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Grays Athletic
Ground Name: Recreation
Ground |
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Grays Athletic
Ground Name: Recreation
Ground |
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| Contents |
| What's The Ground Like? Future Ground Developments Main Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? Looking Towards The Ball Court End (photo) How To Get There And Where To Park By Train Bradbourne Road End (photo) Local Rivals Admission Prices Programme Price 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? |
| Although the Club have played at
the Recreation Ground since 1906, the ground itself is fairly new having
been completely re-developed in recent years. On one side of the ground is
the Main Stand. This covered all seated stand is on the smallish side,
being only five rows in height, but does run the full length of the pitch.
The dugouts are located in front of the Main Stand, but the dressing rooms
are located on the other side of the ground, leading to a procession of
players and team officials at half time and at the end of the game. One
unique feature of the ground is that the dressing rooms (along with a
refreshment area) are located below a block of flats that overlooks the
ground. As to be expected a number of residents that live in the flats can
be seen on their balconies watching the game, some complete with flags
draped outside. This side of the ground has on one side a small partly
covered terrace that extends around one corner of the ground into the
intriguingly named Ball Court End. On the other side there is little to
it, with no terrace as such, just a flat open walkway, where some fans
elect to stand. The Ball Court End is the home end, and is a covered to the front. There are also a number of supporting pillars for the roof of this small stand. Opposite is the Bradbourne Road End, a small open terrace. Beyond one corner of this end is a church which overlooks the stadium. There is a small club shop situated inside the ground and the stadium also has a set of four small modern floodlights, located at each corner. The pitch has a slope which slopes down from the Ball Court End towards the Bradbourne Road End terrace. |
| Future Ground Developments |
| The Club have announced their intention to leave the Recreation Ground and move to a new stadium on the outskirts of Grays. However no firm timescales have been announced as to when this might happen. |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
| Away fans are primarily housed in
the Bradbourne Road terrace at one end of the ground. As this end is open
to the elements, it may be an idea to transfer to one of the 150 or so
seats allocated to away supporters in the Main Stand. There is no
supplement charged for a seat in the Main Stand and these are allocated on
a first come, first served basis. Refreshments are provided in this area
by the obligatory 'burger van'.
The Club used to have a refreshment bar, which was 'famous' for its burgers, but alas it is no longer in operation. A sign on the wall inside the old refreshment area made me chuckle as it read; 'This is not Burger King. You can't have it anyway. You can have it my way or not at all!' On my visit there was a bit of atmosphere generated from the home end and the stewarding was fairly relaxed. |
| Where To Drink? |
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The Club has its own bar called the 'Blues Bar' at the ground, which welcomes away fans. This fair sized bar has a number of screens showing sport, allows families in and I found it to be friendly. The entrance to the bar is located next to the main entrance to the ground in Bridge Road. Across the road from the main entrance to the ground is a pub called the Bricklayers Arms. The town centre is only about a ten minute
walk away from the ground, however there you will find a few eating
outlets, but little in the way of pubs. One exception though is the White
Hart in Argent Street (on the corner of Kings Walk). This CAMRA Good Beer
Guide listed pub is about a 15 minute walk away from the ground (and about
a five minute walk away from the railway station). Kevin Hex adds; 'When
leaving Grays railway station you cross back over the level crossing and
the pub is approximately 400 metres or so on the right hand side. Good
selection of real ales available'. |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park |
| Leave the M25 at Junction 30 and
take the A13 towards Southend. Then take the A1012 towards Grays. Keep
straight on the A1012 into Grays and as you reach the town centre the road
becomes the A126 and you follow this road (which is part of the one way
system) around the town centre. Keep left around the one way system and
continue onto the A1013 Orsett Road. After about another half a mile
(going up hill) turn right into Bridge Road. The entrance to the ground is
down on the right. There is no parking facilities at the ground as such, but there is some street parking to be found in roads opposite the main entrance. Alternatively there is a multi storey car park in the town centre (near to the train station) which is a short walk away. For a map showing the location of the ground
click here (to take you to the Streetmap
website).
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| By Train |
| Grays is served by trains from London Fenchurch Street and lies on the London to Southend line. The station is under a ten minute walk away from the ground. As you come out of the station turn right and go along Crown Road. Follow the road around to the left as it becomes Stanley Road and then turn right into Clarence Road. Third road on the right is Bradbourne Road, which takes you down to the entrance to the away end. For the Main entrance and Club Bar instead, continue along Clarence Road and follow it around to the right which goes into Bridge Street. The entrance is down on the right. |
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| Local Rivals |
| Canvey Island, Southend United. |
| Admission Prices |
| All Areas Of The Ground: Adults £13 Students (with valid ID) £10 OAP's & Under 16's £8 Under 11's £4 (must be accompanied by an adult or Senior Citizen). |
| Programme |
| Official Programme £2.50 |
| Fixtures 2009-2010 |
| For the Grays fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website) |
| Record & Average Attendance |
| Record Attendance: 9500 v Chelmsford FA Cup 1959 Average Attendance: |
| Fans Reviews Of The Recreation Ground |
| Matt Storey (Luton Town)
14/11/09 Joe (AFC Totton) 25/10/08 Morgan Nock (Kidderminster Harriers) 7/08/08 |
| 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 Grays 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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Return To The Blue Square Premier Guide |
© Duncan Adams 2010
All rights
reserved
Last Updated: 20
November 2009
