Ashton Gate: Bristol City
From Bristol City FC
Bristol City have called Ashton Gate home since 1904, exactly 110 years before Bristol Rugby joined them at the historic old stadium. When it was opened in 1887 it was actually home to a club called Bedminster FC, but when they joined forces with Bristol South End to form Bristol City in 1900 the new club actually played its games at South End’s old ground, St. John’s Lane.
As is the case with Bristol as a city, football has not had it all its own way at Ashton Gate. In fact, the rugby played at the stadium has arguably been of more importance over the years, with the stadium setting an all-time Premiership record attendance outside of Twickenham when Bristol played Bath in 2006. The ground has also been used for England internationals, with a match against Wales recorded as early as 1899.
Stats
| Ashton Gate Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 1887 |
| Capacity | 27000 |
| Average Attendance | 22500 |
| Record Attendance | 43335 (Bristol City v Preston (1935)) |
| Pitch Size | 105 x 68 (7140) |
| Owner | Bristol City Football Club |
| Clubs Hosted | Bedminster F.C., Bristol City F.C., Bristol Rugby |
| First Fixture | England v Wales (20/04/1899) |
| Bristol City Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1897 |
| Nickname | The Robins |
| Club Mascot | Scrumpy the Robin |
| Rivals | Bristol Rovers, Cardiff City, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle |
| Previous Stadiums | St John's Lane |
| Kit | Red & White (Home) / Yellow (Away) |
| Training Ground | BCFC Training Ground |
| Shirt Sponsor | Huboo |
| Team Owner | Stephen Lansdown |
| Record Goalscorer | John Atyeo (351) |
| Record Appearances | John Atyeo (645) |
Ashton Gate Photos
Martin Thirkettle [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Paul McIlroy [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Ashton Gate Seating Plan and Where to Sit
Ashton Gate has four stands in a typically ‘English Style’, though The Williams Stand was demolished in 2015 as the club prepared to begin renovations on it. It re-opened ahead of the 2016-2017 season and was re-named as the Lansdown Stand. The Dolman Stand is the largest section of the ground and sits opposite where The Williams Stand used to be, whilst The Atyeo Stand was built in 1994 and contains the club’s dressing rooms. The South Stand was opened in 2015 and is the only one of the currently opened stands not named after a person. All stands a regularly sponsored.
Bristol City Ticket Prices
Ticket prices for Bristol City matches are rather less convoluted than others, but there are different prices for members and non-members. Different areas of the ground also cost different amounts, with your age playing a further part in how much you’ll be charged.
Here are the cheapest and most expensive ticket options in each category for adults and concessions, presuming that you don’t hold a membership card:
- Gold – Adults: £25 – £45 / Concessions: £22 – £40
- Silver – Adults: £25 – £34 / Concessions: £22 – £35
How To Get Bristol City Tickets
If you’d like to see Bristol City play then your best bet for tickets is the club’s official website. If you’d prefer then you can also buy tickets over the phone by calling the club’s ticket office. In the case of some matches you might be able to buy tickets by visiting the ticket office, though this isn’t always the case.
Where to Buy
Getting To Ashton Gate
Bristol is pretty close to South Wales, so depending on where you’re coming from it’s easy enough to get to. Here are some of the more conventional routes you might wish to look at:
Train – Bristol itself has two main train stations in Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway, though Ashton Gate is closest to Parson Street Station. You can get there on a direct line from either of the main stations as well as from Weston-Super-Mare and Taunton. It’s then an 18 minute walk to the ground.
Bus – There are two match day services that you’ll want to look out for; The BC1 drops off just by the ground and Abus run another service from Brislington Eagle Road that runs through the centre.
Car – If you’re on the M4 leave it at Junction 19 onto the M32 then get on the A4032. Go onto the A4044 then the A4 then the A370 before following signs for the ground. From the M5 leave at Junction 18 and get onto the A4 then the A38 before following signs.
By Air – Bristol has its own airport that serves plenty of Europe’s main cities and offers a bus service to Bristol Parkway for your connections.
Taxi – A taxi from Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station to Ashton Gate will take about ten minutes and cost £8.
Parking Near Ashton Gate
There is limited parking near to Ashton Gate, with on-street parking restrictions in place. You might be able to find a couple of private car parks, of course, and there will be public ones in Bristol city centre. Ashton Event Parking is nearby so a good option to try first.
Useful Resources
- Parking - Just Park
Ashton Gate Hotels
Bristol is a lovely city with plenty of hotels around. Here are some of our favourites:
Clift Guest House - £70+
ibis Bristol Centre - £80+
Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel - £100+
Pubs and Bars Near Ashton Gate
Right on the border of Somerset and Gloucestershire, you can be sure to get a decent pint of cider in Bristol. Here are some of our favourite pubs for cider-lovers and non-cider-lovers alike:
Nova Scotia
The Knights Templar
The Cottage Inn
Facilities
Some of the areas of Ashton Gate are newer than others, but the quality of the facilities are pretty excellent everywhere in the ground. You’ll find many kiosks and stalls offering food, drinks and programmes in wide, clean concourses.
Prices
- Programme: £3.5
- Pie: £3.6
- Cup of tea: £2.2
- Beer: £4.5
Hospitality
Ashton Gate has a number of excellent hospitality lounges, so you’re bound to find something that tickles your fancy if you want to watch Bristol City play in style. You can opt for a matchday package in The Heineken Lounge, for example, that would see you receive a three-course meal before the game, a cheese and biscuit selection afterwards, seating on a terrace outside of the lounge for the match itself, half-time refreshments, and more. Not to mention guest speakers and player appearances to make the day memorable.
The Lansdowne Suite is the slightly more up market choice, with a sliding scale of increasingly VIP packages. Three course meal, half time mini pies, champagne receptions and welcome hosts, padded seating in the Lansdowne Stand, plus Q and As etc. to boot.
Private Hire
Ashton Gate Stadium has its own website outside of the football club, so it’s fair to say that they offer some of the best private hire options in Bristol. You can use some of the numerous lounges for business conferences, perhaps, or host a dinner dance at the home of Bristol City. Maybe you’d like to get married at Ashton Gate? Well they’ve got that covered, with Asian Weddings a speciality too.
Stadium Tours & Museum
At the time of writing, there are no tours of Ashton Gate available. For the moment your only choice for seeing around the venue is by taking an online virtual reality tour, although to be fair it is pretty impressive if you are interested. If anything changes in the future then we’ll update this section of the site.
About Bristol City
Bristol City have had some ups and downs since they were formed properly in 1897. For starters, The Robins actually reformed as Bristol City FC (1982) Limited in, you guessed it, 1982 after the club endured financial ruin at the start of that decade. In fact it coincided with them setting a somewhat unwanted record – they remain one of only 3 clubs to suffer three consecutive relegations in the Football League, the others are Luton Town and Wolves.
They have endured some success over the years, too. In 1907 they finished as runners-up in the country’s top-tier, that coming immediately on the back of their promotion from the Second Division after they won it in 1906. They won the Third Division in 2015 and have been League Cup semi-finalists twice; once in 1971 and once in 1989.
Ashton Gate History
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There is, in essence, a before and after with Ashton Gate Stadium. Of course there have been numerous developments of the ground since it was built in 1897, though none of them were as comprehensive as the one that has been going on since the start of 2015. The old East End Stand, for example, was the location for the home supporters until it was demolished in 2014 in order to be rebuilt to more modern standards. The Williams Stand, too, was a fixture at the ground until it was destroyed in 2015 and re-opened as the Lansdown Stand.
As well as being the home of Bristol City and Bristol Rugby, the ground has been used to host England Under-21 internationals, such as the one against Uzbekistan that took place in 2010. It has also been used as the location for a number of music concerts from artists like The Who, The Rolling Stone, Brian Adams, Bon Jovi and Elton John.
Future Developments
Owing to the fact that the club demolished and re-built several sections of the stadium between 2015 and 2017, it’s fair to assume that future developments will now be limited for the foreseeable future. Ashton Gate is going to be part of a bigger sports village with a 4,000 seat basketball stadium having been given the green light, but there are no plans for the football ground.