Gander Green Lane/Borough Sports Ground (Sutton)

Gander Green Lane was built in 1898 and now houses National League’s Sutton United side. The ground is located in Sutton in South London and has played host to England C team and FA Sunday Cup games.

General information

Arena capacity: 5,032 spectators

Address: The VBS Community Stadium, Gander Green Ln, Sutton SM1 2EY, UK

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 51.3678° N, 0.2043° W

Year of construction: 1898

Field: PowerGrass (Agripower) lawn with dimensions of 110 x 70 yards

Seating plan of Gander Green Lane

The Grandstand, located on one side of the pitch, was opened in 1951. This simple single tiered all seated Main Stand has a capacity of 765 seats and is covered. It does though have a row of supporting pillars located along its front. The stand runs for around half the length of the pitch but is situated off centre, in comparison to the halfway line. The team dugouts are also situated at the front of this stand. Oddly, the blue and red seats of the Grandstand do not reflect the Club’s colours. In one corner of the ground in-between the Grandstand and Collingwood Road End is a blue two-storey rectangular portacabin type structure that has a small electronic scoreboard on its roof.

Opposite on the railway side of the ground is a small covered terrace, called the Recreational or Rec Terrace that has a box-like structure on its roof, which is used for television cameras. The terrace itself is set well back from the pitch. Both ends have small covered terraces, which are similar in design. One of these the Collingwood Road End was opened in 2015. The Gander Green Lane End opposite is unusual in that it has sweeping curved open terraces around each corner, either side of the covered terrace behind the goal, giving the stadium a bit of character.

Their oval curvature gives a clue to the fact that the ground once used to have an athletics track surrounding the pitch. In-between one of these terraces and the Rec Terrace is a small separate portion of terracing, which is nicknamed the ‘Shoe Box’ by the local fans. The Club plays on an artificial 3G playing surface. The stadium is completed with a set of modern looking floodlights.

Visiting Supporters

On the rare occasion, that segregation is in force, then away fans are mostly housed in the Collingwood Road End. This modern terrace is covered, meaning that not only is there some shelter from the elements, but also that fans can more easily generate some noise. To gain entrance to this stand then you need to walk through the park alongside the ground. Although the terrace is fairly modern, the toilets at that end are from a bygone era!

In addition, a small number of seats are made available in the Main Stand. Although this stand is raised above pitch level, it is set back a bit from the playing action. Plus the leg room is less than generous and there are a number of supporting pillars running across the front of the stand that could impede your view.

Where to buy tickets?

The best place to start looking for tickets to Sutton United matches is on the club’s official website. The ground rarely sells out, though, so you can almost certainly get one on the gate on the day of the match.

How to get there?

Check the travel option to Gander Green Lane that best suits you below.

Train

If you want to get the train to go and watch a Sutton United match then you’ll be looking for West Sutton Railway Station, which is adjacent to the ground. Served by Thameslink trains that go via Wimbledon and Sutton itself, you come out of the station, turn right and you’ll see the stadium about 100 yards away.

Bus

The 413 hopper service leaves Sutton town centre from outside the post office and will stop on request anywhere along Gander Green Lane, so can effectively take you directly to the ground. Alternatively, the 80 runs from Hackbridge to Belmont and down nearby Collingwood Road. You can then take the path through Collingwood Rec to reach the stadium.

Car

If you’re travelling by car to Gander Green Lane then you’ll want to get on the M25 and get off at junction 8. From there you’ll head north on the A217 for about 20 minutes, ignoring any signs for Sutton itself. When you get to the traffic lights by the Gander Inn you’ll turn right and see the stadium about 200 yards further ahead. If you hit West Sutton Railway Station then you’ve gone too far.

Taxi

A taxi from the centre of Sutton out to the football ground will cost you anywhere between £7 and £20 depending on the time of day and the traffic you encounter. It would probably be quicker to walk, for those that are able.

Parking

The club does have a car park, but it’s limited to permit holders only on match days. As a result, you will want to look for on-street parking on the roads around the ground, but do make sure that you keep an eye out for parking restrictions. Gander Green Lane is only about ten minutes walk from the town centre, where there are two decent car parks you can use.

Where to eat and sleep?

Being pretty much still in London, Sutton has plenty of accommodation options that will see you getting a good night’s rest not too far from the ground.

1. Orchid Epsom, Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western. The joy of a stadium on the outskirts of London is that you’re filled with options when it comes to where to stay. This no-frills hotel is about 15 minutes away from Gander Green Lane in nearby Epsom, promising Wi-Fi in the reception area and the ability to park your car if you’re driving. This is the more budget-friendly hotel on the list, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t give you everything you need for a cheap and cheerful stay either side of a match day.
2. Flexistay Aparthotel Sutton. If you want to give yourself a bit of flexibility when it comes to your stay in Sutton, you don’t need to look much further than this Aparthotel. There are 18 rooms available, with a self-service breakfast and Wi-Fi included in the cost of your stay. In terms of its location, it is on the other side of Sutton so will take about 30 minutes to walk to from the stadium. That being said, it’s less than ten minutes in the car if traffic is on your side.
3. Holiday Inn London – Sutton. Sometimes you just want to stay somewhere that you recognize and chain hotels provide the perfect luxury to do just that. The Holiday Inn in Sutton boasts 119 rooms, a restaurant and bar and an indoor pool. The full-service spa will allow you to relax, whilst breakfast is available as is parking. The Wi-Fi is free to use, with the hotel’s location being ideal not just for a visit to Gander Green Lane but also the likes of Chessington World Of Adventure.

Plenty of options await in Sutton town centre, and a few new pubs are located around the stadium too.

1. The Gander Inn. In terms of proximity to the football ground, you can’t get much better than the Gander Inn. It’s about an eight-minute walk away and promises great food as well as all of the usual drink options. There’s pool and darts for those that like to be recreational about their pub choices, whilst big screens can be seen from all around the venue for the times when there’s a big match on that you want to watch before or after the Sutton United game.
2. The Crown. There are countless pubs around the United Kingdom named The Crown, but the one in Sutton is well worth a visit if you’re in the area for the football. It shows live sport whenever there’s something worth watching on, plus you can enjoy a bite to eat or a drink before heading off to the match. Open from ten in the morning until eleven at night seven days a week, they even allow dogs if you happen to have your four-legged friend with you.
3. The Sutton Arms. Located in the centre of Sutton and therefore a ten to 15-minute walk from the ground, the Sutton Arms is part of the Greene King chain of establishments. That means that you’ll know what you’re getting, from the food on offer to the lagers, ales and soft drinks that you can buy. There’s a beer garden as well as Wi-Fi, plus there are disabled facilities for those that need them. It’s somewhat generic, but that isn’t always a bad thing.

Facilities

It isn’t exactly outrageous to suggest that Gander Green Lane isn’t as plush an experience as a Premier League or Championship ground, but there’s plenty to enjoy about a trip to the ground regardless. You can have a drink inside, for example, or pop over to The Plough on the other side of the road if it doesn’t seem too hospitable to you.

There are some areas of the ground that are a little more open to hospitality than others, with the club’s main offices and hospitality areas to be found behind the covered seating area.

Being a relatively small club that is aimed at the local community, Gander Green Lane has some areas available for private hire that you’re best contacting the club directly about to find out more information.

Accessibility

Sutton United FC welcomes disabled supporters and in line with the club’s equality policy disabled supporters have access to all facilities open to that of able-bodied supporters where possible. The ground has a large adjacent car park, which provides close and easy parking and up to 4 entrances accessible by wheelchairs. The pitch perimeter walkway is at street level and gives easy access to all sides of the ground without obstacle.

There are spaces for ten wheelchair users (seven home, three away) and accessible toilets at both ends of the ground and in the main stand.

In line with guidance received from the Football Association, spectators with a disability will be charged the appropriate, full admission price to attend games at Sutton United. However, should a spectator with a disability require a helper then that helper will be admitted free of charge.

Their average home gate is around 3,000 people, and the print-run for the match day programme is only about 500 copies. It is not considered economically viable to produce programmes in a format accessible to partially sighted people. The Club does undertake to provide team sheets in a suitably large font on request for home first team matches.

Unfortunately, they do not have a facility for a special commentary for visually-impaired supporters.

History

The Gander Green Lane area was used for allotments and open fields during the 19th century, with a decision taken to develop a stadium there coming at the end of the century. It was intended as a football ground, with a small pavilion being built on the northern side. There was a large residential building called Strawberry Lodge located to the west, but it had been demolished by 1937 and terraced houses stood there instead.

The Main Stand at the stadium was built in 1951, with two small wooden stands replaced by covered standing areas in the 1980s. New terracing was installed in place of the Gander Green Lane end in 1997 and in 2002 the stadium played host to AFC Wimbledon after the original club had moved to Milton Keynes and become the MK Dons. The stadium has been used for athletics in the past as well as football matches.