Kassam Stadium: Oxford United
Nigel Cox [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Oxford United have called Kassam Stadium home since it opened in 2001. It was built as a replacement for their previous stadium, the Manor Ground, where they had played their football for 75 years. The new ground was hit by numerous problems and issues during the building phase, with the construction taking four years to complete because of financial issues causing the company that was building it to abandon work when they were not getting paid.
A chasm between the supporters and the club’s previous owner led to the Oxford United Supporters’ Trust attempting to get the club’s fans to call the ground ‘The United Stadium’ instead of its official name of Kassam Stadium. They felt this would demonstrate the unity of the fans in their belief that Kassam was not the right man to take the club forward. In spite of this effort however, fans and press still called it the Kassam Stadium.
Stats
| Kassam Stadium Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 2001 |
| Capacity | 12500 |
| Average Attendance | 8994 |
| Record Attendance | 12243 (Oxford v Leyton Orient (2006)) |
| Pitch Size | 102 x 71 (7242) |
| Nickname | The United Stadium |
| Owner | Firoka Group |
| Clubs Hosted | Oxford United, London Welsh |
| First Fixture | Oxford United v Crystal Palace (04/08/2001) |
| Oxford United Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1893 |
| Nickname | The U's, Yellows, The Boys from Up the Hill |
| Club Mascot | Olly the Ox and Olivia the Ox |
| Rivals | Swindon Town, Reading, Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town |
| Previous Stadiums | Quarry Recreation Ground, Wootten's Field, Sandy Lane, Britannia Field, Manor Ground |
| Kit | Yellow & Blue Pinstripe (Home) / Red & Black Stripes (Away) / Light Blue (Third) |
| Training Ground | Rovers Sports and Social Club |
| Shirt Sponsor | RAW Charging |
| Team Owner | Erick Thohir & Anindya Bakrie |
| Record Goalscorer | Graham Atkinson (107) |
| Record Appearances | Ron Atkinson (559) |
Kassam Stadium Photos
By ShotsDRIFTWOOD [Public domain]
Richard Rogerson [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Kassam Stadium South Stand
Kassam Stadium on Match Day
Kassam Stadium Seating Plan and Where to Sit
The North Stand is used to house the away supporters and is a single-tier structure opposite The Main Stand, a two-tier structure that houses the changing rooms and dugouts as well as the ground’s family section. The East Stand is another single-tier structure and welcomes the most vocal Oxford United supporters. There is no West Stand at the ground, with a car park standing in its place at the time of writing.
Oxford United Ticket Prices
It’s reasonably easy to figure out ticket prices for Oxford United matches. They don’t categorise their games, but they do charge different amounts depending on your age and for different parts of the ground. The range of adult and concession prices are listed below, with the East Stand being the most affordable place to watch the game and the South the most expensive:
- £22.00 – £32.00
- £15.00 – £26.00
These are the advance booking prices, so they will be £3 more expensive if you buy them on the day.
How To Get Oxford United Tickets
The best way to get tickets is via the club’s official website, but the ticket office is available from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday either over the phone or in person. There will be a £1 surcharge however unless you pay at the window or print your ticket a home.
Where to Buy
Getting To Kassam Stadium
Oxford is in the South of England and not far from London. As a famous University town it’s quite used to having influxes of people coming and going, so here are the normal travel routes to the stadium you’ll want to consider:
Train – Oxford Station is reachable from London Paddington in about an hour and is around four miles from the ground.
Bus – Route 5 from the Oxford Bus Company and Route 1 from Stagecoach Services both run to about five minutes from the stadium. Thames Travel’s T2 service is another good option.
Car – From the North take the M6 to the M42, then the M40 to the A34 at Junction 9. Continue along the A34 until you see the stadium. From Central London take the A4 to the M4 then the M40. Leave at Junction 7 for the A329 then get on the B480 and follow the signs.
By Air – Heathrow and Gatwick airports are both reasonably close to Oxford and linked to the city by a bus service that takes around an hour and twenty minutes.
Taxi – A taxi from the train station to the ground will take just over fifteen minutes and cost about £20.
Parking Near Kassam Stadium
There are about 2,000 car parking spaces that are free and filled on a first come first served basis.
Useful Resources
- Parking - Just Park
Kassam Stadium Hotels
As a student town Oxford has a number of hotels used to housing parents dropping off their loved ones. Here are some of our preferred destinations:
The Tree Hotel at Iffley - £82+
Holiday Inn Express Oxford-Kassam Stadium - £80+
Hampton Inn Oxford - £90+
Pubs and Bars Near Kassam Stadium
As is the case with any student town, Oxford has got a number of great places to go for a drink. Here are some crackers:
The George
Holiday Inn Express Oxford-Kassam Stadium
Jude The Obscure
Facilities
As one of the newer grounds in the Football League, Kassam Stadium’s facilities are generally quite impressive. We wouldn’t go as far as to say state of the art, but they’re good.
Prices
- Programme: £3.5
- Pie: £4
- Cup of tea: £1.8
- Beer: £3.5
Hospitality
There are a couple of hospitality packages available for Oxford United matches. Executive boxes are always a good place to start if there’s a group of you, coming with padded covered seating, waiter service and half time refreshments; or the Britannia Club may also impress with a three course meal, special guest speakers including club players and a match day host.
Private Hire
The Kassam Stadium is the largest venue in Oxford for conferences, exhibitions, events and meetings. If you’re hoping to host an event in Oxford then this place should be top of your list of locations. With space for up to 600 people they can handle pretty much anything you throw at them.
Stadium Tours & Museum
There is no permanent tour running of Kassam Stadium, but Oxford United do run occasional tours of the ground’s most exciting areas, such as the dressing rooms and trophy cabinet, on certain occasions – half terms are often utilised and the cost is only a few pounds. They may also be included in hospitality packages. Keep your eye out on the club’s website for details, or in the local paper if you live in the area.
About Oxford United
Oxford United were founded in 1893 as Headington United, not adopting their current name until 1960. That was two years before they joined the Football League after they won the Southern Football League. The club won the League Cup in 1986 but weren’t able to enter the UEFA Cup, the normal reward for the cup winners, because of the ban on English clubs entering European competition in the wake of the Heysel tragedy. They were relegated from the First Division in 1988 and endured an eighteen year decline that eventually resulted in the club’s relegation to the Conference in 2006.
Oxford’s relegation made history, but not the sort of history that the club is all that proud of. They became the first team that had won a major trophy to be relegated out of the Football League. The Atkinson family have a close history with Oxford United. Ron Atkinson, who would later go on to manager Manchester United, is the club’s appearance record holder and his brother Graham is Oxford United’s top scorer.
Kassam Stadium History
It was decided in 1995 that Oxford United would leave the Manor Ground, with the cramped and out-dated stadium no longer suitable for the club take itself to the next level. The idea was that they would move to a new 16,000 seater stadium in Blackbird Leys by the turn of the millennium. Construction began in 1996 but halted in December of 1997 after financial difficulties caused major problems. The work didn’t resume again until February of 2000.
Between 2012 and 2015 the rugby union side London Welsh played their RFU Premiership games at the ground. They will have known, at least, that there were no evil spirits at the stadium. That is because in 2001 the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, did an exorcism on the ground after Oxford lost thirteen out of seventeen games there. The losses were blamed on a gypsy curse placed on the ground by a man who had been evicted during its construction. Any excuse…
Future Developments
The agreement for the Kassam Stadium comes to an end in 2026, and the club have found it unsustainable to stay there in a number of other ways too, including how remote it is from public transport. So the race is on for somewhere to build a completely new stadium that will also be a sustainable sports, entertainment and lifestyle landmark.
There is a site in mind near Kidlington, and plans to build at 16,000 seater stadium on it, but the club are still in the negotiation stage with the council. They will have to get a wriggle on if they hope to build and move into their new stadium by 2026.