LNER Community Stadium/York Community Stadium (York)

York Community Stadium (also known for sponsorship purposes as the LNER Community Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Huntington, York, England. It is owned by City of York Council, and is shared by York City Football Club and York City Knights Rugby League Football Club. The capacity of the all-seater stadium is 8,500.

General information

Arena capacity: 8,500 spectators

Address: Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross Dr, Huntington, York YO32 9AF

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53°59′05″N 1°03′10″W

Year of construction: 2017-2021

Construction cost: £44.2 million

Field: reinforced natural grass lawn with dimensions of 105 by 68 m

Seating plan of LNER Community Stadium

South Stand

The South Stand consists of a single tier of seating. The seats form a speckled design, which is red at the bottom, blue at the top, and contains yellow and white seats in between. The stand additionally has a flat platform at the front for disabled supporters to use. It is located over towards the stadium’s southeast corner.

Your view from anywhere inside the South Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.

The stand does not have windshields in place at either end, however.

West Stand

The West Stand is also single-tiered and a similar height to the adjacent South Stand. The seats inside form a speckled design, which is red at the bottom, blue at the top, and contains yellow and white seats in between. Most of the space up at the back of the stand is taken up by translucent panels, but also includes a row of pairs of blue seats. The stadium’s matchday camera is also in place up at the back of this stand.

Your view from anywhere inside the West Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.

The stand does not have windshields in place at either end, however.

North Stand

The North Stand is the smallest of the four at the York Community Stadium. Its single tier of seating forms a speckled design with most of the seats coloured reds, and the rest coloured either yellow or white. The stand additionally has a flat platform at the front for disabled supporters to use. It is located over towards the stadium’s northeast corner.

Your view from anywhere inside the North Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.

The stand does not have windshields in place at either end, however.

Main Stand

The Main Stand is the largest of the four at the York Community Stadium. Its single tier of seating forms a speckled design, which is red at the bottom, blue at the top, and contains yellow and white seats in between. Up behind the back row of the seating area is a row of executive boxes. The central block of the stand contains blue seating with darker coloured seats up in the very back rows. You can find the stadium dugouts built into the base of this seating block, with the tunnel in between them and the changing rooms located inside.

Your view from anywhere inside the Main Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.

The stand does not have windshields in place at either end, however.

Away Fans

Away fans at the York Community Stadium are normally based in the North Stand. It is the smallest of the stadium’s four stands, but is all-seater and offers perfectly clear views of the pitch from anywhere inside. Smaller away crowds tend to congregate in the stand’s more central seating blocks and position themselves right behind the northern goal.

Access into the North Stand comes from the turnstile blocks outside. The block containing Turnstiles 13-14 also houses a small Ticket Office, which away supporters can use on a matchday.

Where to buy tickets?

York don’t mess around when it comes to ticket pricing. You will pay a fixed price wherever you sit, so apart from your age nothing else will affect the price of your ticket.

Supporters can buy tickets by calling the ticket office directly, emailing them or heading there in person.

How to get there?

The stadium can be reached by public transport, check below for full travel details.

Directions from South

When heading up the LNER Community Stadium, you will want to take the M1, assuming you are based somewhere near the M1 that is. You’d need to take this route up to junction 32, continue onto the M18, and then join the A1 to head on up to Leeds. From here, you exit at junction 44 and take the A64 pretty much directly to the complex.

Directions from North

Getting to this stadium from the North is arguably a bit easier, depending on where you are based that is. Simply take the A1 or the A19 down the East Coast, and then exit onto the A1237 as soon as you get to York. Follow this road around to the East, and you will arrive at the LNER Community Stadium before you know it.

Travelling there by train

A great thing about choosing to travel to the stadium by train is that York is a pretty small city, so once you get to York Train Station you could even walk there if you really wanted to – which is actually a great way to explore a bit of the city and check out some of the many bars/restaurants en-route. Just note that depending on where you are coming from, you’ll likely need to come via Leeds, and then take an additional train to York. And if you were tight on time, once again, you could simply take any of the Park and Ride services in York to get out to the stadium, or even take the bus!

Buses

The Monks Cross area is served by a number of bus routes, providing regular services from the city centre and surrounding areas.

The most frequent, First York Park and Ride service 9, departs every 10 minutes from York City Centre.

At night games additional bus services will be provided by First York and the bus company have confirmed that a bus will be available after the full time whistle on night games. The final bus scheduled is 9:45pm leaving Monks Cross Park and Ride.

For customer service on bus travel contact First York directly.

For the latest travel and transport information, visit: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/york

Walking and Cycling to the LNER Community Stadium

There are a number of excellent on and off-road walking and cycling routes from York city centre, Huntington, Heworth and beyond. Over 300 cycle (uncovered) stands are positioned around LNER Community Stadium. All external areas are covered by CCTV.

Taxis

If you catch a taxi, it’s recommended using the North car park to drop off and pick up.

Matchday car parking

A dedicated area within the Monks Cross P&R site has 400 spaces for match day users. Tickets need to be purchased in advance from the club’s ticketing website. A steward then scans the ticket in the car park.

Parking is not permitted in any other car parks. Stewards will be present in the area on match days to advise. There is a maximum 2-hour parking restriction across the entire site, including Vangarde Shopping Park, controlled through ANPR cameras on match days.

Should you require a disabled parking spot, contact the Ticket Office directly.

Car parking

The North car park (from Jockey Lane entrance) is for general users of the leisure centre, Explore Library, NHS and York Against Cancer and will be managed by stewards on match days.

The East car park (next to the 3G pitches) is closed to the public on match days and is for match day staff and visiting club directors only.

The cinema is serviced by South car park. Owned by a private company, no match day parking is permitted. Stewards will be present in the area on match days.

There is a maximum 4-hour parking restriction across the entire site (2-hours on match days), including Vangarde Shopping Park, controlled through ANPR cameras.

Where to eat and sleep?

Much like the traditional pubs, many old buildings in York have been turned into hotels and B&Bs. And why would you not choose one of them over a big chain?

1. The White Horse. A 5-minute taxi ride from the ground is this 3-star inn with rooms above it.
2. Clementine’s Town House Hotel. This quirky Victorian Bed & Breakfast has unique rooms (some are a bit mental actually) and a luxurious feel. Free parking, Wi-Fi, breakfast and a bar are all available, and it’s not a building you will quickly forget.
3. Hotel Noir. The LNER is about 3.5 miles from this Victorian hotel with a garden and a library, but it’s lovely.

York is full of historic boozers with tons of character. You could go into pretty much any one of them and it would be a real treat. For footy fans though, try one of these.

1. The Walnut Tree. On the way from town to the stadium is this sports friendly pub with lots of outdoor space and plenty of room inside too. It does hearty food plus real ale and a nice selection of whiskies too.
2. Burton Stone Inn. Not far from the ground is this stylish pub that has TVs for live sports as well as a good real ale selection.
3. The Three Legged Mare. This dog friendly pub is owned and operated by York breweries, so you can expect good beer at the very least.

Facilities

The facilities at York’s ground are excellent for a Football League club. There are loads of brand new toilets for one thing, the stands are all seaters and covered from the elements, and views are unobstructed. What’s more, thanks to the attached leisure complex you can play crazy golf, go bowling, get a good meal and do a bit of shopping before/after the match too.

York City offer hospitality packages that are aimed at everyone, not just businesses and the rich. Individuals can book a table (minimum booking six people or the table will be shared) in the lounge and enjoy a three-course meal, free parking, entertainment, padded seating, and even a live first half reaction from the home team’s dressing room!

The club are obviously trying to make their hospitality as appealing as possible, and it’s not too expensive either for what you get. Of course, corporate sponsors can get boxes to themselves and sponsor the programme or the match ball and things like that too.

There are three options for private hire at the LNER, with the main lounge being the best option for large numbers of people as it can accommodate 300 guests for presentations and the like and 200 for dining. The Jorvik and Directors lounges both have pitch views and space for up to 150 people, while the hospitality boxes are great for smaller private meetings. All can be set up with AV equipment.

Accessibility

There are various designated areas for disabled supporters at the LNER Community Stadium, both pitchside and to the rear of the Azuma Stand and West Stand – both accessible via lifts. All areas have access to nearby disabled toilets and catering facilities.

History

It was 2007 when York FC first identified a site for their proposed new ground, which at the time was to be a 6,000 seater, but progress was stalled several times before new plans were drawn up that included a ground share with York City Knight Rugby Club. In 2010, new sites were put forward, with Monks Cross being the one that was ultimately chosen, and 2014 the planned year of completion.

However, more barriers to the project presented themselves in the way of concerns about drawing trade away from the town centre, and the discovery of some protected great crested newts right where the stadium was supposed to be built. Construction looked set to begin in 2015 but levels of bureaucracy got in the way on several occasions, pushing the start date back several times until late 2017, when, finally, after a decade of fuss, work on the new stadium began.