Memorial Stadium: Bristol Rovers
From Bristol Rovers
Commonly known as the Memorial Ground, the Memorial Stadium was named in memory of local rugby union players who lost their lives during the First World War. Indeed, the ground’s history is steeped in rugby, given that it only became the home of Bristol Rovers in 1996 yet has been used to host sports fixtures since it opened in 1921.
The ground was built on an area of land known as Buffalo Bill’s Field because Colonel William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show performed there from the 28th of September until the 3rd of October in 1891. It was used as allotments during the war before being bought by Sir Francis Nicholas Cowlin, the Sheriff of Bristol (continuing the wild West theme), and given to Bristol Rugby Club so that they could build themselves a stadium on it.
Stats
| Memorial Stadium Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 1921 |
| Capacity | 11000 |
| Average Attendance | 8175 |
| Record Attendance | 12011 (Bristol Rovers v West Brom (2008)) |
| Pitch Size | 101 x 68 (6868) |
| Nickname | The Mem |
| Former Name | Memorial Ground |
| Owner | Bristol Rovers FC |
| Clubs Hosted | Bristol Rovers |
| First Fixture | Bristol RFC v Cardiff RFC (14/09/1921) |
| Bristol Rovers Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1883 |
| Nickname | The Pirates, The Gas |
| Club Mascot | Captain Gas |
| Rivals | Bristol City, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Yeovil Town, Forest Green Rovers, Cardiff City |
| Previous Stadiums | Purdown, Three Acres, Schoolmasters Cricket Ground, Durdham Down, Ridegway, Eastville Stadium, Twerton Park, The Memorial Stadium |
| Kit | Blue & White Squares (Home) / Grey & Black (Away) |
| Training Ground | Friends Life Sports Ground |
| Shirt Sponsor | Utilita |
| Team Owner | Hussain AlSaeed, The Jordanian Al Qadi Family |
| Record Goalscorer | Geoff Bradford (242) |
| Record Appearances | Stuart Taylor (546) |
Memorial Stadium Photos
Linda Bailey / Memorial Stadium, Bristol
Credit: Amir Brookes
Credit: Collin Robins
Memorial Stadium Seating Plan and Where to Sit
The North Stand is a single-tier terrace section of the ground that is home to the more vocal Rovers supporters. The East Stand is a tall structure that has terraced sections either side of it, whilst the South Stand is a fully-seated section that also has a roof. Finally, The West Terrace is identifiable by the fact that it looks like a cricket pavilion. It contains both terraced areas and seating.
Bristol Rovers Ticket Prices
Bristol Rovers separate their tickets prices into three categories: A, B and C. This means that three things will determine how much you pay to see The Pirates play live: your age, where in the ground you want to sit, and who the opposing team is.
Here are the cheapest and most expensive ticket prices for adults and concession in all categories:
- Cat A: Adults – £25-£35 / Concessions – £20-£30
- Cat B: Adults – £20-£30 / Concessions – £15-£25
- Cat C: Adults – £15-£25 / Concessions – £10-£20
How To Get Bristol Rovers Tickets
Buy tickets through the club’s official website, over the phone, or in person from either of the club’s retail outlets.
Where to Buy
Getting To Memorial Stadium
Bristol is simultaneously not too far from London whilst also feeling like it’s miles from everywhere. Here are some of the more typical routes you’ll probably look at to get there:
Train – Montpelier and Bristol Parkway are both about two miles from the ground. Bristol Temple Meads is the main station in the city, though, if you’re heading in from further afield.
Bus – There are a number of buses that run from Bristol centre to the ground. First Group is the company that operates them and they have a good journey planner if you know where you’re coming from.
Car – From the North, East and West leave the M4 at Junction 19 and get on the M32. Leave that at Junction 2 and follow the signs. From the South take the M5 to Junction 16 and get on the A38. Once you enter the suburbs of Bristol keep your eye out for signs to the ground.
By Air – Bristol International Airport is the one you’ll be looking for if you’re flying in from abroad. Or from elsewhere in the UK, actually, given it serves domestic flights too.
Taxi – A taxi from Bristol Temple Meads Station to the Memorial Stadium will take about 15 minutes and should cost you between £10 and £15.
Parking Near Memorial Stadium
There is a car park at the ground but it’s permit only. There are residential roads around the ground that you can park on, paying mind to parking restrictions, and both Muller Road and Gloucester Road are about 5-10 mins walk away and offer free parking.
Useful Resources
- Parking - Just Park
Memorial Stadium Hotels
Bristol is a big city with loads of hotels, so you won’t be short of options, even if it is a pricey city to stay in. Here are some of our faves, though:
Holiday Inn Express Bristol - North - £80+
Hampton by Hilton Bristol City Centre - £90+
Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre - £100+
Pubs and Bars Near Memorial Stadium
Bristolians are a lovely bunch, so you’ll almost certainly meet some fun characters if you go for a pre-match pint at any of these places:
Knights Templar
The Wellington
Commercial Rooms
Facilities
The stands are quite good at Memorial Stadium, but most of them feature irritating support pillars that limit your view. You’ll also find the concourses offer the sort of thing you’d expect from a middling Football League club. It’s a pretty draughty stadium when the weather turns though.
Prices
- Programme: £3.5
- Pie: £3.2
- Cup of tea: £1.5
- Beer: £3.5
Hospitality
There are numerous sponsorship packages as well as executive boxes available at Memorial Stadium, but the most popular hospitality option is probably in the club’s restaurant. Here you’ll enjoy a three-course carvery before the game, half-time refreshments and access to a cash bar. You’ll also get seating in The East Stand and the chance to watch the Man Of The Match award being presented.
Private Hire
From Christmas parties to funeral wakes, there aren’t many events that the Memorial Stadium can’t cope with. Weddings, conferences, and Mothers Day lunches have all been hosted there in the past.
Stadium Tours & Museum
There are no publicly available tours of The Memorial Stadium at the time of writing, nor does the club have a museum. However, tours could be arranged for youth football clubs and the like in the past, but they are by appointment and cost £26pp whatever your age. Worth a try.
About Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club was established in 1883 with the somewhat politically incorrectly name the Black Arabs. The club changed its name to Eastville Rovers and Bristol Eastville Rovers before eventually settling on simply Bristol Rovers in 1899. The club has an official nickname of The Pirates because of the city’s maritime connection, but it is also know as The Gas for, frankly, random reasons. The club’s old stadium, Eastville, had a gasworks next to it and Bristol City fans used it a derogatory name but Rovers’ fans adopted it affectionately instead.
Rovers have won The Gloucestershire Cup 32 times, the Watney Cup once and the Football League Third Division South Cup once, too. It won the Third Division in 1990 and has made the quarter-final of the FA Cup three times. They were beaten by Newcastle United in the 1950-1951 season, Fulham in the 1957-1958 campaign and West Bromwich Albion in 2007-2008. They also became the first team from the Third Division to beat a Premier League team in the FA Cup when the defeated Derby County 3-1 in 2002.
Memorial Stadium History
Despite now being the home of Bristol Rovers Football Club, the Memorial Stadium is steeped in rugby tradition. As well as hosting Bristol Rugby Club from 1921 until 2014 it is also used as the location for varsity games between the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol. In 2013 it was also used to host a Rugby League World Cup match between the Cook Islands and the USA.
Bristol Rovers moved into the Memorial Stadium at the start of the 1996-1997 campaign after having spent 89 years at Eastville Stadium. It was financial trouble that forced them to leave their old home and they ended up playing ten seasons at Twerton Park in Bath before returning to Bristol.
When Rovers moved into Memorial Stadium they had a deal with Bristol Rugby that allowed one team to buy the other’s share in the ground in the event of financial problems. That happened in 1998 and Rovers, who had moved into the stadium as tenants, became the owners with Bristol Rugby Club as their tenants. Bristol Rugby Club left their former home in 2014 leaving Bristol Rovers as the sole occupants.
Future Developments
Rovers announced plans to move to a brand new stadium in 2011. The move would be funded by the sale of Memorial Stadium to supermarket giant Sainsbury’s. They pulled out of the project though in 2014, leaving everything very up in the air.
The club was bought by the Jordanian Al-Qadi family, with the new president of Rovers, Wael Al-Qadi, looking for ways to improve the ground. The development of South stand is underway, creating more capacity, a proper concourse area, and giving the stand a solid roof structure. There are plans to develop the East stand in a second stage of works, and the Thatcher stand in a third stage.