Woodspring Stadium: Weston-super-Mare AFC

From Weston-super-Mare AFC

Currently known as the Optima Stadium because of a sponsorship deal, Woodspring Stadium has been the home of Weston-super-Mare AFC since the club moved into it in the August of 2004. Having previously played in Woodspring Park, the move to the ground signified the third such move that the club had done in the past 40 years. Woodstring Park has been built almost entirely by supporters, with a clubhouse that cost more than £100,000. It was sold to residential housing builders, with the last game there being played in the April of 2004. The current stadium was built on the site of a former sports ground owned by Westland Aircraft.

For their own part, Weston-super-Mare Association Football Club was founded in 1887, making it older than the country’s most successful ever side, Liverpool. Known as the Seagulls, the side is affiliated with the Somerset County Football Association. There is some debate about whether the club truly dates back to 1887, given the fact that it has disbanded twice in the years since. This was for the two World Wars, however, rather than any sort of financial issue or other problem. As a result, the supporters consider it to be a continuation rather than a separate entity that can only really date its existence back to the most recent reformation, which was in 1948.

Stats

Woodspring Stadium Photos

Woodspring Stadium on Matchday
Roger Cornfoot / North Stand, Weston Super Mare FC

Woodspring Stadium Terrace Behind the Goal

Woodspring Stadium Main Terrace

Woodspring Stadium Seating Plan and Where to Sit

The stadium is simple in nature but modern looking in appearance. One half of it doesn’t really have anywhere specific for supporters to locate themselves, instead being a hard-standing area close to the perimeter fence, with a small covered area that is located behind one of the goals. The North End Stand is the biggest at the venue, offering a covered terrace with room for around 2,000 supporters. There is a small block of seating that is to be found behind the goal. On the side of the pitch are two small seating areas sitting either side of the players’ tunnel, with the dugouts being on the opposite side of the pitch.

Weston-super-Mare AFC Ticket Prices

As with a lot of the lower league clubs, Weston-super-Mare work hard to make their ticket pricing as easy to understand as possible. The result of that is that the following were the prices for National League South games during the 2023-2024 season, to give you some sense of what you might be expected to pay:

• Adult – £14
• Concession – £10
• Under-16s – £4.50
• Under-8s – Free

If you want to then you can also buy a family ticket for £28, which is for two adults and two under-16s, therefore saving yourself £9. It is worth noting that there were different prices in place for the likes of Somerset FA Premier Cup matches and Under-18s home games, but we’re less concerned about them than we are interested in the National League South matches.

How To Get Weston-super-Mare AFC Tickets

Unquestionably the easiest way to get tickets is by going to the Weston-super-Mare AFC website and buying them from there. The site itself is great, being aimed at supporters who are keen to try to find out as much as possible about the club, with the aim of going there to watch a game instead of heading along to a Premier League or Championship match. Of course, some people, especially older fans, are slight technophobes, which is why the club still allows you to buy tickets on the gate if you’d rather do that.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To Woodspring Stadium

Train – Weston-super-Mare Railway Station is where any supporters travelling by train are likely to arrive into, located around a mile and a half or so from the ground. That makes it’s a walk of between 20 to 30 minutes, if that’s what you fancy.

Bus – Should you choose to get the bus out to Woodspring Stadium then you’ll be looking out for the number 7 Badgerline service, which will drop you pretty much right outside the ground.

Car – For those planning a drive out to the stadium, you’ll be wanting to take the M5 until Junction 21, at which point you’ll get onto the A370 towards Weston-super-Mare town centre. There are three roundabouts you’ll go straight across at, taking the left exit onto Winterstoke Road at the fourth. After a mini-roundabout and a railway bridge, you’ll then see the stadium on your right.

By Air – If your plan is to fly in for a game between Weston-super-Mare AFC and another football team, the best airport will be Bristol. That is about 12 miles away, whilst Cardiff is more like 17. If you want somewhere that’s going to be easier to get flights to then Birmingham International Airport is probably your best bet, albeit around 100 miles from the ground.

Taxi – The train station’s location from the stadium means that you’ll be looking at a fee of around £10 or so if you want to get between the two locations that way, depending on the traffic.

Parking Near Woodspring Stadium

If you’re driving to the Woodspring Stadium then you’ll obviously need somewhere to park your car. The good news is that there is a fairly decent sized car park available to supporters at the ground. If you’d rather park on the street then that is an option, but do bear in mind any parking restrictions that are in place.

• See Available Parking Near Woodspring Stadium

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Pubs and Bars Near Woodspring Stadium

About Weston-super-Mare AFC

A semi-professional football club, Weston-super-Mare AFC was founded in 1887 and for a long period boasted the unusual claim of having never been relegated. Of course, the fact that the club disbanded for the First World War and then did so again for the Second World War, eventually reforming in 1948 certainly helped. There was also the fact that the club would move from division to division as it was invited to do so in the past, meaning that it left before it could be relegated. There were close calls on the relegation front in 2007, 2008 and 2010, with the side eventually being relegated at the end of the 2018-2019 campaign.

That was the first time in 132 years that Weston-super-Mare had officially been relegated, which is a good accomplishment for a side the side of the Seagulls. That came thanks to a bottom-place finish in the National League South, which the club didn’t manage to get back into for another four years. Eventually, though, a season that saw them tussle with Truro City eventually resulted in promotion as the Southern Football League champions. The club has enjoyed some relative success over the years, such as at the end of the 2012-2013 season when they finished seventh in the Conference South, which was the highest league finish to date.

Woodspring Stadium History

Woodspring Park was where Weston-super-Mare were located prior to the opening of Woodspring Stadium, which was just a short distance away. The ground where the current stadium stands was originally known as Westland Sports Ground and was owned by Westland Aircraft. It was where local cricket and football teams would play games against one another, as well as the location of some social buildings. It was thanks to some difficult finances that Westland decided to put the land up for sale, with Weston-super-Mare purchasing it for £270,000 in 2001. It took three years for the new stadium to be opened to the public.

In April 2021 the football club decided that the stadium needed to be modernised. As part of that modernisation came the idea of adding in 750 new seats and a new terracing area. On top of that, there were to be new club facilities and a hospitality section, allowing the club to charge more money to visitors. The hope was that the redevelopment would see the capacity extended to 5,000, including 2,000 seats, with the aim being to ensure that the club was future-proofed against promotion to League Two, were the club to ever make it that far. It would save the side from having to invest only after securing promotion.