Rossett Park: Marine AFC

From Marine AFC

Located in Crosby, Merseyside, Rossett Park has been home to Marine Association Football Club since 1904. In 2015 the club got sponsorship for the ground and it became known officially as the Marine Travel Arena, although most people simply continued to call it Rossett Park. It isn’t only Marine that play at the ground, with all of Everton Women, AFC Liverpool and FC Bootle playing there at various times. Whilst Marine began to call it home in 1904, it has hosted organised sport since well before then. The first noted game played on it was a rugby league match, which took place at Rossett Park for the first time in 1884.

When it comes to Marine AFC, the club was formed in 1894 when a group of local businessmen and college students decided that the area needed a football match of its own. The founders of the club met at a hotel on the sea front at Waterloo, close to Liverpool city centre, taking the name of the hotel for the newly formed team. The club has enjoyed numerous relative successes over the years, including making it to the final of the FA Amateur Cup in the 1931-1932 season, losing to Dulwich Hamlet in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 people at the Boleyn Ground, which was the home of West Ham United at the time.

Stats

Rossett Park Photos

Rossett Park Terraces

Rossett Park Seating Plan and Where to Sit

There are three sides to Rossett Park, with the primary covered stand actually being located behind one of the goals. Interestingly, this is also where the press are housed. The dugouts are found on Rossett Road, which is the road that the ground is named after. The small nature of Rossett Park is such that the majority of the stadium is made up of uncovered terracing. There is room for 2,150 people, but the vast majority of them are asked to stand, with only a few seats available.

Marine AFC Ticket Prices

As you might imagine, tickets to see Marine play will cost different amounts depending on your own personal circumstances. To give you some sense of how much you might be expected to pay, here is a look at how much tickets were for the 2023-2024 season:

• Adults – £12
• Concessions – £8

Concession tickets are available to those aged 65 or over as well as students and disabled supporters, with valid ID usually being required. It is worth noting that Marine don’t specifically outline how much tickets cost for children.

How To Get Marine AFC Tickets

With both Liverpool and Everton on their doorstep, Marine know that they have to work smarter rather than harder to get people to attend their matches. As a result, in line with most lower league teams, the club has a decent website where you can look to buy tickets in advance of games. You can then either print your ticket out or simply show the ticket on your phone at the turnstiles. Not everyone loves paying for things online, though, so if you’d rather then you can buy a ticket in person on the day of the game.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To Rossett Park

Train – The nearest main train station is Liverpool Lime Street Railway Station. From there you will want to getting a Merseyrail train out to Blundellsands & Crosby, which is on the Hunts Cross to Southport Northern Line branch. Trains run at intervals of 15 minutes from both the city centre and Southport, whilst once you arrive you’ll have a walk of about ten minutes to get to the ground.

Bus – Those that prefer to use public transport will be pleased to know that the ground is close to a number of different bus routes. The 63 runs from Bootle to Fazakerley and stops on College Road, whilst the 53 goes from Liverpool to Crosby and stops on Coronation Road. Both the 47 from Liverpool to Crossens and the X2 from Liverpool to Preston stop on Liverpool Road, which is about 15 minutes from the stadium.

Car – If you’re looking to drive to a Marine match then you’ll want to get on the M62 and leave at Junction 6 for the M57. The M57 will take you to the A5758, which is signposted to Southport and Crosby, and you’ll stay on that until you can turn onto the A565 towards Bootle & Liverpool. When you get to Crosby villager you turn left onto the A565 and turn right once you’ve gone past Merchant Taylor School.

By Air – The nearest airport is easily Liverpool John Lennon, even though that isn’t actually all that close to Liverpool. Even so, it means that you can avoid the ignominy of having to travel through Manchester Airport, which is objectively the worst airport in the United Kingdom by some distance.

Taxi – If you want to get a taxi from the train station out to the ground then you’ll be looking at paying around £5, depending on how bad the traffic is.

Parking Near Rossett Park

Parking at the ground itself is for club officials and players, so you won’t be able to park there if you’ve driven. The good news is that there is plenty of on-street parking available, as long as you keep an eye out for any parking restrictions that might be in place. College Road, for example, has a restriction of two hours in place, with parking wardens regularly patrolling the area. If it’s a big match day then the club releases information about where you’ll be able to park.

• See Available Parking Near Rossett Park

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Pubs and Bars Near Rossett Park

About Marine AFC

There are many things you could learn about Marine, but perhaps the most telling fact is that the club had the longest-serving manager of post-war English football. Roly Howard was in charge of the team from 1972 until 2005, taking charge of 1,975 games in that time. Few other managers even come close, which is something of a reflection of Marine’s attitude and togetherness. Howard was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-serving manager in the world and it was under his leadership that the club won 30 trophies. Whilst they were unlikely to be looked upon jealously by Liverpool, it was still an accomplishment of worth.

Marine have been in the media a few times over the years. In 1999, for example, Michael Hann from FourFourTwo magazine followed them for an entire season, reporting on the club’s ups and downs. Two years later and it was Granada TV who were visiting, filming six episodes of a series entitled Marine Lives that witnessed the likes of former player Jason McAteer retiring to pay a visit to the club. In 2021, Marine played Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and boasted the biggest disparity between two sides in the competition’s history, owing to Spurs being 161 places above Marine at the time.

Rossett Park History

Rossett Park is officially called the Marine Travel Arena, which has been the case in 2015. Having previously played at Waterloo Park, Marine moved to the venue in 1904 and have called it their home ever since. When the Nigerian football team toured the United Kingdom in 1949, they played games against both amateur and semi-professional clubs, taking on Marine at Rossett Park in front of an estimated 6,000 people. The construction of the stadium has been something of a an issue for the club over the years. During the 1990s, as an example, Marine twice won the Northern Premier League but couldn’t be promoted as the ground didn’t meet the requirements.

In 1998, Everton Women played at Rossett Park for the first time. They remained at the ground until the end of the 2012-2013 season. In 2011, Marine announced that £150,000 would be spent making improvements to the stadium, including replacing the floodlights and building a 130-seat stand that was covered. When Borussia Dortmund were drawn against Liverpool in the Europa League during the 2015-2016 season, the German club used Rossett Park for training ahead of the match that they ultimately lost 4-3. The match against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup in 2021 generated large sums of money for the club, allowing them to refurbish numerous parts of the stadium.