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Colchester United Ground Name: |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground
Like? East Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? North Stand (photo) Where To Drink? South Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Barside Popular Terrace (photo) Admission Prices Programme Price Local Rivals Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Fixtures 2008-2009 Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
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After 71 years, the Club have left their Layer
Road ground and moved to a new stadium on the edge of town. The new Weston
Homes Community Stadium as it has been named in a corporate sponsorship
deal, was built by Barr Construction at a cost of around £14m. The cost was
largely met by Colchester Borough Council, who own the stadium, with the
football club as tenants. The stadium is functional and well presented, but as with a number of new stadiums built in recent years, it lacks character and is nothing 'out of the ordinary'. The ground is comprised of four separate stands. The Main Stand on one side of the pitch is a little taller than the other three stands, which are the same height. All the stands are covered single tiered, all seated stands. The Main Stand has a row of executive boxes/corporate hospitality areas running across the top of it, whilst the others are simply seating areas. The South Stand though, at one end of the stadium, which will be used by away supporters does have a Police Control Box incorporated into it, on one side beneath the roof. All the stands have translucent panels built into their roofs as well as a perspex strip just below them, which allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. |
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| East Stand | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
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I have yet to visit the stadium to watch a
game, so if you want to share your own experiences then please
e-mail me. However, as you would expect from a new stadium the
facilities and view of the playing action should be good. Both ends look
particularly steep, meaning that fans are kept close to the pitch. The same
caters that were at Layer Road have are also at the new stadium, so I am
assuming that they will still off the
Chicken Balti Pie'
(£2.30),
amongst other pies, sausage rolls (£1.80) and burgers (£2.70). John Hill a visiting Huddersfield Town fan adds; 'One pleasing feature was that at 6'2", I was still okay for leg room, which is not always the case at some other grounds. We caught the shuttle bus from the station and it worked surprisingly well. We got to the ground easily, and afterwards they let the buses out of the car park before cars, which led to a fairly swift return to the station and an easy getaway. Only one major complaint from Town fans, was that Colchester currently charge away supporters different prices, for different parts of the away end. This can be as much as £4 difference. Fine, accept when we entered the stadium we were told that we could sit anywhere! This left a number of disgruntled supporters who had paid the extra £4'. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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With the stadium being on the very outskirts of Colchester,
then there is little in the choice of pubs. David Prior informs me; 'The
Dog and Pheasant on
Nayland Road, is probably the closest to the stadium, although it is till
around 3/4's of a mile away. However, it is only admitting home fans'. David Prior continues; 'If you are arriving at Colchester North Station then there are a few pubs within a five minute walk. Directly opposite Bruff Close (where the shuttle bus runs from) is the Bricklayers, but this is for home fans only. If you turn right out of the station and cross at the pedestrian crossing and keep going straight on down North Station road, you will come to the Norfolk, which is a Greene King pub and offers a good selection of lagers and ales. A little further on is the 3rd option being the Albert, which is a Beefeater pub'. John Hill a visiting Huddersfield Town fan adds; 'The Norfolk Arms, which is less than five minutes walk away from the station car park was happy to admit away fans. It looks like that it has recently been refurbished, plus they serve hand-pulled ale. Plus Sky Sports on screen & a new-looking pool table, so definitely recommended'. Alternatively you can take the short train ride from Colchester (North) mainline station to Colchester Town, around which there are plenty of pubs to be found; including on St John's Street the CAMRA listed pub, the Fox & Fiddle which serves a number of real ales. Almost next door is the Playhouse, which is a Wetherspoons outlet. This former theatre is a spectacular setting for a bar, as the original dress circle and stage of the theatre have been preserved and is well worth a visit. |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
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The original plans for the stadium included a
new junction and slip roads from the A12 to it. However the stadium has been
built prior to this road development taking place. From The North & M11: Leave the A14 and then join the M11. Come off the M11 at J8 (Stansted Airport/A120) and follow the A120 towards Braintree & Colchester. The A120 then joins the A12 after passing the stadium on your right,. Leave the A12 at Junction 29, which is the intersection with the A1232 & A120. At the roundabout at the end of the slip road take the exit signposted A12 London & Colchester Business Park. Then take the first left into Severalls Industrial Estate and then left again into the Business Park. At the next roundabout turn right into the Crescent and at the next one, turn right into Severalls Lane. At the next roundabout turn left into Axial Way and then straight onto into United Way for the stadium. Car Parking: There 600 car parking spaces at the stadium, but the cost a whopping £10! There is also an extensive residents only parking scheme in operation around the stadium, so you may need to journey to over a mile away, before you can find a legitimate parking space. For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and train station info, which you can print out click here. |
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| By Train | |
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The nearest station to the ground is Colchester
which is just under two miles away from the stadium. Located near to the station
at Bruff Close is a free shuttle bus service that will take you to the
ground. Free Shuttle Bus to the Stadium: A free shuttle bus will be in operation from Bruff Close, which is close to Colchester North station (at the end of the station approach turn left and take the second exit at the roundabout, the buses park behind the "Big Yellow" storage facility that you can see from the station). Attached to your match ticket should be a voucher for the bus. For 3pm kick offs it will run from 1pm, with the last bus returning from the stadium at 6pm. For 7.45pm kick offs, the service will commence at 6pm with the last bus returning from the stadium at 10.15pm. |
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Note the temporary seated stand (with white roof) to the right of the terrace |
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| Admission Prices | |
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All areas of the stadium (accept Family area): Adults £20-£24 Concessions £13-£16 East Stand Family Area: Adults £20-£24 Concessions £13-£16 Under 16's £8 Under 11's £5 Concessions apply to senior citizens and under 18's. |
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| Programme | |
| Official Programme £3 | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Ipswich Town, Southend United and from further away Wycombe. | |
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| 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 2008-2009 | |
| For the Colchester fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
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5,340 v Huddersfield Town League One, August 16th 2008. At Layer Road: 19,072 v Reading FA Cup 1st Round, November 27th, 1948. Average Attendance: 2007-2008: 5,509 (Championship League) 2006-2007: 5,466 (Championship League) 2005-2006: 3,969 (League One) |
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| Fans Reviews | |
| Greg Trumper (Mk Dons) 20/9/08 | |
| 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 Colchester 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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