Exeter City) 9/10/10 Joe Myall (Wycombe Wanderers) 5/4/10 Phillip Mould (Southampton) 5/12/09 Jonathan Saunders (Yeovil Town) 9/2/08 |
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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 Walsall Hotels and Guest Houses page. | |
| Map showing the location of the Banks's stadium, railway station and listed pubs | |
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Instructions
for using the map: |
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| Feedback | |
| 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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