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Ground Name: Fraser
Eagle Stadium |
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| Contents |
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What's The Ground
Like? Main Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? Looking Towards The Coppice Terrace (photo) How To Get There & Where To Park By Train Ground Layout Admission Prices Programme Price Local Rivals So Who Is Stanley? Fixtures 2008-2009 Record & Average Attendance Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
| What's The Ground Like? |
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Although the ground is on the smallish side,
it is set in a picturesque area, with views over fields and hills
behind the Coppice Terrace at one end of the ground.
On one side of the ground is the Main Stand,
which at first glance looks like one stand, but in fact it is comprised
of two small stands; the Main & Thwaites
Stands.
They sit
on either side of the half way line, with an open gap between the two.
Both are all seated covered stands and have a row of floodlights at the back of
them.
To compensate for the fair slope of the pitch which
runs up along the ground from the Coppice Terrace to the Clayton
Terrace, the Thwaites Stand has less rows of seats than the
Main Stand. Both these stands also have an usual array of tubular
steelwork, running across the top of them. Opposite
is a very small covered terrace, called the Whinney Hill Terrace. This
comprises of only three rows of terrace and has a row of supporting
pillars running across the middle of it. Behind this stand is a
relatively new housing development, which overlooks the ground, meaning
that some residents can see the game for nothing. Both ends are fairly
new looking terraces, of which the home end, the Clayton End is covered,
whilst the Coppice Terrace opposite is open to the elements. One unusual aspect of the ground is that it has a
total of eight floodlight pylons, with three on either side of the
ground and another being located at one end.
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| Main & Thwaites Stands |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
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Away fans are
housed in the Coppice Terrace at one end of the ground,
where around 1,500 fans can be accommodated. Unusually the Club have
taken the decision not to provide away fans with any additional seating
in the Main Stand, so only the terrace is available. The Coppice Terrace
is an open end and with the location of the ground, somewhat exposed,
then it pays to be wrapped up well, especially in the winter months. Han van
Eijden adds; 'The burgers were excellent, although this did lead to long
queues for refreshments'. Otherwise in the Coppice
Terrace the facilities are basic with some rather old toilets (which
have known to flood from time to time). There are supplemented with some
portaloos.
John Schmidt a visiting Darlington fan adds; 'The away end is totally exposed and on our visit it started chucking it down with rain. Fortunately someone at the Club showed some common sense and allowed the small contingent of away supporters to go into the Winney Hill covered terrace'. Whilst Shirley Lawrence a visiting Swindon Town supporter tells me; 'We had a pleasant day at the Crown Ground. Before the game we went to the Crown Pub which was crowded, but as they had six staff serving, we were able to get our drinks relatively quickly. Inside the ground there was not much atmosphere due to the away end being uncovered. Although we had over 800 supporters who were in good voice, the noise just wasn't carried around the ground'. |
| Where To Drink? |
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There is a Club Bar at the ground,
however this is for home fans only. The nearest pub is the Crown, which is just behind the ground on
the main Whalley Road. This
pub welcomes all fans, has some Accrington Stanley memorabilia, and
displays scarves and pennants given by visiting fans. A
little further down Whalley Road (five minutes walk in the direction of the motorway), is
the Greyhound pub, which is a Sam Smith's house.
John Schmidt a visiting
Darlington fan adds; If you go from the ground to the main road
and head towards the town
centre, then five a minute walk away, down on the right is the
Grey Horse pub, It is
only a small pub
but served decent real ale. Opposite is a small row
of shops that contains an excellent chip shop. This area also seemed to
be good for street parking'.
If you arrive early and
have a bit of time on your hands then you may consider visiting the
'Peel Park Hotel' in Turkey Street. This pub serves food and is listed
in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. It also overlooks Peel Park, the site of
Accrington Stanley's old ground. Go along Whalley Road (A680) towards
the town centre. Before reaching the town centre turn left onto the
B6237 Queens Road (if you miss this turning proceed into the town centre
and turn left onto the A679 Burnley Road). Continue along Queens Road
into Penn House Lane. At the end of this road you will reach a
T-junction with the A679 Burnley Road. Turn left onto the Burnley Road
and then go almost immediately right into Alice Street. The Peel Park is
down on the right in Turkey Street.
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| How To Get There & Where To Park |
| Leave the M6 at Junction 29 and take the
M65 towards Blackburn. Continue past Blackburn towards Accrington and
leave the M65 at Junction 7. Then take the left hand exit at the roundabout onto the A6185 towards Clitheroe (this is in the opposite direction to Accrington). At the first
set of traffic lights turn right onto the A678, towards
Padiham, and then at the next
traffic lights, turn right onto the A680 towards Accrington.
After about half a mile along the A680 you will pass
the Crown pub on your left. Take the next left into Livingstone Road
and then an immediate left for the Club car park. The car park
is of a reasonable size and is free,
however as you would expect it fills up pretty quickly. Otherwise street parking. For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Streetmap website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. |
| By Train |
| Accrington station is about a mile away from the ground. Leave the station and travel down the slope towards the large viaduct roundabout in the centre of town. Take the Milnshaw Lane exit at the opposite side of the roundabout alongside the Perry's Peugeot dealership. After approximately 100 metres this road then joins Whalley Road. Bear left up the hill and follow Whalley Road for about a mile, passing the hospital, a set of traffic lights and then a mini roundabout. Take the next right after the mini roundabout junction into Livingstone Road. The football club is approximately 100 metres on the left on Livingstone Road. Thanks to Rob Heys for providing the directions. |
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| Admission Prices |
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Seats:
Adults £15, Concessions £10, Under 12's £5. Terrace: Adults £13, Concessions £8. Concessions apply to OAP's, Students & Under 18's. |
| Official Programme |
| Programme £2.50 |
| Local Rivals |
| Blackburn, Burnley and from a little further a field, Morecambe, Southport & Barrow. |
| So Who Is Stanley? |
| Many visiting fans wonder why the Club ended up being called Accrington Stanley. Was it after a former player? Well no. The Club were originally formed as Stanley Villa FC, so named as a number of their team lived in Stanley Street in the town. The Club was renamed Accrington Stanley in 1894. |
| Fixtures 2008-2009 |
| For the Accrington Stanley fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) |
| Record & Average Attendance |
| Record Attendance: At The Crown Ground: 4,368 v Colchester United FA Cup 3rd Round, January 3rd, 2004. Average Attendance: 2007-2008: 1,634 (League Two) 2006-2007: 2,260 (League Two) 2005-2006: 1,895 (Conference National) |
| 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 Accrington page click here. |
| Fans Reviews Of The Interlink Express Stadium |
|
Rob Allen (Chester City) 5/1/08 Jordan Pattison (Bradford City) 1/1/08 John Ingle (Blackpool) 31/10/06 |
| 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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