It was an unlikely team that we were drawn with no one expected this, so it was a chance to tick off a new ground and have a great day out, I went. With my trusty camera in the coat pocket I took the chance to photograph Ollie and Olivia the bull and cow Oxford mascots. From the city centre take the Oxford Bus Company City13 towards the John Radcliffe Hospital from Queen's Lane (stop K3). Oxford United, Fusion Lifestyle and Oxford City Council have reached an agreement for Oxford Sports Park to become the new home of Oxford United's training facility. Cowley. It was an easy drive across country from Herefordshire via the A417, A40 and A34. In fact I can't think of another ground that is so far from the town centre/railway station.It is certainly not walkable and even the bus from Oxford City Centre to near the Kassam Stadium took half an hour! Between 2012 and 2015 the rugby union side London Welsh played their RFU Premiership games at the ground. With kick off fast approaching I ran from the car park to the ground! Got to the ground and opted to park in the overflow car park, picked a spot facing the exit ready for a speedy getaway. This old pub is well worth a visit but is rather small and gets busy so expect to wait for a drink. Noticed that there were some food outlets and a bowling alley right outside the ground. Oxford came out fighting in th second half and we're once again on top, their dominance showed with two goals in the 74th and 87th minute to send the home fans wild, deep into added on time with literally the last touch of the game Vincelot headed to equalise for the bantams earning a good point. A poor game certainly, but I always enjoy a trip to the Kassam. Swindon managed to score a winning goal during the chaos and the ref allowed it to stand. This has a number of strange looking floodlights protruding from its roof. 12,500 (all seated) Address: I spoke to an Oxford fan about the departure of Matty Taylor and their performance against Luton a few days before. The huge police presence in the car park makes it feel like a safe place for a game of football. There is on-site car parking and it is then a 20-minute walk to the stadium (01865 779341). The East Stand is another single-tier structure and welcomes the most vocal Oxford United supporters. While parking for free is a rare treat when out at the football, the downside is everyone is trying to squeeze out of one exit on the way back. to the right of the away fans as advised by one of your reviewers. Its a bizarre looking ground due to it only having three sides, the end behind one goal is nothing but wooden perimeter boards which is very odd. There is also on the complex a Chinese buffet restaurant called Oxy Oriental, as well as a fish and chip shop called the Ozone Plaice. This was okay but the bar staff were swamped by 1.30pm and people were queuing for thirty minutes to get a drink. Rage Online Right next to the ground is this Hampton hotel that has a business centre, a snack bar and a restaurant as well as a lounge. Flood lights. Oxford United v Exeter City However there were good views of the pitch with no obstructions. Getting out of the ground is easy, although it took almost 15 minutes to get out of the car park. Visitors travelling from London may like to use theOxford Tube or catch the bus from the train station. Here's the number. As you can see in the team supported above, that there were a mixture of reasons for me going to this game: 1) I live in Northampton and my wife's family support the cobblers (NTFC) and so are a kind of adopted team 2) Local derby with a near sell out crowd would be a good atmosphere. South Stand (Family Area): I had also heard good things about the Kassam Stadium. / White (Third). It was very well planned. We had a tip from some West Ham fans on Twitter regarding a pub called the George Arms on Sandford Road so we went there and parked. The home side were on top throughout the first half, however, Bradford took a 1-0 lead into half time through a superb strike by Omari Patrick. Another couple of pubs 'The Bear' and 'Chequers' before getting the bus to ground. Saturday, April 28th, 2012, 3pm Please email feedback@oufc.co.ukor the Supporters Panel ouspinfo@gmail.com, Club shop re-opens for one hour (Saturdays only), iFollow audio and video:www.oufc.co.uk/ifollow. That is because in 2001 the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, did an exorcism on the ground after Oxford lost thirteen out of seventeen games there. The 24-acre site of the Oxford Sports and Social Club and Oxford Cricket Club has been United's training ground for six years. Overall theKassam Stadium is not a bad day out. Oxford Station is approximately five miles from the stadium. Plus Port Vale need all the support it can muster at the moment as we are fourth from bottom in the League. Strangely, there were bouncers on one set of doors but not the other set further down the building which gave access to the same bar. Thu, Feb 17, 17:00. How can parents appeal over school places? From the North-use Redbridge Park and Ride. It's a bit of a local derby and we have more than a decent record against Oxford United. The congestion was abysmal, the lack of traffic management (by lack of I mean, there wasn't any! At least it wasn't a Tuesday night game with no buses running! To be honest in 800 or so yards I've got Pressed Steel (for six clubs), Oxford United training ground, Horspath Road Sports ground (bus garage end), Horspath Road Sports ground (Headington Amateurs and five other clubs), Horspath Road stadium pitch, Horspath Village Green. It was built as a replacement for their previous stadium, the Manor Ground, where they had played their football for 75 years. Plus it has a number of TV screens to watch the early game on Sky/BT and it also a burger van outside on match days for food. My overall impression is that Oxford is a good place to watch football. I was a little concerned about the distance between us and the exits, but I guess in an emergency you would go on the pitch, it just meant a half time comfort break was not worth the effort. It was built as a replacement for their previous stadium, the Manor Ground, where they had played their football for 75 years. Offsite Parking There is some road parking near the ground with spaces between the stadium and the Watlington Road roundabout. Building on the recent investment in sport at the Leys Pools and Leisure Centre and Rose Hill Community Centre, Oxford Sports Park will create a vast new sports facility on the edge of our city that will help people of all ages to keep fit, make social connections and have fun., Copyright 2023 Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldate's, Oxford, OX1 1BX, Oxford Sports Park to become new home for Oxford Uniteds training facility, Six floodlit 3G pitches (five-a-side and seven-a-side), Public pavilion including six changing rooms, officials changing rooms, kitchen, social space and storage, A 150-space car park featuring 12 electric vehicle charging points. Leicester fans had around a third of the North Stand, on one side of the stadium, which was ample enough for the turnout on the evening, Both of the other stands were reasonably full and appreciated the sight of Gary Lineker (fully clothed!) If using the Oxford Tube disembark at St Clements and take the Oxford Bus Company City13 towards the John Radcliffe Hopsital from St Clements (stop B). This Away Supporters Guide has been compiled by Oxford United Supporters Panel #bythefansforthefans. This is a particularly impressive looking stand with police control and press boxes situated at the back. Plymouth were on a remarkable run after a terrible start to the season. I went on a supporters coach from Braintree. A ground that I'd looked forward to going to for quite a while rather let me down. One tiny road out of the car park and a lot of cars. As we arrived well on time I engaged in pleasant conversation with programme sellers, fans, and stewards in fact anyone who wants to talk football. Leg room in the stand was great and the view fantastic. No other fans were in the pub. If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at: contact@footballgroundguide.com and Ill update the guide. On the whole, I found the Kassam Stadium to be an enjoyable and largely friendly day out. Atmosphere was very good as local derby and 11,500 almost filled the entire ground. The stadium is signposted on all major approach roads to Oxford with the brown attraction signs and a football icon. Football League survival now looks much more likely. Oxford showed enough quality to suggest they should cope well enough with the demands of League 1. Views from the away section are good Portsmouth following never sit down so again we stood, my boy on the back of the seats in front and me standing behind him holding him up. "London") I would definitely re-visit the Kassam when, inevitably, we play them next season! Away supporters should head for car park B1, opposite the VUE cinema. Construction began in 1996 but halted in December of 1997 after financial difficulties caused major problems. U18s face Bristol Rovers at home on Saturday at the Oxford United Training Ground (11am) #OUFC. Oxford get good gates and generate quite a bit of noise so there is never a feeling of sitting in an empty soulless concrete box. South Stand (Lower Tier): But it was still one of the best 0-0 games I have watched in a long long time. Easting: 548814.04: New ground, another awayday and another to tick off my list. The atmosphere at the game was really good. It is an elite training centre with community access to 3G training facilities - get in touch and see how we can help you What We Offer The Oxford Sports Park is situated just off the Oxford Ring Road near Horspath, by the MINI Factory. I've seen five Torquay v Oxford encounters over the years and the previous four have been action-packed. They even have a match programme made especially for away fans. Please note there is a fee for using this machine. This stand may be shared with home supporters, or if demand requires it, then the whole of this stand can be allocated providing just over 5,000 seats in total. Second half wasn't great, but Oxford scored late on then missed a penalty soon after and it finished 1-0 to the home side. It was a sunny day and we were only going 30 minutes down the road, so it was no hardship whatsoever for us, but if you were in a rush or popping back to somewhere further afield then it might have been a bit less enjoyable. Oxford moved into Manor Ground where theyd remain for 88 years; only once did it go through a major development and expansion. Inside the stadium our stewards will provide assistance and advice. The weather was beautiful so I got a hotdog outside the ground and ate it on the grass. He looked baffled and told me there was nothing outside the turnstiles. Return and day tickets bought from one operator can be used to return on the other. The ground is odd as its only 3-sided but a decent atmosphere nonetheless. In order to use the live chat functionality you need to opt into live chat cookies. I have been to the Kassam Stadiumseveral times, and find no issues with it being three sided (especially since my early memories of Bramall Lane include a cricket ground along one side of the football pitch or was it a football pitch alongside one side of the cricket square?). Although Oxford took the lead early on (before many fans had entered the ground!) The Kassam Stadium is a nice ground. There are loads of team scarves around the pub giving it a proper feel for football fans. You can search popular questions or submit a question using the 'Ask a question' tab. You need to buy tickets from the ticket office in advance of going in and mine was 22 for the South Stand upper quite expensive for League Two and especially considering I was nowhere near the halfway line. Oxford Railway Station is over four miles from the ground and it is really not advisable to try to walk it. There were lots of fans from both teams about and it seemed to be a friendly place. Credit to the Oxford United fans for really getting behind their team. The council said Oxford United, Oxford Cricket Club, and Oxford Softball would be provided with facilities. A bit strange only having 3 stands and very windy once inside but still quite a smart stadium. Oxford is a lovely city and it was a decent game, although a rubbish result for us and another ground ticked off. It wasn't as if it was a large crowd, particularly, just under 9,000 (although this may be large for Oxford) with 1,700 Blades in attendance. Having been tipped off about the carpark being a nightmare we opted to park away from the ground and walked in. The work didnt resume again until February of 2000. I travelled up on Friday before without any issues and stayed two nights on the outskirts of Oxford. The car park wasn't full outside the ground when we arrived at 1pm. Getting to the ground beforehand after 5 hours on a coach was shambolic. The away concourse has an accessible toilet (stewards have RADAR keys), and low level counters serving hot and cold food and drink. Oxford City Councils objective is to increase participation in sport to help tackle health inequalities across Oxford. But as I already had the tickets for this game, I was determined to go. The second half continued with neither side having a major chance, and a break in play for an injury to Dean Parrett meant I decided to quickly use the facilities ahead of a potentially long journey home. The second half saw a couple of great chances for Argyle go begging and a goal disallowed for offside for Oxford. I had not visited the ground for a number of years and Oxford is a lovely city. Although it only has three sides, meaning that wen the weather is bad, as it was on this evening you are pretty exposed to it. Pleased I've done it and gone, but I won't be going back to the Kassam. Whilst the Kings Arms is in a splendid location on the banks of the River Thames and is part of the Chef & Brewer chain. Stewards in the ground were really friendly and made for a good afternoons football. We departed the Lamex Stadum at 12 noon and amazingly were pulling up outside the Kassam Stadium just before 2pm, not bad on one of the worst days of the year for traffic! The toilets were clean and tidy. Even that took a decade though. I was five rows from the back right next to the home fans, not that far from the half way line. Grenoble Road, Oxford, England, OX4 4XP (01865 780 888). At The Manor Ground: A good day out at the Kassam Stadium and another three points. Dave Langford a visiting Northampton Town fan tells me; I found a small local pub called the George Inn, situated in Littlemore just off the ring road (not far from Sainsburys). A lot of new builds have a statue of a former player outside as mentioned just now Oxford has chosen to have a statue of a bull at their stadium, not that they are without famous players of course! The North Stand is used to house the away supporters and is a single-tier structure opposite The Main Stand, a two-tier structure that houses the changing rooms and dugouts as well as the grounds family section. One of the principle aims of the City Council is to tackle inequality across Oxford, particularly in health. Coach drivers must drop-off on Marston Road and park at the dedicated council coach parking provision at: TheUniversity of Oxford websitecarries awealthof information on getting to Oxford and visiting both the city and the Universityin general. Both teams had chances in the first half but neither keeper was particularly troubled. The stewards were friendly and willing to direct fans to their seats. The Kassam Stadium is a very nice and purposeful ground. Access to the sports centre is via thepedestrian entrance from the Iffley Road (almost opposite Marston Street) Pederstrians have priority on this route but considerate cyclists are permitted.