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Kirklees Stadium
(Huddersfield Town)
Address: Stadium Way,
Huddersfield,
West Yorkshire,
England,
HD1 6PG
Capacity: 24,121 (All-Seater)
A very nice, practical stadium that doesn't feel like it's been around for as long as it has.
Known as the John Smith’s Stadium under current sponsorship deals, the ground was built in 1994 and has been home to both Huddersfield Town Football Club and Huddersfield Giants Rugby League Football Club ever since.
Location and Getting There
Kirklees Stadium is located around one mile northeast of Huddersfield Town Centre. The River Colne runs past the stadium's western side, with Kilner Bank up above the ground's eastern side.
Getting to Kirklees Stadium by car is easy to do and with plenty of industrial estates surrounding the ground, parking is easy to find and normally free as well.
There are of course a couple of car parks in close vicinity to the ground if you do not want to walk far.
If you’re coming by train, the walk from Huddersfield Train Station to the stadium is less than 20 minutes, taking you along Northumberland Street, Leeds Road (A62), Gasworks Street and then onto Stadium Way.
Outside the Stadium
Coming the traditional route from the train station brings you first to the St. Andrew's Road Car Park which is out beyond the stadium's South Stand. For sponsorship reasons, this stand is currently known as the Magic Rock Brewing Stand.
Because the stadium is built so close to the bottom of Kilner Bank, the turnstiles into the Magic Rock Brewing Stand are on higher ground when compared to the others. You can reach these turnstiles up one of a number of staircases or ramps nearby.
The Magic Rock Brewing Stand's exterior is fairly basic in design, consisting mostly of corrugated iron with a curved blue roof above. You enter through the detached turnstiles and then walk straight ahead to the stadium's inner concourse, continuing past there to the seating area down below.
Continuing round in a clockwise direction brings you to the West Stand. It is the Main Stand at the Kirklees Stadium and also known as the Core Stand.
Stadium Way runs along the whole of the stand's exterior, which is made up mostly of corrugated iron and blue panels, though there is a large glass façade protruding out of the centre. Underneath here is the stadium's Ticket Office and Superstore for both Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants.
Turnstiles into the Core Stand itself are spread across the brickwork base either side of this glass façade, and the same blue curved roof present on the Magic Rock Brewing Stand is in place here as well.
Out beyond the stand is the Town Avenue Car Park, which you can get to via a narrow footbridge across the River Colne.
The exterior of the North Stand, known for sponsorship reasons as the Fantastic Media Stand, is taken up mostly by a large Health and Fitness Club.
Part of the stand's exterior is on show though, and much like the rest of the stadium it consists mostly of corrugated iron with a curved blue roof at the top.
There are a few of the stand's turnstiles based in the northwest corner, with the Reception and Legends Café-Bar Entrances close by to here. To get to the other Fantastic Media Stand turnstiles, you have to make your way around to the other side of the Health and Fitness Club building.
The East Stand is known for sponsorship reasons the Chadwick Lawrence Stand.
The exterior here, much like the rest of the Kirklees Stadium, is made up mostly of corrugated iron with a blue curved roof at the very top.
This stand is the most difficult of the four to reach as it is built into the base of Kilner Bank which comes up right behind it. You cannot walk along the very back of it, and as a result the turnstiles leading inside are based in two places.
Most can be found in the northeast corner next to some of the Fantastic Media Stand turnstiles, but there are a few in the southeast corner near to the Magic Rock Brewing Stand turnstiles as well.
Have a good, thorough read of your matchday ticket to make sure you are heading to the right turnstile, because it's a long walk back around if you end up going to the wrong corner.
Inside the Stadium
The Magic Rock Brewing Stand, the smallest of the four at Kirklees Stadium, is single-tiered.
Most of the seats inside here are coloured blue, but the columns next to each staircase are coloured white instead. There is a large electronic screen hanging down from the Magic Rock Brewing Stand's curved roof which can only be seen by those in the other three stands at the Kirklees Stadium.
The stand has no supporting pillars coming down and so your view of the pitch from anywhere inside here is perfectly clear.
There are no windshields in place at either end however, with just small walls coming up that offer little protection from the wind for those inside.
The Core Stand is two-tiered and has its levels separated by a row of executive boxes.
Like the adjacent Magic Rock Brewing Stand, most of the seats inside here are coloured blue, but the columns next to each staircase are coloured white instead. Two large black seating blocks towards the back of the lower tier are the stand's designated executive seating, with the press box up behind here.
Huddersfield's changing rooms are based inside the stand, with the dugouts and tunnel down the front.
Your view from anywhere inside this stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down, but there are however no windshields in place at either end. The curved roof does provide a decent level of protection from the wind for those in the upper tier, but there's little protection from the sides if you are sat in the lower tier rows.
The Stadium Control Box is in place next to the Core Stand in the northwest corner.
The Fantastic Media Stand is the tallest of the four at the Kirklees Stadium.
It is a two-tiered stand, with the two levels separated by a row of executive boxes in the middle. Once again, seats inside here are predominantly blue, but the columns next to each staircase are coloured white.
Your view from anywhere inside is perfectly clear, but there are no windshields in place at either end.
The curved roof offers decent protection for those in the upper tier, but those in the lower tier have little protection from the wind.
The Chadwick Lawrence Stand is very similar in height to the Core Stand opposite, but only consists of a single tier.
Seats are once again predominantly blue with columns of white next to each staircase, and hanging down from the curved roof is the gantry that holds the matchday camera.
Your view from anywhere inside is perfectly clear, though there are no windshields in place which offer protection from the sides. It's better being up towards the back of the stand where the roof provides a decent level of cover from the elements.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed behind the goal in the Magic Rock Brewing Stand.
Traditionally, the stand is split 60/40 in favour of away supporters, with the travelling crowd kept in the blocks over towards the southeast corner. One of the staircases in the middle of the stand has metal fences either side of it and stewards position themselves in here to segregate the two sets of fans from one another.
Larger crowds however are given the entire stand to themselves, though this usually only happens in cup ties when the away allocation is expected to be significantly more than for league fixtures.
Being in the Magic Rock Brewing Stand, travelling supporters are well segregated from the other three sides of the stadium, and get a good quality view of the action from behind the south goal.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Cherry Tree (14-18 John William Street, HD1 1BA) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Huddersfield Station)
-The Head of Steam (St George's Square, HD1 1JB) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located next to Huddersfield Station)
-The Yorkshire Rose (217 Leeds Road, HD1 6NW) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
Overview
The Kirklees Stadium is a perfectly suitable ground for professional sport. There's a very nice consistency to its design, and the views from anywhere inside are great.
The stadium is admittedly not the best for keeping the cold out, but that shouldn't take away from how good this ground is as a whole.
Well worth coming to check out, whether that's for the Terriers or the Giants.
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