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Walsall Ground Name: Banks's Stadium
(but still known to many fans as
the Bescot Stadium) |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground
Like? Future Developments Looking Towards The Floors 2 Go Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? The West Bromwich & Dains Stands (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Admission Prices Programme & Fanzine Ground Layout Local Rivals Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2009-2010 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground 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 Dains (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. | |
| 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 Dains 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'. | |
| Where To Drink? | |
| The King George V
in Wallowes Lane is okay,
but as the nearest pub to the ground it gets (rather expectantly)
rather busy which can make it a bit difficult to get served
quickly. It is about a 15 minute walk
away, opposite the Morrisons Supermarket. If you
are walking from the stadium, go out of the official car parks and
down towards McDonalds. Go past McDonalds on your right and take a
left hand turn into Wallowes Lane. At the end of the lane turn left
onto the main road and the pub is just setback on the left. Away
fans though should avoid the Fulbrook pub near to the
ground. Gary Cotterill informs me; 'at the stadium there is the Saddlers Club, which normally allows small numbers of away fans in at a cost of £1, but you need to arrive there early'. Please note that alcohol is not served inside the stadium. Inside you will find a range of Shire Foods pies available including the Chicken Balti Pie (£2) on offer (allegedly Walsall were the first Club to stock balti pies). Whilst on the adjoining retail park, that you pass on the way in to the stadium, there is a McDonalds, to keep the kids happy. Neil LeMilliere a visiting Exeter City fan adds; 'couldn't get into the Saddlers Club at 2.10pm. It is then a long way to go to get a drink anywhere else if you don't know where you are going - in fact too far!' | |
|
The West Bromwich & Dains 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. For a map showing the location of the
ground click here
(to take you to the Street Map
website). | |
| 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*: | |
| Programme & Fanzine | |
| Official Programme
£2.50. There is also an excellent programme
shop behind the William Sharp Stand. Ninety Minutes From Europe (NMFE) Fanzine 50p | |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Aston Villa & Shrewsbury Town. | |
| 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 Walsall fixture list click here (to take 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: 2008-2009: 4,572 (League One) 2007-2008: 5,620 (League One) 2006-2007: 5,430 (League Two) | |
| Fans Reviews Of Bescot Stadium | |
| Phillip Mould
(Southampton) 5/12/09 Jonathan Saunders (Yeovil Town) 9/2/08 Tim Rigby (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 11/1/03 | |
| 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 Walsall 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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