Glanford Park (Scunthorpe)

Glanford Parkis a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and is the home of National League team Scunthorpe United.

General information

Arena capacity: 9,088 spectators

Address: Jack Brownsword Wy, Scunthorpe DN15 8TD, UK

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53.5868° N, 0.6961° W

Year of construction: 1987

Construction cost: £2.5 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 112 × 72 yards

Seating plan of Glanford Park

Glanford Park is a relatively simple affair, consisting of four single-tier stands of equal height, three of which are all-seated. Although there is no seating in any of the four corners between stands the ground is still fully enclosed, with the rear wall and roof of each stand simply being extended to meet in the corners. Since February 2011, the south-west corner of the ground has been completely filled-in with the construction of the ‘Legends Lounge’, with the other three simply containing refreshment kiosks.

SPB Stand

The SPB stand is the West side stand, and is the ground’s main stand. It runs along the entire length of the pitch and is fully seated.

The two southernmost blocks of seating are marketed as the club’s family area. To the rear of the stand are the club’s various executive suites. These include a restaurant, which is open throughout the week, a set of executive boxes, the Sir Ian Botham Executive Lounge and the Legends Lounge, which occupies the south-west corner. Members of the media are allocated a small area of seating at the rear of the stand, and a television gantry is also positioned within the roof space.

The players’ tunnel is located centrally within this stand, with the team dugouts being located on either side of the opening. The dressing rooms are naturally all located within this stand.

Other facilities located within this stand include the club’s main offices, ticket office, club shop and sports injury clinic.

Britcon Stand

The name of this stand is the most frequently changing. It is much more commonly known as the “Doncaster Road End” among supporters, or even simpler, the “Donny Road End” or “DRE”. This stand is the only terraced stand at Glanford Park, and typically houses the more vocal supporters.

The club’s popular bar, ‘The Iron Bar’ is located below this stand and is open on match days prior to kick-off and during half-time.

Clugston Stand

The Clugston Stand is the East stand of the ground, and houses seated home supporters. Disabled seating is available at the front of the stand in four allocated bays. The Clugston Stand now also features a can bar and a food outlet in the void beneath the seating with “Pukka Pies” a local favourite, which along with additional toilet facilities was installed at a cost of £100,000 in 2006.

The stadium’s match day control room is located at the rear of this stand behind the seats with tea, coffee and refreshments available for anyone inside the control room. The control room spans a large space with a full non-interrupted view of the pitch.

AMS Stand

The AMS Stand (also known as the South Stand or “Railway End”) houses away supporters, with a maximum capacity of 1,678. Extra away seating can be made available for away fans if required by sectioning off the corner of the Clugston Stand closest to the AMS Stand, however this is only usually done for games such as local derbies. A bar for visiting fans is positioned below this stand.

Where to buy tickets?

Ticketing for Scunthorpe matches is a little tricky to understand on first viewing. The club categorize their matches for a start, meaning that you’ll pay a different amount depending on who The Iron are up against. You’ll also pay more depending on where in the ground you want to sit and how old you are. To make things even more complicated you can also reduce the amount of money you’ll have to pay by becoming a Scunthorpe Fan Club Member and/or by booking in advance. Finally, the club offer what are called ‘Executive’ tickets, which are more expensive again.

You can buy tickets online, over the phone, in person at the Glanford Park Ticket Office or even by post – old school.

How to get there?

Scunthorpe’s location in North Lincolnshire means there are probably easier places to get to in the UK, but there are probably more complicated ones to find, too. Here are some of the routes you might want to consider.

Train

The station is over two miles away from the stadium, located towards the town centre. The best way to get to the stadium from there is by taxi, but alternatively you can walk or go to the bus station and take a bus to either Tesco or Bolsover Road.

Walking Instructions:

1. Once you have arrived turn left out of the station and proceed straight across the crossroads to Church Lane.
2. Follow this road for its duration until you reach Kingsway Golf Course. Turn right on the Kingsway A18 and follow this road around the perimeter of the green until you reach the roundabout.
3. Proceed down Doncaster Road towards the retail park and at the next roundabout where there is a KFC turn left and walk in a straight line until you reach the stadium.

Bus

Stagecoach Group operate the buses around Scunthorpe and have a good journey planner on their website. If you’re heading from the train station to the ground, for example, you’ll want the 31A that will take about twenty minutes.

Car

Leave the M180 at Junction 3 and take the M181 for Scunthorpe. The motorway will reach its natural conclusion, which has been detrunked with the installation of an additional roundabout, where you should continue forward. You will then come to another roundabout, where you should take the third exit. At the next roundabout take the third exit again (travelling past KFC on your left and McDonalds on your right). Continue forward at the next roundabout through the Sands Venue Stadium gates, with Burger King and Taco Bell on your right.

Taxi

A taxi from Scunthorpe Railway Station to Glanford Park will cost you about £5 and should take no more than seven or eight minutes, traffic depending.

Parking

Car parking at the ground is available in the East Car Park for 600 cars, priced at £5 on a first-come, first-served basis. You can make a £1 saving by buying in advance via sufctickets.com. In the surrounding areas, there is limited street parking with police restrictions, while there are parking restrictions in the retail car parks.

Where to eat and sleep?

Leeds, Sheffield and Doncaster are all big towns that are not too far away from Scunny, as the locals call it, but you should only be drawn there if you can’t resist the bright lights of a big town. Scunthorpe itself is a nice little place to spend a bit of time, so here are some of our hotel recommendations.

1. Royal Hotel. Around a mile and a half from Glanford Park is this hotel with a restaurant, a bar, free Wi-Fi and a meeting room.
2. The Bridge Hotel. Not far from Scunthorpe Railway Station is B&B that promises a restaurant and bar, free Wi-Fi and a full English breakfast included in the price of your stay.
3. Forest Pines Hotel & Golf Resort – QHotels. A little further afield at just over six miles from the stadium is this 4-star hotel with two restaurants, a full-service spa, a fitness centre with indoor pool, a conference centre and an attached golf course. There’s also free Wi-Fi and free parking.

Scunthorpe is a town full of local characters and fun little drinking holes that you might want to consider for your pre-match pint. Here are some of our favourites.

1. Old Farmhouse – Fayre & Square. This chain pub/eatery is mainly welcoming of home fans, though away fans aren’t turned out on their ear as long as they aren’t wearing prominent club colours.
2. Warren Lodge. A great place for food, real ale, and large groups is the Warren Lodge, a short walk from the stadium. Perfect for families too, this Greene King pub serves large portions and humongous desserts, as well as showing sport, offering a pool table and dart board, and providing lots of outdoor space. A real winner.
3. Ironstone Wharf. A little out of town but only up the road from the stadium is this homely pub full of interesting nooks and crannies, and more importantly serving great drinks and showing live sport. There’s a pool table too, and all of the urinals and sinks are made from old beer barrels – which is mental but fun. It’s basically on an industrial estate but definitely worth a visit.

Facilities

The facilities at Glanford Park are functional, with the club barely having improved upon them since the stadium was first built. That said, you’ll find places to buy a drink or a bite to eat before and during the match on the characterful concourses.

The match day hospitality options at Glanford Park aren’t exactly the most luxurious in the Football League, but you can hire an executive box, sponsor the match ball or even the match itself. You can also upgrade your match ticket to the Sir Ian Botham Lounge, which entitles you to enter the lounge before and after kick off to enjoy some refreshments; or you can book the Legends Lounge, which is recommended for Stag do’s and birthdays at it has it’s own private cash bar.

The club profess that the facilities at Glanford Park are first class, and whilst we might snobbishly suggest that this is an exaggeration, it’s certainly true that you can host a range of events or special occasions at the home of Scunthorpe United thanks to the club’s dedicated staff. The function rooms are nothing special but are perfectly adequate, and you can even hire the pitch if you had reason to do so.

History

As well as being the first purpose-built stadium in the Football League for years when it opened in 1988, Glanford Park was also the first ground in the country to feature a cantilevered roof, and we all know how exciting that is. The decision to leave the club’s former stadium, The Old Showground, was reached when it became obvious that it was going to cost too much money to comply with the new safety legislation brought in in the aftermath of the 1985 Bradford City Stadium Fire.

Despite selling the plot of their former ground to Safeway supermarket, the new stadium was built on something of a budget. That meant that it was more about function than form. It is well-known for its low-hanging roof that can block the view of supporters towards the back of the stands, whilst its box-like appearance is unlikely to ever win any awards for style.