SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2022
Chelmsford City FC
Melbourne Community Stadium
Capacity: 3,065 (Seats 1,311)
Address: Salerno Way, Chelmsford, CM1 2EH
£56 OPDR
Almost a four-hour journey for me but I am planning on going for two reasons: one is it’s another ground to tick and two, to savour the embarrassment of another first round FA Cup exit by way of an underling.
It looks like a long walk or a cab from the station to the football ground.
Chelmsford Railway Station is situated just under two miles away from the Melbourne Community Stadium. It is served by trains from London Liverpool Street, which is a 32 minute train journey away.
Melbourne Community Stadium is primarily an athletics stadium, which is owned by the local council. The largely open stadium is dominated by the Main Stand on the East side. This covered all seated stand is raised above pitch level, meaning that spectators have to climb a small set of steps to access it. It has a capacity of around 1,000 seats. In front of the seated area lower down there are a few rows of terrace. The stand is cantilevered meaning that there are no supporting pillars to impede your view. There are also windshields to either side of the Stand. The main drawback to spectators in this stand as you would expect at an athletics stadium, is that the stand is set well back from the playing action, as there is a long jump area, eight running lanes and the team dugouts situated between it and the pitch.
Opposite on the other side of the pitch just beyond the perimeter is the back wall of the nearby Sports & Athletics Centre. A small overhanging roof has been fitted to this back wall, which also has a large clock centrally positioned, to provide some cover for a few rows of seating below. There is also a small terraced area on this side towards the South end of the stadium, above which a small electronic scoreboard has been put in place. At both ends, the club have installed small temporary blocks of terrace in the area directly behind each goal. One of these terraces at the North End of the stadium, also has a cover. At least the supporters in these areas are located closer to the game being played on the pitch. Unusually the teams come onto the pitch from the South West corner beside the Main Stand.
It is very rare that away fans are segregated at the Melbourne Community Stadium. If fans are to be segregated then visitors are allocated the Sports & Athletics Centre side of the ground, which has a mixture of around four rows of seats, as well as some small standing areas. If demand requires it then a section of seats can be allocated in the Main Stand on the opposite side of the stadium. A total of just under 1,000 fans can be accommodated in these areas, with the Main Stand affording better views of the playing action, facilities, and protection against the weather.
There is a Clubhouse bar inside the ground, which welcomes away fans. It shows BT and Sky Sports on a large screen and often has real ale. The Clubhouse also offer cooked breakfasts up until 1.30pm.
The nearest pub is probably the Red Beret on Melbourne Avenue, but looks like your typical estate boozer. A better bet would be ‘The Flyer’ pub and restaurant, which is part of the Hungry Horse chain. It is situated over the back of the park which is located next to the stadium.
I’ve only been in one Hungry Horse before, a few years ago, somewhere near Salisbury.
But the football club at Chelmsford seems a friendly place, given their impressive website.
CLICK BELOW
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
TICKETS
On the website click on TICKETS and then scroll down to a box which says BUY MATCH TICKETS which will take you to this page…
Click on BOOK directs you to another page. From there click on GET TICKETS and you’ll see a drop down list of tickets and prices – it’s fifteen quid and that’s presumably a general admission ticket as there’s no segregation.
Nor would there need to be. Let’s enjoy a day out in deepest Essex, respect our hosts and come back hopefully with a ticket for the next round.
🔴🔵 ATFC – red and blue army.
calling-the-shots.com 