Colchester Community Stadium/JobServe Community Stadium (Colchester)

Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the JobServe Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 2008 in time for the 2008–09 season.

General information

Arena capacity: 10,105 spectators

Address: United Way, Colchester CO4 5UP, UK

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 51.923394°N 0.897703°E

Year of construction: 2008

Construction cost: £ 14 million

Field: seeded grass lawn with dimensions of 101 × 64 m

Seating plan of Colchester Community Stadium

The Jobserve Community Stadium has four separate stands, one of which is named for sponsorship. Obviously sponsors can change regularly so if they’re called something else when you visit don’t blame us.

The North Stand is a single-tiered structure that houses the away supporters, and if there are too many of them to be housed safely there, they spill over into The East Jobserve Stand, which also holds the family enclosure. The South Stand is directly opposite The North Stand behind the Southern goal and normally seats the more vocal Colchester supporters, whilst The West Stand is considered to be the main stand in the ground as it houses the changing rooms, the dugouts and executive boxes.

Where to buy tickets?

Colchester United are actually really good at providing supporters with numerous ways to buy tickets, but that conversely makes it quite tricky to understand their ticket pricing scheme. They offer discounts for Early Bird customers as well as Super Saver tickets, Saver tickets, Advance Purchase tickets and Match Day prices. They then charge different amounts for different areas of the ground as well as different prices for different age groups. On top of all of that, they offer further discounts if you buy your tickets in bulks of six or twelve games.

Tickets can be bought online up to an hour before kick-off, over the telephone between 10am and 3pm Monday to Friday or directly from the ticket office at the stadium.

How to get there?

Colchester itself is located in Essex and is considered by some to be a convenient commuter town to London. For that reason, it’s reasonably easy to get to from the South with the following being the usual methods you might want to consider.

Train

The nearest railway station to the ground is Colchester on North Station Road, which is just under two miles away from the stadium. From outside the station, you can take the Park & Ride Bus to Mile End. From there it is a short walk to the stadium.

Alternatively, you can walk to the Jobserve Stadium, which should take around 25 minutes. After leaving the station, you will come out by the North Station roundabout. Take the second left turning (with the Big Yellow Storage Building on one side) on to Mile End Road. Continue straight on this road and after around 15-minutes walk, you pass the Dog and Pheasant pub on your left (the closest pub to the ground) and the Myland Fish & Chip Shop (which closes at 2pm on Saturdays).

At the next roundabout, take the second exit on to Boxted Road. After another 10 minutes, there is a turning to the right, called United Way, from where you will see the stadium. Thanks to Karl Wringe for supplying these directions.

Further away is Colchester Town Station, which is located nearer to the town centre, whilst Colchester is on the north side. There is a regular train service between the two Colchester Stations and the journey time is seven minutes. Alternatively, you can take the Park & Ride Bus Service from the High Street or St. John’s Street in the town centre up to Mile End, which is near the stadium.

Bus

The Number 65 bus is operated by First Group and runs from outside Colchester North Station straight to the stadium.

Car

The U’s stadium is located on the north of the town, near to Colchester Business Park, and is now easily accessible from the town via the Northern Approach Road and Via Urbis Romanae.

To access the stadium, you can also make use of the A12 Junction 28.

A12 – Junction 28: The stadium is adjacent to the main A12 trunk road that serves East Anglia.

From the south (Ipswich bound carriageway): To access the stadium from the south, turn off at Junction 28, turning right at the first roundabout. Go across the bridge and then go straight over the second roundabout, before turning right into United Way from the third roundabout. You are now at the stadium.

From the north (London bound carriageway): To access the stadium from the north, turn off at Junction 28, turning left at the first roundabout. Turn right into United Way from the second roundabout. You are now at the stadium.

The postcode of the stadium is CO4 5UP.

Alternatively, you can come off the A12 at the next junction and take a left onto the A1232. When at the top of this road, bear right back over the A12 towards the traffic lights with the BMW Garage on your left.

Go straight over and up Ipswich Road. At the next set of traffic lights, turn right onto Severalls Lane (signposted just previously for Colchester Cattle Market). Follow this road to its conclusion, where you will pick up signs for the stadium.

Note that if you are travelling to the stadium for a first team match, then travel restrictions apply around the stadium on a matchday.

Taxi

A taxi from Colchester North Station to the ground will cost you about £10 if the traffic is in your favour and shouldn’t take much over five minutes to complete its journey.

Parking

There are 700 car parking spaces at the stadium, which cost from £6 to £10, depending on how close to the exit you are parked. It is essential that you pre-book your car parking space in advance via the Colchester United website, as for most games the car park sells out. In this event the club direct fans to an overspill car park located on the nearby industrial estate (about a 10-15 minute walk away from the stadium). 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. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near in the local area via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

A new Colchester Town Centre Park and Ride service has been introduced, the car park to which is situated on the opposite side of the A12 to the Weston Homes Stadium (signposted just off Junction 28). This car park has 1,000 spaces and fans attending games are welcome to use the car park. From the car park, it is then a relatively short walk five minute across the A12 bridge to the stadium. There is also a McDonalds restaurant located next to the Park and Ride.

Do not park in any of the side roads leading off Axial way, including the entrance to the Volkswagen garage. You can receive penalty tickets for parking there. Apparently, this side road and others are designated as a clearways, although there isn’t any obvious signage to that affect.

Where to eat and sleep?

There aren’t many hotels near to the ground itself as it’s a little out of town, but Colchester has some lovely hidden treasures for you to consider.

1. Dragonfly Hotel Colchester. Just under two miles away is this 3-star hotel with a restaurant, a bar, a rooftop terrace and free parking as well as free Wi-Fi.
2. Brook Red Lion Hotel. In the centre of town sits this very old hotel with an antiquated charm. It is also a pub so a good bar is guaranteed, and the Wi-Fi is free plus there is parking available. Don’t expect all the mod cons, this place is one to visit for its’ history.
3. The Globe Hotel. Located less than two miles from the stadium is this Victorian hotel with a restaurant and bar. They’ve also got free Wi-Fi, of course, as well as free place to park.

Colchester is full of fun little boozers where you can waste a few hours having a pre-match pint and a chat with the locals. Here are some of our favourites.

1. Stadium Bar. Given there aren’t a lot of options around the ground, the club were quite clever in setting up their own supporter’s bar. It’s inside The Weston Homes Stand and welcomes both sets of supporters, so it’s a good place to head before the game for a bit of atmosphere.
2. The Dog & Pheasant. The Dog & Pheasant is about a mile from the ground and is a Hungry Horse, so you know what you’re getting. It has a decent value for money food menu and plenty of standard drinks. They also have screens for live sport, though they’re not overly keen on welcoming away supporters on a match day.
3. The Bricklayers. Not far from the train station in central Colchester is this family run pub that promises a decent atmosphere, screens to watch the live sport on, hearty meals and cask ales that CAMRA would be proud of.

Facilities

As one of the newest grounds in the Football League the facilities at The Jobserve Community Stadium are amongst the best in the lower divisions. You can buy drinks, enjoy a snack or a warm pie and even place a bet on the concourses beneath the seats. It’s not the best ground in the country but it’s a more than acceptable place to spend an afternoon or evening.

The Jobserve Community Stadium has a number lounges that you’re able to sit in if you’d like to enjoy some match day hospitality at the ground, and they offer something for most budgets. The Centennial Lounge, for example, offers a three-course meal, half-time refreshments and the chance to witness players being interviewed; whilst an afternoon in The Layer Suite will see you enjoy a one-course meal as well as tea and coffee at half-time and a match day programme. If you are feeling especially flush, you could even shoot for the Vice Presidents Lounge for some real VIP treatment.

The facilities at the ground are designed to make the most out of the business opportunities that present themselves in the local area. For that reason, the home of Colchester United is available for hire for events such as school proms, private parties, exhibitions and conferences. It also offers a unique setting for your Christmas party. There are seven spaces to choose from so there is bound to be something that fits your needs and budget.

History

Originally intended to be called The Colchester Community Stadium, the name was changed to The Weston Homes Community Stadium not long after it opened thanks to a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with the property developer. It opened officially in 2008, costing just over £14 million and is owned by Colchester Borough Council.

The first goal scored at the stadium came in its inaugural fixture, a friendly against Athletic Bilbao. Aritz Aduriz scored the goal for the Spanish club, before Scott Vernon equalized and became the first Colchester player to score in the new ground. The first competitive goal was scored by Mark Yeats on the 30th of August 2008 when the U’s played Oldham Athletic, with the club having to wait until the 25th of October before they were able to register their first win at their new home – a five-nil thrashing of Carlisle United. So it was worth the wait.