History

Many wonder why the club ended up being called Accrington Stanley. Was it after a former player? No. The club were originally formed as Stanley Villa FC, so named as a number of the team lived in Stanley Street in the town. The club was renamed Accrington Stanley in 1894. Now you know!

General Ground Information

The ground holds a total of 5,057 spectators with covering along each side of the length of the pitch. There is covered seating for 1,200.

Although the ground is on the smallish side, it is set in a picturesque area, with views over fields and hills behind the Coppice Terrace at one end of the ground. On one side of the ground is the main stand, which at first glance looks like one stand, but it is in fact comprised of two small stands; the Main and Thwaites Stands.

They sit on either side of the half way line, with an open gap between the two. Both are all seated covered stands and have a row of floodlights at the back of them. To compensate for the fair slope of the pitch which runs up along the ground from the Coppice Terrace to the Clayton Terrace, the Thwaites Stand has fewer rows of seats than the Main Stand.

Opposite is a very small covered terrace, called the Whinney Hill Terrace. This comprises of only three rows of terrace and has a row of supporting pillars running across the middle of it. Behind this stand is a relatively new housing development, which overlooks the ground, meaning that some residents can see the game for nothing!

Both ends are fairly new looking open terraces. One unusual aspect of the ground is that it has a total of eight floodlight pylons, with three on either side of the ground and another being located at each end.

Car parking is available on the streets surrounding the club, and for a small donation, on land adjacent to the ground belonging to a local amateur side. There are 400 car parking spaces available at the ground itself, and spaces for 50 coaches. Car parking at the ground is free; however it fills up pretty quickly.

The club has just completed further development of the stadium with the addition of a cantilever roof over the clayton end terrace which means there is now one uncovered terrace behind the adjacent goal.