Victoria Road

Out of the three stadiums in the Port Talbot and Aberavon area, the Genquip Stadium is the most modern, and lies one mile to the west of the town centre and only half a mile from Marston’s Stadium, the home of fierce rivals Afan Lido. The Victoria Ground as it was originally known, is surrounded by a housing estate on all four sides. A short approach road leads off Victoria Road, where the ground is partly obscured by the Victorian houses back alleyways, it is here we find the social club and dressing room building. Entering the ground through a single gateway in the corner we find ourselves on the Ruskin Avenue/Social Club End, a bank of flat and dry earth raised around 6ft above the pitch level. The bank offers a good, spacious view of the pitch though is currently without crush barriers and is used mainly as access for fans getting to an from the main stand from the social club facilities. Looking across the pitch to the far side, this low flat terrace looking towards the beach end of the town is known as the Burns End and is well known for housing the clubs most vocal support. This flat expanse of grass and gravel standing has a full-length high fence to stop stray balls going into the houses of Burns Road.

Looking to the right from the Ruskin Avenue/Social club end is the Victoria Road side, a narrow strip combining the dug outs, a grassed flat standing area towards the Burns End, a low seated stand for around 300 supporters and a stadium control tower. The stand on this side of the ground was the original main stand, placed on the pitch centre line, with an extra wing added next to the stadium control tower at a later date. Looking to the opposite side of this stand on the Lake Road side of the ground is the grounds new main stand which was erected in 2008. The single deck cantilever stand has around 700 blue plastic seats on a single tier, built into the earth bank. The stand roof has a tv gantry perched on the pitch centre line and is pierced by two modern floodlight pylons. Either side of the stand the ground retains its flat standing areas and a grass bank. The stand lacks a concourse at present there is a wide expanse of land at the rear of the stand which forms the entrance/exit to the club car park.

Victoria Road is all affectionately known as the ‘Sand Siro’.

The Club have announced that they are looking into the possibility of building a new stadium, in the Docks area of the town. The proposed scheme is very much at an early stage and would depend on the necessary funding to be put in place first. An artists impression of how the new stadium might look can be found on the South Wales Evening Post website.

Segregation is rarely in force at Victoria Road. If in the rare event that it is required, thne as far as we are aware visiting fans are allocated the seated stand on the Victoria Road side of the ground, next to the control tower. The stand has four rows of seating under a low lightweight sloping roof and slim columns. One of the floodlight pylons pierces the roof of the stand, which could obstruct your view. The Club have a small band of 'Ultras' who aided by a drummer, try to provide some noise throughout the game.

There is a Social Club at the ground, which welcomes visiting supporters. There are a good selection of pubs, bars, food and drink along Victoria Road, only two minutes walk from the ground as well as in the town centre, 15 minutes walk from the stadium. Near to the railway station is a Wetherpoons outlet called the Lord Caradoc, which is also listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

From The West
Follow the M4 towards Port Talbot, exit at Junction 41 where the motorway merges with the A48,follow the A48 Heilbronn Way as it passes over the railway line. At the roundabout take the third exit into Water Street. Follow Afan Way as it turns to the right, then after passing under a footbridge take a left turn into Victoria Road. At the third crossroads turn left into Ruskin Avenue. At the end of the junction turn right into Lake Road and then take the next right into Webb Place. This road leads to the car park at the rear of the main stand. Take a left turn to lead into the car park. If you wish to visit the social club and access the away supporters section on Victoria Road trace your path back to Ruskin Avenue and just before you reach Victoria Road follow the left hand alleyway around the rear of the houses, this will lead to the social club. 

From The East
Follow the M4 towards Port Talbot, exit at Junction 38 and take the A48 into Port Talbot, follow the road past Port Talbot Parkway Railway Station. A bridge over both railway and river leads to a large roundabout, take the second exit into Water Street, follow Afan Way as it turns to the right, then after passing under a footbridge take a left turn into Victoria Road, At the third crossroads turn left into Ruskin Avenue. At the end of the junction turn right into Lake Road and then take the next right into Webb Place. This road leads to the car park at the rear of the main stand. Take a left turn to lead into the car park. If you wish to visit the social club and access the away supporters section on Victoria Road trace your path back to Ruskin Avenue and just before you reach Victoria Road follow the left hand alleyway around the rear of the houses, this will lead to the social club.

Car Parking
There is a car park at the stadium which is free of charge. If that happens to be full then there is plenty of street parking available in the surrounding area.

There is a excellent weekend and evening train service, with Port Talbot Parkway being on the main line between Swansea, Cardiff and London. The town is also served by trains from Holyhead via Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford. 

The town is also well served by National Express Coaches between London and Swansea as well as the following local hourly services:

X1 Swansea-Bridgend  X40 Aberystwyth-Cardiff

There are at least three different routes that will take you from the Railway Station to the ground. The description below is probably the quickest at around about 25-30 minutes walk, and avoids the town centre and heaviest traffic.

When you exit the station, turn right and walk past the car park. Beyond this follow Oakwood Road back over the railway line. At the first roundabout take the third exit and follow Dock Road past the allotments. At the first big roundabout continue along the dual A4241 carriageway. This leads to a large roundabout over the river. Follow the left bridge over the river and take a left turn into Afan Way. You will then see a footbridge over the road, once past the footbridge take a left turn into Victoria Road. Continue on the left hand side of Victoria Road for 5 minutes and after the 4th crossroad turn left into Sandown Road. The social club and main entrance is to the left of the housing rear driveway.

Booking train tickets in advance will normally save you money! Find train times, prices and book tickets with Trainline. Visit the website below to see how much you can save on the price of your tickets:

Adults £5
OAP's/Students £3
Under 16's £1

Official Matchday Programme £2.

Port Talbot FC fixture list (takes you to the Port Talbot FC Website).

Main rivalry is with Afan Lido, but Neath and Llanelli are also close by.

If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Booking.com. 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 help towards the running costs of keeping this Guide going. 

Official Web Site: www.porttalbottown.co.uk

If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, then please e-mail me at: [email protected] and I'll update the guide.

Special thanks to Owen Pavey for providing the information for this page, plus the photos and ground layout plan of the GenQuip Stadium Port Talbot.