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| Contents |
What's Molineux Like?
Billy
Wright Statue (photo)
Future Ground
Developments
Stan
Cullis Stand (photo)
What Is It Like For
Visiting Supporters?
Billy
Wright Stand (photo)
Where To Drink?
Steve Bull
And Jack Harris Stands (photo)
How To Get
There And Where To Park
By
Train
A Closer Look At
The Jack Harris Stand (photo)
Local
Rivals
Admission Prices
Programme
Ground Layout
Fixtures 2011-2012
Disabled
Facilities
Record
& Average Attendance
Fans Ground Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
Molineux Location Map
Old Molineux
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| What's Molineux Like? |
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The ground
is dominated by the new Stan Cullis Stand at one
end of the stadium. This impressive looking
structure towers over the rest of Molineux and
the roof steelwork can be seen from miles around
on the Wolverhampton sky line. The stand is two
tiered, with a larger lower tier, with the upper
tier having a large windshield on one side. The
stand extends partly around one corner towards
the Steve Bull Stand and some seats in the upper
tier in that corner, will have a restricted view
of the playing area, due to the roof of the
Steve Bull Stand being directly in the line of
sight. It is hoped that at some point the Steve
Bull Stand will be replaced by a similar
structure and will extend around to meet the new
Stan Cullis Stand.
Both sides
of the stadium are two tiered covered stands,
that have a row of executive boxes
situated along the middle. They are
unusual in being
oval in shape, meaning that those sitting on the
half way line are furthest away from the playing
action. The oldest of
these is the Steve Bull Stand, which was
opened in 1979, whilst opposite is
the Billy Wright Stand which was opened in
1993. This stand is the Main Stand at
Molineux, which contains the Directors
area, team dugouts in front and a television
gantry below its roof. At one end is the Jack
Harris Stand, which was also opened in
1993, four months after the Billy Wright
Stand. This is a large single tiered
stand, part of which is given to away
supporters. Situated
in the corner between the Jack Harris and
Billy Wright stands, is a temporary stand
that has a capacity of 900 seats. The
seats are green coloured which makes it
look a little out of place to the rest of the
stadium. This is affectionately known as
the 'Gene
Kelly' stand (or officially known as
the Wolves Community Trust). That is
because this area
is open to the elements so you could end up
'singing in the rain'. There
are a couple of video screens in two
of the corners, but unfortunately these are no
longer in operation.
What particularly impresses me about Molineux,
is that quality shows, getting the feeling
that little expense has been spared in its
construction. This is perhaps best summed up
by the two statues that sit outside the
ground. The impressive statue of Billy
Wright (pictured below) is
probably the finest football statue located at
any ground in Britain. It sits
outside the main entrance to the club
offices. In 2003 the
same designer, James Butler produced another
statue, this time of former player and manager
Stan Cullis. The Stan
Cullis Statue is
located outside the entrance
to the Club Museum.
The Museum which was opened in 2012 is open on
most days (apart from Monday and
Tuesday) including matchdays and costs
£7 to enter.
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| Billy
Wright Statue |
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Future Ground Developments
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The Club have received planning
permission to re-develop the Steve
Bull (East) stand, which will further
increase capacity to around 36,000. The
demolition and re-building of this stand was
planned to commence at the end of the 2011/2012,
but the Club have now put this on hold. Artists
impressions of the Molineux re-development can
be viewed on the official Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC website.
The Club have further announced that if demand
requires it and the necessary finances are in
place, then as a phase three part of the
project an additional tier can be added to the
Jack Harris (South) Stand, raising the capacity
to 38,000. Any further expansion would
involve the re-building of the
Billy Wright Stand and could possibly see the
final capacity being in the region of 50,000.
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Stan
Cullis Stand
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Thanks to Tim Rigby for providing the photo
above.
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| What Is It Like For
Visiting Supporters? |
Away fans are
normally housed on one side of the upper tier of the new
Stan Cullis Stand, where
around 1,500
fans can be accommodated. For games where there
is a larger away following, then the away fans
are not given an 'end' as such, but are instead
housed in the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand
along the side of the pitch. Up to 3,200
away supporters can be housed in this area. Fans
in this stand are sat quite far back from the
playing area, which gives the illusion that the
pitch is larger than at most other grounds.
David London a visiting Crystal Palace fan adds;
'Views are excellent from the front of the Stan Cullis Stand away
section, although if you are at the top then
it's all a bit distant. It's a lot of steps up
to the upper tier and when you get to the top
puffing and blowing a friendly stward tells you
that you should have asked to use the lift!'
The facilities are fine, including the catering,
serving a range of pies including; Steak, Rogan
Josh, Potato & Meat,
Vegetable, Cheese & Onion (all
£3), Cornish Pasty (£3), Sausage
Rolls (£3) Hot Dogs (£3.50),
1/4 pound Burgers Or Cheeseburgers (£3.50),
Chicken Burgers (£4.50), Baked Potatoes
(£3), Chicken Wraps
(£3) and Chips (£2.50).
Musical delights at the ground include
just before kick off, 'Hi, Ho, Silver Lining' with
the crowd singing 'Hi, Ho, Wolverhampton!' On one
visit I got talking to a couple of Wolves fans on
the train up to Wolverhampton and they suggested
going for a drink in the city centre before the
game which I did. I had quite an
enjoyable time and they even took me right up to
the away supporters entrance, shook my hand and
wished me luck! very hospitable. I personally did
not experience any problems on
my visits, but I have
received a number of reports of others that have
not been so lucky. It is strongly
advised that colours are kept covered around the
ground and city centre (and
that goes for your cars too).
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| Billy
Wright Stand |
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| Where To Drink? |
Well it may be a great stadium,
with good atmosphere, but the main drawback
with a visit to Molineux is the lack of away
friendly pubs for visiting supporters to drink
in. Now there are a number of pubs situated
around the ground, but they do not admit away
fans, which to a certain extent I can
understand. But what is a real shame is that
unlike many new stadiums that are located out
of town with not much in the way of drinking
holes located around, Molineux is only a 10
minute walk away from the city
centre where there are plenty of pubs to be
found. However by far the greater majority of
these are for home supporters only on
matchdays (even the Wetherspoons has bouncers
on the door demanding to see your match ticket
for one of the home sections before being
allowed entry).
Tom Rice a
visiting Aston Villa supporter informs me;
'The Walkabout bar in the city centre (on
Queen Street) seems to be now the designated
pub for away fans to drink in. The bouncers on
the door, checked to make sure that we were
Villa fans before entering.'
I have
also been advised that there is a small bar
called the Bluebrick inside the Premier Inn
hotel, located near to the railway station,
which is being frequented by away fans. If
arriving by train then as you leave the station
entrance, turn right and you will see a walkway
going down under the station. At the bottom of
the walkway turn left and after a short walk you
will see the Bluebrick over on your right. Also
some away supporters have also been frequenting
the Litten Tree in Victoria Street and
the Lady
Wulfrun in Lichfield Street.
Alcohol is available inside the
stadium this includes Carling (Pint
£3.70), Banks's
Bitter (Can 440ml £3.40), Aston
Manor Cider (Bottle 500ml £3.70),
Magners Cider (Bottle
330ml £4), Guinness (Can 520ml £4), plus wine and spirits
(£4).
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Steve Bull And Jack
Harris Stands
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| How To
Get There And Where To Park |
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From The
South:
Leave the M6 at Junction 10 and
take the A454 towards Wolverhampton. Continue to
follow the A454 right into Wolverhampton (be wary
of speed cameras on the A454). On reaching the
traffic island that intersects with the ring road,
turn right. As you approach the 2nd set of lights
look for the signs for football parking. The
ground is over the 2nd set of lights on the right.
Alternatively if you turn left into the city
centre you may find a space in one of the many
council run 'pay & display' car parks. The
Civic Hall car park, normally remains open for
night matches and costs £2.70 for three
hours or £3 for evenings. Terry a
visiting Chelsea fan adds; 'Although the city
centre car parks are handy, the area is busy with
shoppers so you may like we did get stuck in long
queues to get into one. I'd recommend parking in
the car parks that you see further away from
Molineux and taking the 10/15 minute
walk; it also means you are back on the motorway
quicker after the game'.
From The North:
Leave the M6 at Junction 12 and take the A5
towards Telford and then turn onto the A449
towards Wolverhampton. On reaching the traffic
island that intersects with the ring road, turn
right. Then as South.
Map showing the location
of the Molineux football ground (at the
bottom of this page).
Thanks to Paul Judd, an exiled Wolves fan, in
Milton Keynes, for providing the directions.
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| By
Train |
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Wolverhampton railway station is
around a 15 minute walk away from Molineux. From
the main station entrance proceed straight on towards the city
centre and as you reach the inner ring road turn
right. Just follow the ring road as it continues
in a circular pattern around to the left.
Eventually you will see the Molineux on the right.
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| A Closer
Look At The Jack Harris Stand |
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| Local
Rivals |
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West Bromwich Albion,
Birmingham City & Aston Villa.
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| Admission
Prices |
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Home Fans:
Billy Wright Stand (Upper Tier): Adults £30, Over 65's/Under 21's*
£18, Under 17's £15,
Under 12's** £17
Billy Wright (Family Enclosure): Adults
£25, Over
65's/Under 21's* £15, Under 17's
£8, Under
12's** £5
Steve Bull
Stand (Upper & Lower Tiers):
Adults
£28, Over
65's/Under 21's* £15, Under 17's
£12, Under
12's** £10
Stan Cullis
Stand: Adults
£24, Over
65's/Under 21's* £14, Under 17's £11, Under 12's** £8
Jack Harris Stand: Adults
£24, Over
65's/Under 21's* £14, Under 17's £11, Under 12's** £8
Away Fans:
Stan Cullis Stand: Adults
£24, Over
65's/Under 21's* £14, Under 17's £11, Under 12's** £8
Steve Bull Stand (Lower Tier):
Adults £28, Over
65's £15, Under 17's
£12, Under
12's** £10
* Under 21's must first become Club members to qualify for
this reduced ticket price.
** When accompanied by a
paying Adult (includes
Over 65's and Under 21's).
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| Programme |
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Official
Programme £3
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Ground
Layout
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| Fixtures
2011-2012 |
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Wolverhampton
Wanderers fixture list (takes you to the
BBC Sports Website).
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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.
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| Record
& Average Attendance |
Record Attendance:
61,305 v Liverpool
FA Cup 5th Round, February 11th, 1939.
Modern All Seated
Attendance Record:
29,396 v Manchester United
Premier League, January 16th, 2004.
Average Attendance:
2011-2012: 25,672 (Premier League)
2010-2011: 27,925 (Premier League)
2009-2010: 28,366 (Premier
League)
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| Fans Reviews
Of Molineux |
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Scott
Leonard (Barnsley) 21/8/12
Tom Croft
(Blackburn Rovers) 10/3/12
Harry Williamson
(Chelsea) 2/1/12
Alan McKeown
(Chelsea) 2/1/12
John Smith (Fulham)
21/8/11
Kurt Jacob (West Bromwich Albion) 8/5/11
Dean Williamson (Blackpool)
26/2/11
Carl Seward (Liverpool)
22/1/11
Luke Burton (Chelsea)
5/1/11
Chris Parkinson (Manchester
City) 30/10/10
Jamie Straw (Notts
County) 21/9/10
James Myers (Doncaster
Rovers) 3/5/09
Jim Howlett
(Nottingham Forest) 30/8/08
Josh
Freedman (Watford) 11/8/08
Tim Sansom
(Ipswich Town) 19/4/08
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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 Molineux football ground.
Access
their Wolverhampton
Hotels and Guest Houses page.
Remember that you can use the above link or panel
below to book any other hotels that you may need
for business or leisure, either in the UK or
abroad.
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Map showing the location of Molineux, Railway
Station And Listed Pubs
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Instructions for using the map:
- Use the bar
on the left of the map to zoom in / out using the
+ / - keys.
- Click and
drag an area of the map to move around or use the
up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the
Satellite button to see aerial view photograph.
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Old Molineux
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| To see a photo of the South Bank
Terrace (now the Jack Harris Stand) shortly
prior to its redevelopment in 1993 then
visit the Old
Grounds & Stands Section of the Guide.
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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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