Moss Rose/The Leasing.com Stadium (Macclesfield)

Moss Rose, also known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C. It was built in 1891, making it one of the oldest grounds in England.

General information

Arena capacity: 4,720 spectators

Address: London Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7SP, England

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53.2428° N, 2.1265° W

Year of construction: 1891

Field: 4G Artificial turf lawn with dimensions of 100 x 60m

Seating plan of Moss Rose

On one side is the Main Stand. This stand is covered and has a raised seating area, which means that spectators have to ascend a small staircase to enter it. It has windshields to either side and runs for about a third of the length of the pitch, straddling the half way line. This type of stand is a classic design, once common across the country, but many have since disappeared with re-development.

Although it is old, looking it was in fact opened in 1968. It is though unusual to see such a stand that doesn’t have any supporting pillars running across the front of it. It has portions of terracing to each side and at its front. The team dugouts are also located on this side.

On the other side is the covered, single tiered Big Brand Ideas Stand Stand, which was opened in March 2001. This smart looking all seated stand with a hospitality area to its rear, has a capacity of 1,150 seats. It was originally named the McIlroy Stand after former Macclesfield Town and Manchester United player Sammy McIlroy, but has now been renamed in a corporate sponsorship deal.

The Star Lane End is a relatively new covered stand that is a strange mix of seating and terracing. Strange and unusual in having a terrace area behind the seating area, which contains 486 seats. Apparently, seating was added to the terrace in this way, so that the Club could fulfil the then Football League’s rules concerning the number of seats that a Club ground needed to be admitted into the Football League.

Opposite is the open John Askey Terrace (named after a former player and manager), which is given to away supporters. In one corner of the ground, there is a basic looking electric scoreboard, which sits on top of the Police Control Box, next to the Bristol Street Motors Stand. The ground also has a set of unusual looking floodlights.

Visiting Supporters

Away fans are primarily located in the open John Askey Terrace, where up to 1,500 fans can be accommodated. Additionally, 403 seats are made available in the Henshaw’s Stand, which sits at one side of the pitch. The seating may well be a better bet, as this stand is covered and the facilities new. Entrance to both areas is by ticket only, cash is not accepted at the turnstiles.

Oddly, you gain access to this relatively new McIlroy Stand by going through a rather old looking turnstile. However, once inside you should be impressed with the excellent facilities on offer. From your seat, you can also enjoy the views of the rolling countryside stretching away behind the Main Stand. The view of the playing action and the atmosphere within the ground are both pretty good, with some enjoyable banter between the two sets of supporters.

Please note that for certain games, only the seating area will be made available to away fans. The Club are partly making this decision on the projected number of travelling fans and whether the visiting club has only seats available (and no terracing) at their own ground.

Where to buy tickets?

Moss Rose has both standing and seated areas, so the amount you’ll pay for your ticket will be dictated by which section of the ground you want to sit in.

Macclesfield Town’s website is the place to start if you want to buy some tickets, though the ground is unlikely to sell out so you’ll likely be able to buy a ticket on the gate. You can also by over the phone or from the Town Hall. There is a small surcharge of 50p to pay with a card.

How to get there?

Macclesfield is in Cheshire, not far from bigger cities like Manchester. Here’s a look at your best options for getting to the Moss Rose.

Train

Macclesfield Railway Station is about one and a quarter miles from the Moss Rose ground, about a 20 minute walk away. As you leave the station, at the bottom of the station approach, turn left onto Sunderland Street and follow until the traffic lights at Park Green (War memorial and gardens). Turn left onto Mill Lane (it is probably better to cross onto the opposite side of the road here at the traffic lights) and follow this road which becomes London Road. Just after passing the Catholic Church on the right the ground comes into sight ahead.

Bus

You can also catch a bus up to the ground from the new bus station in the town centre. To reach the bus station from Macclesfield railway station, cross the main road outside the station using the pedestrian crossing, turn right and then turn left by the car showroom into Waters Green and follow this road up the hill (Queen Victoria Street) to the bus station on the left. Buses returning from the ground stop on the main road outside the railway station.

Bus Times and Routes:

• Service 9 Moss Rose circular – every 30 minutes (hourly at night and on Sundays);
• Service 14 Langley – hourly all day and evening (no Sunday service).

Further information is available on Traveline.

Car

From the North (M6): Exit the M6 at junction 19 (Knutsford) and follow the A537 to Macclesfield. Follow the signs to the Town Centre. The ground is signposted from the Town Centre but if in doubt follow the signs towards Leek (A523) The ground is about one mile out of town on the A523.

From the North (Manchester/M62+M60): Follow the A6 through Stockport until the road forks. Take the right hand fork signposted Macclesfield (A523). Follow this road past the town until you reach the end of the dual carriageway. The ground is roughly 1.25 miles on your right. Leave the M60 at Stockport and follow as above or leave at J3 Cheadle and follow the A34 following the signs for Macclesfield and ‘Other Routes’.

From the South (M6): Exit the M6 at junction 17 (Sandbach) and follow the A534 to Congleton. From here take the A536 to Macclesfield (Macclesfield is signposted from the Motorway). After passing the ‘Millers’ pub on the left continue for about 1/4 of a mile and take the first right after the speed-camera onto Moss Lane. Follow Moss Lane until you reach the ground.

From the East (Buxton): Come into Macclesfield on the A537 (Careful though, it’s reportedly the most dangerous road in the country). At the bottom of the hill with the station opposite turn left onto the dual carriageway. Then as above.

Taxi

A taxi from Macclesfield Train Station to the ground will cost about £7 and should take around five minutes to complete its journey.

Parking

Your best bet for parking is on the road around the stadium, though you should always make sure that you’re keeping your eye out for parking restrictions in place.

Where to eat and sleep?

With the greatest of respect, Macclesfield isn’t the most happening of places in the Cheshire region, so you might want to consider staying in Manchester, for example. If you’re determined to stay close to the ground, however, then here are some hotels for you to look at.

1. Hollin Hall Country House Hotel. Located on the outskirts of Macclesfield is this classic country house that offers free parking to those of you with a car. There are just shy of sixty rooms and it has a restaurant and bar, too. There’s a lovely garden area, should the weather be nice, and if you’re hoping to do some business during your visit then you’ll be pleased by both the conference space and free Wi-Fi.
2. The Bridge. Located in the village of Prestbury, The Bridge is a pub-hotel that has more than twenty rooms for visitors. As you’d expect from such a venue, there’s a restaurant and a bar area for you to get yourself fed and watered. You can buy newspapers in the reception, park your car for free if you’re driving and take a wander around the gardens. You can also use the Wi-Fi for free or sit out on the terrace when enjoying your nightcap in the summer.
3. Mottram Hall. Cheshire is full of stunning country houses and Mottram Hall is one of the most attractive. With over one hundred rooms, two restaurants and an indoor pool, it’s entirely fair to suggest that Mottram Hall is at the high-end of hotels you might want to stay at when going to see Macclesfield Town play. It also has two restaurants, so you won’t be struggling to find somewhere to eat; least of all in the morning when you get an English breakfast included with the price of your stay. If you want to stretch your legs then the garden is available, or there’s the small matter of the golf course.

Much like with the hotels, the nightlife is better in Manchester. Regardless, Macclesfield boasts a few pubs as you’d expect for a nice Northern town. Here’s a look at the best of them.

1. Park Tavern. Park Tavern isn’t the sort of place you’ll want to head if you’re expecting a rowdy atmosphere and football on every screen. It is, however, somewhere to pop to if you feel like partaking in some real ale and some tasty pub food. As well as all of the usual spirits and soft drinks, the Park Tavern brews its own beers and real ales and you’d be mad to miss out on them. A real ‘must see’ if you’re in Macclesfield and fancy a pint or two.
2. The Society Rooms. The Society Rooms is a JD Wetherspoons establishment, meaning the you’ll know exactly what to expect the you head there. As well as bargains on the booze and horrendous carpets, you can find some tasty food at reasonable prices. As with the Park Tavern, you don’t tend to get proper football loving crowds in a Wetherspoon. That’s mainly because they don’t show the football on big screens all around the place, though they do often put it on the television nowadays if they can.
3. The Silk Trader. If neither a pub that serves real ale nor a Wetherspoons appeals to you then The Silk Trader might. It’s a modern-looking pub that boasts fun events like quiz nights on a regular basis. It also has a brilliant beer garden, if that appeals. Most importantly of all in comparison to the other two, the pub has TV screens dotted around that regularly show football matches. As the name suggests, this place has a Macclesfield Town leaning when it comes to their sporting bias.

Facilities

Moss Rose isn’t one of the best stadiums in the Football League, but there’s plenty about it to keep you busy on a match day. As well as places to get a bite to eat, you’ll also be able to water yourself, too.

There are numerous areas offering excellent hospitality areas at the Moss Rose Stadium, with the predominant one being the McIlroy Suite. The Match Day Dining package will bring you a team sheet and program, two course meal, tea and coffee at half time and access to a pay bar. You will also get access to the best padded seats in the stadium.

The McIlroy Suite is also the main area of the stadium available for hire, with weddings, birthday parties and business meetings have all been hosted here. If you have more modest requirements, though there are also some smaller spaces available for small meetings and the like.

History

Despite having first opened its doors back in 1891, there is not a huge amount to tell you about the history of Moss Rose. Because of Macclesfield Town’s relative lack of success in terms of making their way through the English football system, the ground didn’t even see Football League games until Chester City played there between 1990 and 1992. That was because they were waiting for the Deva Stadium to open and their former home of Sealand Road was being closed. Ironically, even the first Football League match played there wasn’t won by the team using it as their home, with Exeter City beating Chester 2-1.

Given that Chester City were allowed to use the ground to host their matches in the early 1990s, it was a source of frustration to Macclesfield Town that the venue wasn’t considered to be acceptable for Football League matches after they won the Conference in 1995. That was because rules had been tightened since the days that Chester played there on account of the Lord Justice Taylor report into the Hillsborough disaster. Chester offered to allow them to play their games at the Deva, but that was rejected by the Football League.