RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO Leicester City FC
DATE – Monday 1 January 2007
KO TIME – 3pm
THE GROUND – The Walkers’ Stadium – click here and here for maps of the area – the red circle shows where the ground is.
Click here for a plan of the stadium.
The Walkers Stadium is south of Leicester city centre and close to the M1, only 5-10 minutes’ drive away. The stadium seats 32,500 supporters, replacing the old Filbert Street ground which held 21,500. It’s only down the road from the site of the old ground – built on the site of a former power station – and took just over a year to build, with work commencing in June 2001 and the first match in the new ground happening in August 2002. The new ground construction cost £37m.
Up to 3,000 away supporters are accommodated in the North-East corner of the stadium – inbetween the Lineker Stand and the Alliance & Leicester stand.
TICKETS
Tickets are on general sale (subject to availability) – see RTG ticket news here.
GOING BY CAR?
Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound. In south Yorkshire (just after you pass the signs for the A64 on the A1(M), follow the signs onto the M1 southbound. Stay on the M1 until jcn 21. Follow signs for the city centre via the A5460 Narborough Road. After 3 miles turn right onto Upperton Road, go over the bridge and take the first right down Western Boulevard and the stadium is on your right hand side.
There are several large car parks in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, or park in one of the many car parks in Leicester city centre and walk or get a cab to the stadium.
Leicester Tigers’ rugby ground is two minutes’ walk away from the Walkers Stadium, and if the Tigers aren’t at home that day their car park is sometimes made available for parking; check their fixture list here.
GOING BY TRAIN?
The 0940 Virgin service from Newcastle gets you to Derby at 1222, then change for the 1234 Midland Mainline service which arrives in Leicester at 1304. Alternatively the 1026 Virgin service from Newcastle gets to Chesterfield at 1234, then change for the 1240 Midland Mainline service which arrives in Leicester at 1328.
It’s a 20 minute walk from the station to the ground, down Waterloo Way, past the rugby ground and you’re pretty much there.
Coming home, the 1740 Midland Mainline service from Leicester gets you to Sheffield at 1847, then change for the 1854 Virgin train which heads up the East Coast line towards Durham and Newcastle.
STOPPING OVER?
– Holiday Inn Express, Filbert Way (next to stadium) – tel 0116-249-4590
– Premier Lodge, Groby Road – tel 0870 990 6398
– Travel Inn, Vaughan Way – tel 0870 191 1755
SCRAN AND BOOZE
There are plenty of pubs and places to eat in Leicester city centre and it’s only a 15 minute-or-so walk from there to the ground, or get a cab or bus.
Pubs to be avoided by away supporters are the Local Hero pub, the Victory and Turnstile pubs, also ‘The Half Time Orange’ – over the road from the away supporters’ end of the stadium. Also worth noting that the ‘Counting House’ pub on Freemens Common Road sometimes doesn’t allow away supporters in if the match is a ‘high profile’ one.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
There’ll be cash machines in Leicester city centre, but closer to the ground try Filbert Groceries on Filbert Street (cash machine charge of £1.50) or inside the Post Office on Walnut Street (cash machine charge of £1.50).
LAST 6 MEETINGS
16.09.06 Sunderland 1 Leicester 1 (Hysen 66)
23.04.05 Sunderland 2 Leicester 1 (Stewart 23, Caldwell 60)
13.11.04 Leicester 0 Sunderland 1 (Caldwell 69)
01.04.02 Sunderland 2 Leicester 1 (Reyna 3, 18)
03.11.01 Leicester 1 Sunderland 1
24.02.01 Leicester 2 Sunderland 0
Credits Leicester City FC, Link, Multimap, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, streetmap.co.uk, National Rail, BBC, Leicester City Council.
