Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane): Salford City FC

Salford City FC

Founded in 1940 as Salford Central and spending the first few years of their existence playing local league football, Salford City FC gained a place in the Manchester League in 1963 and had won silverware within a decade. Even so, most of the club’s existence was spent bouncing around the lower leagues until it was taken over by five former Manchester United players in the form of Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scoles and Gary and Phil Neville. Their investment saw the club gain promotion to League Two in 2019 at the expense of AFC Fylde.

The club has played its games at Moor Lane since moving to the ground in 1978. Currently known as Peninsula Stadium because of sponsorship arrangements, it is located in the region of Kersal in the city of Salford, which is itself in Greater Manchester. Boasting a capacity of a little over 5,000, Moor Lane is served by numerous different bus routes to make it nice and easy to get to when it hosts football matches. Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, given the names of the footballers who each own 10% of Salford City, the stadium was re-opened by Alex Ferguson after undergoing renovations in 2017.

Stats

Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane) Photos

Peninsula Stadium Floodlights
Salfordcityfc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Peninsula Stadium Stands

Salford City FC Sign
James Boyes / Flickr.com

Salford City Supporter
James Boyes / Flickr.com

Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane) Seating Plan and Where to Sit

Moor Lane is very much designed in the classic style of British stadiums, with four stands surrounding each side of the pitch. There’s enough room for 5,108 people, of which 2,246 can be seated.

The West Stand, at one end of the pitch, and the Neville Road South Stand, which runs along the side, are terraced areas. The remaining two stands are seated areas, with away fans housed in the East Stand.

Salford City FC Ticket Prices

The club changed its ticket pricing policy, so now the pricing structure for match day tickets is a little convoluted; you pay different amounts depending on the opposition, your age, and where in the ground you want to sit.

Here are the prices for adults and concessions across all categories:

• Cat A: Adults – £20-£22 / Concessions – £16-£19
• Cat B: Adults – £17-£19 / Concessions – £14-£17
• Cat C: Adults – £15-£17 / Concessions – £12-£15

How To Get Salford City FC Tickets

Salford City specifically advise supporters that the best way to buy tickets is on the gate, but cash at the turnstiles is only possible for the West Stand. Given that the stadium hasn’t sold out for any match since the Class of ’92’s takeover, you’d be extremely unfortunate to turn up and not be able to get in. If you buy online it will cost you an extra £1 booking fee.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane)

Train – There are no train stations in the immediate vicinity of Moor Lane, so the closest mainline station is Manchester Victoria.

Bus – Moor Lane is served by numerous buses, with the 93, 97 and 98 options being best from Manchester Victoria and the nearby Shudehill Interchange. If you end up arriving at Piccadilly then the X43 is what you’ll want.

Car – The stadium is around two miles away from Junction 17 of the M60, with the A56 being your best route to the ground.

By Air – Manchester Airport is one of the busiest outside of London, so you’ll have little problem getting a flight there. Liverpool Airport is also not too far away.

Taxi – From Manchester city centre to Moor Lane will cost around £13.00+

Parking Near Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane)

There are strict parking restrictions on the roads around the ground, but there is a park & ride option from Albion Academy, Rockley Gardens, M6 6GL.

• See Available Parking Near Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane)

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane) Hotels

This is Manchester, they do things differently here. That’s the saying anyway. As for the hotels, they are plentiful and fit all budgets:

Holiday Inn Express Manchester - Salford Quays - £55+

Waterfront Quay, Salford Quays, Salford, M50 3XW

Located around four miles from Moor Lane at Salford Quays is this Holiday Inn Express that’s perfect for those looking to get out of the city centre and not spend too much money. You get a continental breakfast included in the cost of your stay and the hotel offers free Wi-Fi. There’s a bar and lounge area that serves the guests from the 120 rooms, whilst the Imperial War Museum is just over ten minutes away on foot. More details.

The Ainscow Hotel - £70+

Trinity Way, Salford, M3 5EN

With just over 60 rooms, a restaurant and two bars on-site, the Ainscow is a delightful hotel located in the heart of Salford. There’s a rooftop terrace that you can use as well as self-parking and free Wi-Fi. Breakfast is available at the hotel and you’re just a short walk from some genuinely fascinating sites, should you wish to fill your time before the football. From the Museum of Science and Industry to the Manchester Opera House, you’re well-position at The Ainscow Hotel to get your fill of culture as well as sport. More details.

The Lowry Hotel - £120+

50 Dearmans Place, Salford, M3 5LH

Famed for being the hotel that José Mourinho lived in like some sort of footballing Alan Partridge when he was the manager of Manchester United, The Lowry has a terrace area that overlooks the nearby canal. With a restaurant and a bar to serve the guests of the 165 rooms, you won’t need to leave if you don’t want to. The free Wi-Fi is limited to the reception area and the business centre, but there’s also a fitness centre with a full-service spa if you find yourself wanting to relax rather than work. The Lowry offers valet parking and an area shuttle, so you won’t feel trapped. More details.

Pubs and Bars Near Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane)

Central Manchester is obviously backed with bars and some wonderful pubs, but here are a few good options close to the ground:

Facilities

The club bar is for home supporters only, but you can get pies, burgers, chips etc around the stadium. You might end up having to use a portaloo rather than a proper toilet though.

Prices

• Programme: £3
• Pie: £3
• Cup of tea: £1.5
• Beer: £3.5

Hospitality

The facilities at Moor Lane are best described as basic, so any hospitality sections are unlikely to be up to the standards of the Etihad or Old Trafford. That being said, there are private boxes and other hospitality areas within the stadium that quickly sell out so it can’t be that bad, and the club have been known to team up with local restaurants to add offsite options to their hospitality package.

Private Hire

Should you wish to hire out one of the private boxes at Moor Lane then your best bet is to get in touch with the club and discuss the options.

Stadium Tours & Museum

At the time of writing stadium tours are not possible, but if that changes we’ll update this section. It’s not a huge stadium though so a tour is unlikely.

About Salford City FC

Founded as Salford Central in 1940, the club’s formative years were spent bouncing around the lowest levels of English football. In 1963 they gained entry to the Manchester Football League and celebrated their new status by renaming themselves as Salford Amateurs.

The first piece of silverware of note came a decade later when they won the Lancashire Amateur Cup, winning the trophy again in 1975 and 1977. The club entered the Cheshire County League in 1980, which later merged with the Lancashire Combination to form the North West Counties League. Salford remained in that division and in 1989 chose to rename itself once more, this time taking on its current moniker of Salford City Football Club.

Whilst the club certainly has a storied history, not least thanks to forays into the likes of the FA Cup in 1990 and the third round of the FA Vase in 2004-2005, it’s certainly true that it has gone up a gear since the takeover by the so-called Class of ’92 in 2014. The Neville Brothers, along with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt, decided to take the club over and announced that they wanted it to be in the Championship within 15 years.

They played a friendly with some of their fellow ex-professionals against a Salford City eleven before the 2014-2015 season kicked off, which the home side won 5-1. The club then went on to start the campaign unbeaten in their first 13 games, though they wouldn’t gain promotion to the Football League until doing so via the Play-Offs at the end of the 2018-2019 season.

Peninsula Stadium (Moor Lane) History

Located in the Kersal district of the city of Salford in Greater Manchester, Moor Lane took on the sponsorship of Peninsula Business Services in October of 2017 and was officially renamed Peninsula Stadium as a result. As is so often the case with such sponsorship deals, of course, the majority of supporters still call the ground Moor Lane. The stadium had a capacity of less than 2,000 prior to renovations that took place over a year between October of 2016 and the following October.

Part of those renovations included the addition of 2,246 seats, moving the needle on the capacity from 1,600 to 5,108; a not insignificant number for a then non-league club to boast. When the renovations on the stadium were completed in October of 2017 and the deal with Peninsula Business Services was in place, the Class of ’92 turned to their former manager and mentor to officially re-open the newly renovated football ground.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the retired Manchester United manager, cut the ribbon to open it back up on the 19th of October 2017. He opened an entirely new looking venue, given that it boasted just a single grandstand when the works began. Stadium Solutions had added stand to each side of the pitch, with roofs over them all to protect supporters from the elements.

The renovations also included the relaying of the turf for the pitch, as well as facilities within the South Stand for the players’ and the hospitality sections. Added to that the plans to open a pub on site and you can see just how much of a difference the Class of ’92 have made to this former non-league ground.

Future Developments

If the Class of ’92 genuinely have plans to see Salford City in the second-tier of English football within 15 years of their purchase of the club then it’s fair to say that they’ll have to work hard to improve the stadium alongside it; presuming that they want to remain at Moor Lane, of course.

There were talks of moving to the 12,000 seater AJ Bell Stadium, but that plan seems to have been shelved for now.