New Meadow/Montgomery Waters Meadow (Shrewsbury)

New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home ground of English football club Shrewsbury Town.

General information

Arena capacity: 9,875 spectators

Address: Oteley Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, SY2 6ST

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 52.6887° N, 2.7486° W

Year of construction: 2006–2007

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 115 x 77 yards

Seating plan of New Meadow

North Stand

The North Stand is made up of a single tier of blue seats with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow along the central blocks. There is an electronic scoreboard hanging up on the back wall and New Meadow’s Control Box takes up a good part of the seating area near to the northeast corner.

The cantilever roof above means that there are no supporting pillars coming down from the top and so your view of the pitch from every seat is perfectly clear.

Windshields are at either end of the stand, but they do not cover the front rows. There is just a small wall in place here to keep any wind and rain away from these seats.

East Stand

The East Stand is also made up of a single tier of blue seats and is the same height as the adjacent North Stand. Shrewsbury’s executive boxes are at the very back, and the executive seating blocks are in front of this in a deeper shade of blue. The letters ST are spelt out in yellow to the left of this executive area, and the letters FC are spelt out in yellow to the right. Shrewsbury’s changing rooms, dugouts and tunnel can all be found in the East Stand.

There are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, ensuring a perfectly clear view of the pitch from any seat, and windshields at either end cover all but the very front rows.

South Stand

The South Stand is the same height as both the North and East Stands.

It is single tiered and made up mostly of blue seating, with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow across the central blocks.

The unique part of this stand however is the safe standing area, coloured yellow and located at the back. Shrewsbury Town are the first club in both England and Wales to install a safe standing area into their stadium, which consists of rows of rail seating that allows fans to safely stand on a matchday.

If you buy a safe standing ticket in the South Stand, you are expected to collect a coloured wristband from the inner concourse and stewards will only allow you up to the safe standing area if you are wearing one.

There are no supporting pillars coming down anywhere in the stand because of the cantilever roof, and windshields cover all but the very front rows.

West Stand

The West Stand looks very similar to the East Stand opposite.

It is made up of a single tier of blue seating with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow across the central blocks. The area holding the matchday camera can be found along the back row in the middle of the stand.

Like the rest of New Meadow, there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, and the windshields cover all seats apart from those in the very front rows.

Away Fans

Away fans are housed behind the goal in the North Stand.

Both small and large crowds can be easily kept in here as the stand is a good distance from the home seating areas whilst still providing a good quality view of the action taking place on the pitch.

Travelling fans are generally allowed to sit wherever they please in the North Stand but most congregate in the central blocks and up towards the back. They are given a perfectly clear view of the action from any seat and all but the very front rows are well protected from the sides by windshields.

Where to buy tickets?

Shrewsbury Town categorize their matches, so you’ll pay more for some games than you will for others. You don’t pay more to sit in different sections of the ground, however, unless you want to sit in hospitality sections. That means that the only other thing that will alter the amount of money you have to pay for your ticket will be your age. Handy hint if you are currently serving or ex forces – there are free tickets available for you.

You can buy Shrewsbury Town tickets online, over the phone or in person from the ticket office at the stadium.

How to get there?

Located in Shropshire, Shrewsbury is a lovely town that is reasonably easy to get to from most places in England. Here are some of the more typical methods you’ll probably consider for your journey.

Train

Shrewsbury Railway Station is about two miles from the ground, so it would take about half an hour or so to walk if that’s what you fancied. It’s around two to three hours away from London with at least one change, normally at Birmingham International.

Bus

You can catch the Meole Brace Park & Ride service (operated by Arriva) from the railway station, which takes you to the Meole Brace Retail Park, which is close to the stadium. Services on Saturday afternoons run every ten minutes and the cost of a ticket is £1.60. It doesn’t run though in the evenings. There is a Football Special Bus Service that runs from the Town Centre Bus Station up to the stadium, which costs £2.50.

In addition, bus service numbers 8, 16, 23, 25 and 544/546 all stop near to the stadium (but are rather sparse or non-existent in the late evening after midweek games). The Football Special Bus Service promptly departs from behind the South Stand, ten minutes after the final whistle back to the town centre. Shrewsbury train station is served by trains from Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Crewe and Newport (Gwent).

Car

At the end of the M54 continue onto the A5. After about seven miles, there is a traffic island, which is at the junction with the A49. Bear left at this island still following the A5. At the next roundabout take the 3rd exit onto the B4380 (Thieves Lane). Continue along Thieves Lane going straight over two roundabouts and this will lead you into Oteley Road. You will reach the stadium down further down Oteley Road on the left.

Taxi

Shrewsbury Railway Station is just over two miles away from the Greenhous Meadow Stadium, so if you do decide to walk it is going to take around 40 minutes. Otherwise, you can grab a taxi up to the ground (taxis at the station can sometimes be scarce, so you may wish to find the number of a local firm before you go). A taxi from the train station to the ground will take roughly ten minutes.

Parking

There is a large car park at the stadium, holding almost 700 cars, however, this is for permit holders only. Parking is prohibited in the nearby Retail Park and nearby streets, so to find some street parking you may have to drive a bit further away. Check though for any parking restrictions detailed on posts, before parking up. Otherwise, there is a car park at the Meole Brace Bowling Club, which also offers parking at £3 per car and has a bar on site too. It can be found at Meole Rise (Off Upper Road, SY3 9JF).

At the top of Oteley Road, which leads to the ground, there is the Meole Brace Roundabout. Around the roads leading onto the roundabout there are a number of private car parks providing match day parking, each of which charges £5. One is located behind the petrol station on the corner of Roman Road, which is where we parked. On the roundabout itself is the Wild Pig pub, which also offers parking.

Alternatively, you can use the Park & Ride scheme operated by the Club. This costs £2 per person and commences at 12.30pm on Saturdays & 5.30pm for evening matches. It operates from Shire Hall (but not the nearby Meole Brace, which is a park & ride for the town centre). It is located off the A5 (just take the A5064 towards the town centre) and at the roundabout with Lord Hill’s Column, take the 3rd exit and then first right into the car park. Delays in getting back to your car after the match in some cases can be up to 40 minutes so bear this in mind.

For any fans wanting to make a full day of a Saturday at Shrewsbury, there is the Meole Brace Park & Ride site. It is only a 10-15 minute walk from the ground and is well signposted from the A5. For £1.60 per passenger (return ticket or a group of five adults can go on for £2.50, accompanied Under 16s are free), people can park at the site, catch a bus into Shrewsbury town centre, find plenty of food and drink outlets, and then catch a return bus back to the site. Journey time between 10-15 minutes depending on traffic volumes. Please note that parking is provided for those using the Park & Ride and not for matchday parking. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near in the local area via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

Where to eat and sleep?

Shrewsbury is a lovely little town with plenty of hidden nooks and crannies that are well worth exploring. Here are some of our favourite hotels that you’ll want to consider if you’re going to stay in the Shropshire town before or after you’ve watched a match.

1. The Coaching Barns. This no-frills guesthouse is about twelve miles from the stadium but has five rooms, free Wi-Fi and free parking.
2. The Stiperstones Inn. Ten miles from the ground in the wonderfully named area of Snailbeach is this 4-star inn that is above a restaurant/pub and has two rooms and a garden. Included in the price is a free breakfast, free Wi-Fi and free parking.
3. Holiday Inn Express Shrewsbury. About a mile and a half from Montgomery Waters Meadow is this member of the Holiday Inn Express chain of hotels. It has a restaurant, a bar, a free breakfast included in the price of your room and free parking as well as free Wi-Fi.

Shrewsbury is full of personality and has a number of charming, fun watering holes. Here are some of our favourite pre-match locations. Because the ground itself is essentially in a retail park you need to go slightly further afield to find a decent pub, mind.

1. The Charles Darwin. Named after one of the town’s most famous former residents, The Charles Darwin serves food, has a good drinks selection and has a number of TVs to show any interesting live sport on.
2. Belle Vue Tavern. The Belle Vue Tavern offers a great selection of ales, a friendly welcome and a good laugh for supporters of both home and away teams.
3. Albion Vaults. Located right next to Shrewsbury Railway Station is this pub with one of the most welcoming land ladies around. They serve food, good ales and show sport if there’s anything worth watching on.

Facilities

There are food and drink kiosks in all stands at Montgomery Waters Meadow, with nice clean concourses available for your use as well as places you can stick a bet on before a ball has even been kicked.

Montgomery Waters Meadow boasts five function rooms and seven executive boxes, so there are a number of hospitality options available to you on a match day. The club promises packages that will suite both private individuals and businesses alike, with a warm welcome followed up with a three-course meal and half-time refreshments, depending on the package you choose. There is also an option to go on a stadium tour and see all of the areas not usually available to the public if you’re feeling nosy.

Venue 1886 is the name of the club’s separate arm for private hire purposes. They have a dedicated team that can cope with most demands, whether you’re hoping to host a small business meeting with breakout rooms, an exhibition or even a wedding. They even do 3 course Sunday lunch’s every week, on Sunday, obviously.

History

Shrewsbury Town’s formative years were spent bouncing from one ground to another, with three years at the Racecourse Ground followed by four years at Ambler’s Field, two years at Sutton Lane and five years at Barrack’s Ground. It wasn’t until 1910 that they found somewhere they could call a permanent home when they moved into Gay Meadow.

So far England’s under-17s, under-19s, under-20s, under 21s and the England Women’s team have all played matches in the ground.