| Contents |
What's The
John Smith's Stadium Like?
Looking Towards
The Fantastic Media (North)
Stand (photo)
What
Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Where To Drink?
Riverside
Stand (photo)
How
To Get There By Car & Where To Park
By
Train
Layout Of The
Stadium
Admission Prices
Programme Price
Local Rivals
Fixtures 2012-2013
Record & Average Attendance
Fans Ground Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
John
Smith's Stadium Location Map
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| What's The
John Smith's Stadium Like? |
| The
club moved the short distance to the then called
Alfred McAlpine Stadium in 1994 after leaving their
former Leeds
Road ground, their home for 86 years. When the
stadium originally opened it had just three sides with
the North Stand being opened later in 1997. In 2004 it
was renamed the Galpharm Stadium, before becoming the
John Smith's Stadium in 2012, in a new five year
sponsorship deal with Heineken. Most new stadiums in
this country are rather boring affairs with little
character, but the Galpharm does not fall into
this category. Each stand is
semi circular rather than
rectangular, and is further enhanced with
large white steel tubing above the contours. In fact
from the car park I first thought it looked like a new
ride at Alton Towers! It is good to see something
different from the architects for a change. The ground
has won many design awards and is well worth a visit.
The only disappointment is that the corners of the
ground are open. The Fantastic
Media North Stand at one end and the Direct Golf UK (Riverside) Stand
at one side are both two tiered stands, each with a row of executive
boxes running across the middle. The other two sides
of the ground are large single tiered affairs. One of
these the Britannia Rescue Stand, at one side of the
pitch, can accommodate 7,000 supporters. There is an
electric scoreboard at the back of the away end. The
stadium is completed with a striking set of four
floodlights. The stadium is shared with Huddersfield
Giants Rugby League Club.
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Looking
Towards The Fantastic Media
(North) Stand
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| What
Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
| Away
fans are located at one end of the ground in the John Smith's (South) Stand, where up to 4,000 supporters can be accommodated.
The facilities in this stand and
the view of the playing action
are both good. The acoustics of the stand are
good also, meaning that a relative small number of
fans can really make some noise. There is also a Ladbrokes outlet and a
bar serving alcoholic drinks at
the back of the stand, which remains open during the first half and
half time. I have enjoyed my visits to the Glapharm
Stadium, I have always been thoroughly impressed with
the stadium and the general set-up.
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| Where To Drink? |
John
Ellis a visiting Leicester City fan recommends
the Gas Club on Gasworks Street,
about five to ten minute walk
from the Stadium. 'On our visit there
was a good mix of home and away fans. The Club does
charge a £1 entry fee, but both
the drinks and food were reasonably
priced. You can also park in
their car park at a cost of £3'. Please note that after the game
the Club reverts to a
'home fans only' bar.
Tim Oscroft informs me; 'The Head
of Steam pub at the railway station is pretty good
and serves food too'. Also near to the railway station is the Cherry
Tree pub. This
Wetherspoons outlet is located
on John William Street and is popular with
away fans. Otherwise if you like your real
ale, then Huddersfield has a
number of entries in the CAMRA Good
Beer Guide. Those in the town
centre closest to the ground include; The King's Head (very near to the Head of Steam), The Sportsman on St John's Road, the Vulcan in St Peter's
Street and Slubbers Arms
on Halifax Old Road.
There is also
a cinema and entertainment complex
behind the North Stand, which also contains the Rope
Walk pub, however on my last visit bouncers were preventing
away fans accessing the various bars.
Alcohol is also made available to away fans inside
the stadium and I presume
that includes John Smith's!
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|
Riverside
Stand
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| How
To Get There By Car & Where To Park |
| The
stadium is just off the A62 Leeds Road. It can be
easiest reached from Junction 25 of the M62, simply
follow the signs for Huddersfield (A62) and you will
come to the stadium on your left. Alternatively, if
approaching from the South, then leave the M1 at
Junction 38 and take the A637 towards and then the
A642 into Huddersfield. As you approach the town
centre try to keep to the right hand lane as you will
turn right at the roundabout and onto the A62 Leeds
Road. The stadium is a short distance down this road
on the right. For the car parks turn right at the
traffic lights, where the Market Pub is on the corner.
The stadium is generally well signposted around
Huddersfield town centre.
There is a fair sized
car park located at the ground (£5) and a number of unofficial
car parks nearby (expect to pay around £4).
Map
showing the location of the John Smith's Stadium
(at the bottom of this page).
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| By
Train |
| The ground is walkable from
Huddersfield train station, it should take no more
than 15 minutes at a comfortable pace. After
coming out of the Railway Station, turn down past the
front of The George Hotel. Go straight over the
crossroads into Northumberland Street and walk down
across the Ring Road straight on into Leeds Road. Turn
right down Gasworks Street. Straight over the
crossroads to the ground.
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Layout
Of The Stadium
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| Admission Prices |
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Like a number of
Clubs, Huddersfield operate a match category
policy (A*, A, B, C & D)
whereby the ticket prices cost more for the most
popular games. Category A* prices are shown below with the
other categories shown below in
brackets:
Home Fans:
Direct Golf UK Stand (Upper
Tier): Adults £32 (A £30) (B £28) (C £26) (D £24), OAP's/Students
£24 (A £22) (B
£20) (C £18) (D
£16), Under 16's £12 (A
£12) (B £10) (C
£10) (D £8)
Direct Golf UK Stand (Lower
Tier): Adults £30 (A £28) (B £26) (C £24) (D £22), OAP's/Students
£22 (A £20) (B
£18) (C £16) (D
£14), Under
16's £12 (A £12) (B
£10) (C £10) (D £8)
Britannia Rescue Stand: Adults £29 (A £27) (B £25) (C £23) (D £21), OAP's/Students
£20 (A £18) (B
£16) (C £14) (D
£12), Under 16's £12
(A £12) (B £10)
(C £10) (D
£8)
Fantastic Media Stand (Upper Tier):
Adults £29 (A £27)
(B £25) (C £23) (D
£21), OAP's/Students £19 (A £17) (B £15) (C £13) (D £12), Under
16's £12 (A £12) (B
£10) (C £10) (D £8)
Fantastic Media Stand
(Lower Tier):
Adults £25 (A £23)
(B £21) (C £19) (D
£19), OAP's/Students £18 (A £16) (B £14) (C £12) (D £12), Under
16's £10 (B £7) (C
£5)
Away Fans:
Adults £29 (A £27) (B £25) (C £23) (D £21)
OAP's/Students £19 (A
£17) (B £15)
(C £13)
(D £12)
Under 16's £12
(A £12) (B £10) (C
£10) (D £8)
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| Programme |
| Official
Programme £3.
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| Local Rivals |
| Bradford
City, Leeds United.
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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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| Fixtures 2012-2013 |
| Huddersfield Town fixture list (takes
you to the BBC Sports
Website)
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| Record
& Average Attendance |
Record
Attendance:
At Leeds Road;
67,037 v Arsenal,
FA Cup 6th Round, February 27th, 1932.
At the Galpharm Stadium:
23,678 v Liverpool,
FA Cup 3rd Round, December 12th 1999.
Average Attendance:
2011-2012:
14,145 (League One)
2010-2011: 13,733 (League
One)
2009-2010: 14,381 (League One)
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| Fans Reviews Of The John Smith's
Stadium |
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Matthew Batchelor
(Watford) 27/10/12
Thomas Sperrink (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 20/10/12
Andrew Riley
(Preston North End) 22/10/11
Paul O'Shea (Doing
the 92) 27/3/11
Steve Ridgley
(Southampton) 28/10/10
Adam Peel
(Bournemouth) 4/09/10
Scott Barnard
(Southampton) 15/08/09
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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 football ground.
Access
their Huddersfield
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 the John
Smith's Stadium, Railway Station and Listed pubs |
|
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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| 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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