The Shay: FC Halifax Town

From FC Halifax Town

The Shay is one of those football grounds that is classed as a ‘multi-purpose venue’, given that it is the home not only of FC Halifax Town but also the Halifax Panthers rugby league team. For a time, it was where the Halifax Dukes speedway team held its fixtures. The ground itself can be found on the south side of Halifax, being around a quarter of a mile from the centre of the town. There are four stands that lie on each edge of the pitch, with the North and South stands being built in the middle of the 1990s. It is owned by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, being leased out to the Shay Stadium Trust, which is a not-for-profit company.

In terms of FC Halifax Town, it is both a young club and an old one at the same time, depending on how you view things. AFC Halifax Town went into administration during the 2007-2008 season, requiring the need for a so-called phoenix club to be born. That’s where FC Halifax Town comes in, initially being placed in the eighth tier of English football before gaining three promotions in order to make it to the top of non-league by 2013. In some ways, the birth of FC Halifax Town is a sad thing, requiring the former club to have gone bust in order for it to exist. In another way, though, it demonstrates the fortitude of British football.

Stats

The Shay Photos

North Stand at The Shay Stadium, Halifax
Michael Steele / North Stand, The Shay Stadium, Halifax

South Stand at The Shay Stadium, Halifax
yellow book ltd, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

East Stand at The Shay Stadium, Halifax
Northern Wonder, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

West Stand at The Shay Stadium, Halifax
Michael Steele / West Stand, the Shay Stadium, Halifax

The Shay Seating Plan and Where to Sit

At the time of writing, 10,401 people can get into The Shay in order to watch football matches, with the split being 5,108 seated. There are 5,293 places that are classed as being safe standing in the North and South Stands. Here is a look at each of the stands in particular:

• The North Stand was the first of the stands to be completed when the rebuild took place, allowing Halifax Town to get back into the Football League when it won the Conference back in 1998. It is usually where the away fans go, if there are enough of them to warrant it
• The South Stand opened a year after its opposite number, with home fans standing here to watch the match. The concourse has a bar and the catering facilities can usually be found outside it
• The East Stand is considered to be The Shay’s main stand. When the Family Stand was demolished in 2000, building began on the East Stand but stopped in 2002 when the club was relegated. That remained the case until 2008, with Calderdale Council agreeing to finance the rest of the construction. It opened on the 28th of March 2010 with six executive boxes and some decent facilities
• The Skircoat West Stand used to be split between seated and standing, but it was converted into an all-seater in 1998. It is the oldest part of the stadium, not quite running the whole length of the pitch

FC Halifax Town Ticket Prices

Those hoping to enjoy a trip to watch FC Halifax Town will pay different amounts depending on the likes of their age and personal circumstances. As an example of what to expect, the 2023-2024 season saw adults pay £21, concession tickets costing £18 and those aged between 12 and 17 paying £9. Anyone under the age of 12 will pay £4 to get in to the match.

How To Get FC Halifax Town Tickets

Apart from for specific home games, FC Halifax Town doesn’t do tickets in advance. As a result, all of the tickets are sold for cash on the turnstiles on the day of the game, so that’s what you’ll need to do if you fancy heading to a match.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To The Shay

Train – Halifax Station is about ten minutes walk from the stadium, depending on your walking speed. Head out of the car park and turn left, with the ground then being on your right about half a mile along.

Bus – Those hoping to get to the ground by bus can get the 501, 503, 537, 561 or the 562 from Halifax Bus Station. The Skircoat Road at Hunger Hill is the closest bus stop to the stadium.

Car – If you’re driving in from the North then take the A629 to Halifax Town Centre and take the second exit on the roundabout with signs to the A629 for Huddersfield. You will then get onto the Skircoat Road, so keep your eye out for the ground. If you’re coming from another direction then take the M62 and exit at junction 24, following signs for the A629 to Halifax, which will take you onto Skircoat Road and then Shaw Hill.

By Air – The nearest airport for those looking to fly in to watch an FC Halifax Town game is Leeds Bradford, being about 13 miles away. You can also fly in to the likes of Manchester Airport and Liverpool John Lennon, but at 30 and 50 miles respectively, they’re obviously much further afield.

Taxi – The proximity of The Shay to Halifax Railway Station means that most people will just walk, but if you’re unable to or would prefer not to then a taxi will take about two minutes. Expect it to cost £5 or so.

Parking Near The Shay

There is limited parking at the ground itself, costing £5, but there is plenty of street parking nearby. Just make sure you’re not parking illegally.

• See Available Parking Near The Shay

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Pubs and Bars Near The Shay

About FC Halifax Town

After almost 100 years existence as a football club, Halifax Town were buried in huge tax debts. In May 2008, the news emerged that the club owed more than £800,000 to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, which was nearly double the amount many thought was owed. As a result, the club was put into administration and it looked like it was doomed to cease existing. In some ways it did, but the launch of the phoenix club FC Halifax Town meant that supporters at least had something to get behind. When the Football Association met to discuss how the football pyramid would look for the 2008-2009 season, it was decided that the new club would start life in the Northern Premier League Division One North.

The new club’s first match was a 3-0 defeat to Tamworth in a friendly, showing the scale of the challenge facing the players and management. Neil Aspin was given the manager’s job in April 2009, taking the club to the league title with 100 points and 108 goals scored at the first time of asking. The club secured back-to-back promotions thanks to the goal-scoring exploits of one Jamie Vardy. Slowly but surely, the club began to climb back up the Football League pyramid, making it back into the National League by 2013. The club went full-time in 2018, having won the FA Trophy two years before and winning it again in 2022-2023.

The Shay History

The Shay is an area of Halifax with a long and fascinating history. During the First World War it was used by the Territorial Army in order to practice digging trenches, for example. In 1920, rumours emerged that there was a plan to build a football stadium in the area, which were confirmed by Dr A.H. Muir on the ninth of July when he told a public meeting that the club would be allowed to join the Football League if a ground was built and sufficient financial backing was assured. Halifax Town had been formed nine years earlier, playing at Sandhill Lane and Exley before The Shay was built and became the club’s new home ground.

Fans, players and directors all turned up to get the ground ready to become suitable for football and the club was duly welcomed into the newly formed Division Three North in the March of 1921. The first Football League game was played at the new stadium on the third of September 1921, with Halifax Town beating Darlington 5-0. In the wake of FC Halifax Town’s formation, The Shay changed almost beyond all recognition thanks to the re-building of the North and the South Stands. It turned a once run-down venue into a much more modern one, whilst the re-building of the East Stand took the capacity to over 10,000 for the first time since the ’80s.