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| Watford
Ground Name: Vicarage
Road |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground Like? Future Developments Looking Towards The Rookery Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Rous Stand (photo) Where To Drink? East Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train/Tube Vicarage Road Stand (photo) Local Rivals Admission Prices Programme Price Fixtures 2009-2010 Disabled Facilities Ground Layout Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Own A Share In Watford Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| Overall a tidy looking ground, that is somewhat let down
by the old East Stand on one side. I am normally a fan of old
stands, but the East side is a mish mash of a couple of tired looking structures and an open seated area
in one corner. The stand has now been closed admist
health and safety concerns and apart from the Directors Box will
remain empty of spectators. The players though will continue to use
the dressing rooms in this stand. The ground has had both ends re-developed during the 1990's along with the front of the Rous stand. Both ends are large single tiered stands, with some strange looking floodlights perched on the roof. Away fans are housed in one of these ends the Vicarage Road Stand. On the other side is the Rous Stand. This two tiered stand has an interesting roof design, with a row of executive boxes across the back. There is a large video screen in the corner between the Rous & Vicarage Road Stands. Vicarage Road is shared with Saracens rugby club. Currently some building work is taking place the Rookery Stand (see Future Developments and photo below). | |
| Future Developments | |
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Steve Beattie
informs me: 'The Club have finally started the long awaited
development of Vicarage Road. Initially the developments will not be noticeable
to the majority of fans, as the works are
mainly upgrades of home and corporate areas and are to be carried out as phased
developments over a three year period culminating in the
redevelopment of the old East Stand.
The Dressing rooms and players tunnel
will be relocated to a new building replacing the temporary
executive boxes in the Rookery/Rous corners (Affectionately known as
"Celebrity squares!"), with seating above. Other works to the Rous
will see various hospitality suites bolted on to the back of the
stand. This work goes on to the close season. It is planned to infil
all corners of the ground eventually which, when the East Stand is finally
rebuilt, should create a good atmosphere.
To help finance these developments
the club has leased "fresh air" space above the entrances and
behind the Rookery stand to housing developers who will build key
worker accommodation that will "wrap around" the stadium. When all the works are complete in 2011 the stadium capacity will be increased to
around 23,000'.
Richard Bailey adds; 'The current away area (the Vicarage Road Stand) is not included in the redevelopment plans, although it has been stated by the Club that away fans will probably be moved to the new south east corner of the stadium when it is completed'. | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are
housed in the Vicarage Road Stand at one end of the ground. This
stand is normally shared with home supporters (with the obligatory
'no-mans land' comprised of empty seats covered in netting
in-between). Around 2,200 visiting fans can be accommodated in this area. The stand has electronic turnstiles, meaning that you have to place your ticket into a bar code reader to gain entrance. You should also then expect to be searched by the stewards on the way in. I've always found this club friendly and the stewarding relaxed on my four visits and have never had any hassle, although at times there can be a heavy police presence around the ground and in the town centre. My only real gripe is that the size of the concourse at the back of the stand is one of the tightest that I have come across and is wholly inadequate when there is a large away following. If you manage to get to the serving hatch, then you will find on offer the usual fayre available including; Pies (including the Chicken Balti Pie) £2.70, Pasties £2.30, Sausage Rolls £1.70, Pizza Pods £2.30 and Rollover Hot Dogs £3. Adam Hodson a visiting Stockport fan adds; 'I was very impressed with the ground and the modern facilities. There was plenty of leg room in the way end and a good atmosphere. However, the concourses are very small meaning that they easily get crowded'. There is also a Ladbrokes betting outlet available. On the first occasion that I visited Vicarage Road, I met a Watford supporter in a pub who gave me a free ticket to that night's game against Luton. I was also impressed with this chap as at the time he had visited 91 League grounds with Watford. Perhaps he was in some part my inspiration for doing the '92'. | |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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Christopher Harrison a visiting Middlesbrough fan recommends the 'Odd Fellows' (previously called 'Macs Bar') in Fearnley Street. 'It is only a couple of hundred yards from the ground and they even had a barbeque in the beer garden'. The bar is situated off Cassio Road and is clearly visible when taking the route to Vicarage Road from the town centre via Market Street. The pub is only a few minutes walk away from the away turnstiles. It has a large beer garden, with a covered area for smokers and offers from its barbecue, Burgers (£3) and Hot Dogs (£2.50). Even though it was very busy on my last visit, I was impressed with the service from behind the bar, getting served in reasonable time (even though it looked like you had no chance of getting near to the bar let alone being served!). Otherwise the ground is in walking distance of the town centre, where along the High St you will find a few pubs including a large Wetherspoons outlet called the Moon Under Water, O'Neils and a Walkabout. Rob Sterry adds, 'away fans should avoid the Red Lion, outside the ground'. If you are feeling peckish then if you are walking to the ground from the town centre then there are a number of eating establishments enroute. Please note that alcohol is not sold in the away section. | |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| Leave the M1 at
Junction 5 and take the A4008 into Watford. If on nearing the town
centre you can't see the ground over on your left, just go left
around the inner ring road (follow signs for Watford General
Hospital as this is behind the ground) and you will soon spot it.
There are also some private match day car parks available at some
industrial units near the ground, as well as the Vicarage Road Girls
School, which is close to the stadium and charges £5 per
car. As the ground is almost right in the centre of
town, then there are a number of car parks in walking
distance. On most of my visits I have parked in the Church multi
storey car park (which cost £2.50 for four hours and is located on
the inner ring road). It is then about a 10 minute walk to the away
turnstiles.
For a map showing the location of the
ground click here
(to take you to the Street Map website). | |
| By Train/Tube | |
| The nearest station is Watford High Street, a ten minute walk
away from the ground. However you are likely
to come into Watford Junction train station, which is
about a 20 minute walk.
Either get a train to Watford High Street from
Watford Junction or if you have time to walk to the ground
then: Leave the station & take main road straight opposite (Clarendon Road) all the way (over Ring Road at lights) up to the High Street. Turn left and go past past Wetherspoons (Moon under Water) on your right and then take the first right after 100 yards into Market Street. Continue along again crossing Ring Road to T junction & then left at an excellent chip shop. Vicarage Road is the next right turn. Should take around 15-20 minutes to walk. Watford also has its own London Underground tube station, which is on the Metropolitan Line and is situated just under one mile from Vicarage Road. However overland trains from London normally have a shorter journey time. Thanks to Albert Fuller for providing the above directions. | |
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Thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the photo above. | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Luton Town. | |
| Admission Prices | |
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All areas of the ground: Category A matches: £35 adults, £15 concessions | |
| Programme | |
| Official Programme £3. | |
| Fixtures 2009-2010 | |
| For the Watford fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
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| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record
Attendance: 34,099 v Manchester United, FA Cup 4th Round Replay, February 3rd, 1969. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 21,590 v Sunderland Division One, November 27th, 1999. Average Attendance: 2008-2009: 14,858 (Championship League) 2007-2008: 16,876 (Championship League) 2006-2007: 18,750 (Premier League) | |
| Fans Reviews Of Vicarage Road | |
| Jamie
Scott (Charlton Athletic) 16/8/08 Mark Barber (Charlton Athletic) 19/1/08 Chris O'Hanlon (Nottingham Forest) 1/3/03 | |
| 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 Watford page click here. | |
| Own A Share In Watford | |
| Framed Share allow you to buy a genuine share for someone else, which you can then give to them unframed, or in a frame of your choice. The recipients name will be on the share certificate, which shows that the person is now a shareholder in Watford Leisure plc (the company that own the Football Club). As a shareholder that person will receive the annual accounts of Watford Leisure plc and allow them to attend the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of the Club, where the Clubs senior officials attend and take questions. To find out more on how to purchase a share in Watford for yourself or someone else 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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