Dales Lane: Rushall Olympic FC

From Rushall Olympic FC

If you feel as though Dales Lane is somewhere you’ve heard of, it might well be because Rushall Olympic were in the news at the end of 2023, start of 2024 on account of the fact that they faced relegation out of the National League North irrespective of their league position if they didn’t improve the facilities at the ground. The Walsall club’s stadium didn’t meet the requirements of the level that they had been promoted into, with the local council granting permission for a new stand to be built with 252 extra seats, as well as an additional turnstile and the replacement of four floodlights so as to avoid automatic relegation.

As you might imagine, the requirements of the stadium were essentially something of a surprise Rushall Olympic, inasmuch as the club hadn’t really expected to be promoted in the first place. Having spent most of their existence bobbing around the lower levels of English football, the club, which was formed in 1893, initially played its games on a field behind the local pub. Even when the club was disbanded prior to the Second World War and then reformed after it, they still used basic premises to play their matches and only began to make their way through the divisions after the turn of the millennium, which is how they ended up needing an improved ground.

Stats

Dales Lane Photos

Dales Lane Stadium Terrace

Dales Lane Stadium, View of the Pitch

Dales Lane Stadium Dugouts

Dales Lane Seating Plan and Where to Sit

When it comes to the facilities at Dales Lane, the word ‘basic’ is the most appropriate one to use. There are standing areas on all sides of the pitch, with limited seating available in certain parts of the stadium. There is a large Main Stand, but it isn’t the imposing thing that opposition teams might be fearful of and is instead quite limited in terms of what you should expect.

Rushall Olympic FC Ticket Prices

The good thing about Rushall Olympic is that the club are clear on their ticketing prices, letting everyone know how much they’ll have to pay to attend a match at Dales Lane. It is all about your age and circumstances. Here is a look at how the prices were for the 2023-2024 campaign, so you can get some idea of how much you should expect to pay:

• Adult – £14
• Concession – £10
• Under-16 – £5.50
• Under-12 – £2

If you buy your tickets online in advance of the match then they’ll be 50p cheaper than if you pay for them on the day. Concession tickets are available to those aged over 60, disabled people, anyone working for the emergency services, students, NHS staff, people with a Blue Light card and members of the armed forces.

How To Get Rushall Olympic FC Tickets

Whilst you can buy tickets in person, both in advance of a match day and on the day of the game itself, one of the best ways to get tickets for a Rushall Olympic game is by heading to the club’s website. This is because lower league sides know that having a good website is the best way to bring in as many supporters as possible in the modern world where people live online.

Where to Buy

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Getting To Dales Lane

Train – The bad news for those looking to travel to a Rushall Olympic match by train is that the closest station is Walsall Train Station, which is located a little under three miles away.

Bus – For those hoping to get the bus close to the stadium, the one that you’ll be looking out for is the 997 Platinum, which stops on the main road that runs past the ground.

Car – Obviously the direction that you’re coming from will be the dictating factor in terms of getting to Dales Lane. If you’re on the M6 then you’ll want to leave at Junction 10, following signs for Walsall and staying on the dual carriageway for about four miles. When you reach the Walsall Arboretum, turn left and look for signs to Lichfield on the A461. By the time you get to the Royal Oak Public House you’re basically there. If you’re on the A38, however, you’ll want to get onto the A5 and then the A461, turning left by the McDonald’s before keeping an eye out for the stadium.

By Air – For those of you looking to fly in in order to watch a Rushall Olympic match, the best airport is, as you might expect, Birmingham International Airport. It is about 15 miles away, but you can also fly into East Midlands, which is around 30 miles away, should flights to there be more convenient.

Taxi – There is a strong likelihood that those of that either don’t want to walk or are unable to do so will want to take a taxi from the train station to the ground. You can expect to pay anywhere between £6 and £10, traffic dependant.

Parking Near Dales Lane

There is a large car park at the ground, which charges £3 to park in at the time of writing. If you are a disabled supporter then you’ll be able to park here with prior arrangement with the club.

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Useful Resources

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Pubs and Bars Near Dales Lane

About Rushall Olympic FC

The earliest known reference to Rushall Olympic Football Club came in a mach report from newspapers published in 1893. That is widely considered to be the point at which the club was formed, even though football had been played in the area for at least 20 years before that. In 1895 the side joined the Cannock & District League, finishing second at the first time of asking. A number of local honours were won during the inter-war years, but at some point prior to the outbreak of the Second World War a decision was taken to disband the club, leading some to question where there is actually a link with the side that plays today.

That’s because a group of young people decided to re-form the football club in 1951, dealing with the owner of the local fish and chip shop in order to ask if they could use the premises for their meetings. They joined the Walsall and District Amateur League, winning the Second Division in 1953. In the years that followed, Rushall Olympic slowly but surely began to make their way through the divisions, in spite of the fact that it faced numerous different budgetary restraints at various points. The 2022-2023 Southern Football League season saw them finish fifth and make the play-offs, which they won to gain promotion; much to everyone’s shock.

Dales Lane History

When the club re-formed in 1951, the young people that organised it arranged for matches to be played at Rowley Place. When they began to make their way up through the leagues, the club decided that it made sense to move three miles away in order to play their games at Aston University Sports Ground. That was in 1975, with the club also gaining the lease on some land in Dawn End in Rushall, with work getting underway to open a new stadium there. That is exactly what happened on the 14th of August 1977, with Dales End becoming the club’s new home ground from that point onwards, stopping the requirement to move from place to place.

Of course, because Rushall Olympic weren’t exactly aiming to play in the Premier League, there was never any need to worry too much about the state of the ground. Lower league football is able to have significantly more basic facilities than higher up the English Football League pyramid. That is why the shock of the club’s promotion to the National League North was as much bad news as it was good; the side suddenly needed to improve the facilities on offer if they were to remain in the division. With that in mind, a new stand and new floodlights were built during the 2023-2024 season to remove the threat of automatic relegation.