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Carrow Road
(Norwich City)
Address: Carrow Road,
Norwich,
Norfolk,
England,
NR1 3JE
Capacity: 27,359 (All-Seater)
Practical on the outside, very colourful on the inside. Carrow Road has one of the more unique stadium interiors in the country, and that helps cement its place as one of the grounds that will likely stay in your memory for a good while after you visit.
It has been the home of Norwich City Football Club since its construction in 1935. The Canaries previously played at The Nest, a converted disused chalk pit on Rosary Road, but when the ground's capacity became insufficient for the growing crowds, the club looked to relocate and build a new, larger home.
Norwich moved around 0.5 miles south of their former home to the Boulton Paul Sports Ground on Carrow Road, and the stadium took its name from the street that enclosed the ground on three sides. Work began in June 1935 and it took just 82 days for the then 35,000-capacity stadium to be built.
Location and Getting There
Carrow Road can be found right alongside the Riverside Retail Park, around one mile southeast of Norwich City Centre. Thorpe Hamlet is to the north, Whitlingham Country Park is to the east, and the River Wensum runs close to the stadium's western side.
Coming by car can prove a challenge due to restricted and limited parking spaces, as is the case with any stadium in and around a city centre. You’ll likely have to park some distance from the ground, on the other side of the River Wensum, and then walk from there.
Carrow Road does however have a fantastic location for those travelling by rail, as Norwich Train Station is just a 10 minute walk north of the ground.
Outside the Stadium
If you are coming from the train station, the first part of Carrow Road you will come to is the Thorpe Corner on the northeast side of the ground.
Access to many of the club’s executive areas including Top of the Terrace, the Norfolk Lounge, the Gunn Club and the Carling Lounge can be found here.
Continuing clockwise from here brings you to Carrow Road’s East Stand, known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclay Stand.
The exterior here is mostly made up of brickwork, but there is also a large building made up of silver panels which protrudes out of the centre.
Turnstiles are spread across the brickwork base and there are also a couple on the side next to the southeast corner.
The southeast corner is taken up by a Holiday Inn hotel.
It's often used by those who have travelled very long distance to reach Carrow Road, and with some rooms at the back, lucky guests may be able to watch a game at Carrow Road from the comfort of their room.
Continuing round from here brings you to the South Stand.
It has a brickwork base, large white panels higher up and a cantilever roof on top. Norwich City's Main Reception is based in the centre, with turnstiles spread across the rest of the stand's base.
You can also find the main bulk of Carrow Road's car parking spaces out beyond the South Stand.
The Aviva Community Stand makes up Carrow Road’s southwest corner, holding the club's Main Ticket Office and Customer Services.
Similarly to the South Stand, the Aviva Community Stand has a brickwork base, with its upper parts made up of large grey and yellow panels.
The West Stand was formerly known as the River End because the River Wensum runs close to it, but for sponsorship reasons it is now known as the Regency Security Stand.
The exterior consists mostly of light brown brickwork, with corrugated iron up at the top.
Turnstiles into the stand are situated along the base. and the entrance to Delia's Restaurant and Bar is in the very centre.
The North Stand is named after the late Norwich City President Geoffrey Watling.
It is the smallest of the four stands, with brickwork at the base, white corrugated iron higher up and a cantilever roof on top.
The only entrance along the Geoffrey Watling Stand's outer wall is for directors, with the turnstiles for this stand based next to the Wensum Corner on the northwest side of the ground.
This Wensum Corner also houses the Official Canaries Shop.
Inside the Stadium
The Barclay Stand is made up of two tiers, with the bottom tier consisting of green seating, the upper tier consisting of yellow seating, and executive boxes in between them. The letters CANARIES are spelt out in green across the upper tier blocks.
There are large pillars in place at either end of the stand which connect the roof to the ground. Your view as a result is likely to be restricted somewhat if you are sat at the ends of the stand or in the Thorpe Corner.
There's a windshield in place next to the southeast corner but it only covers the upper tier rows. A small brick wall is in place for those sat in the lower tier, but it does not offer the same level of protection.
In front of the Holiday Inn Hotel in the southeast corner of Carrow Road is a large electronic screen, shaped to look like an iPad. The screen is normally kept horizontal whilst the game is taking place, but whenever Norwich City score, the screen turns vertically and twists to its right, showing an action replay of the goal to those in the Barclay Stand.
The South Stand is single-tiered with a row of executive boxes at the back.
It is made up almost entirely of yellow seats, but along the bottom row are the letters NORWICH CITY spelt out in green, with Norwich’s iconic canary, the same one that features on their club crest, made out in green three times amongst the upper rows.
The gantry holding the matchday camera comes down from the roof, and your view is perfectly clear from anywhere inside as there are no supporting pillars in the way.
The end next to the Holiday Inn Hotel has no windshield in place though and therefore offers very little protection from any wind or rain that gets in there.
The Aviva Community Stand is made up of two tiers of yellow seating with a row of executive boxes separating the two levels from one another.
The Regency Security Stand follows a very similar design to the Barclay Stand opposite. It consists of two tiers with a row of executive boxes in between. The lower tier is made up mostly of green seating with the letters AVIVA spelt out in yellow across it, whilst the upper tier is made up of mostly yellow seating with the letters CANARIES spelt out in green across it.
Like the Barclay Stand, there are large pillars coming down from the roof at either end of the stand, and these can restrict your view if you are sat in and around both the Wensum Corner and the Aviva Community Stand.
Windshields are in place where needed though to offer good protection for all those sat inside.
The Geoffrey Watling Stand is the clear smallest of the four at Carrow Road.
It consists of a single tier with a row of executive boxes up at the very back. Most of the seats inside here are yellow, but the executive seating blocks up towards the back are dark green in colour.
Norwich City's changing rooms are based inside the Geoffrey Watling Stand, with the dugouts and tunnel down the front.
Away Fans
Away fans are not put behind a goal, they are instead given a few blocks in the South Stand that are next to the southeast corner. There’s a black fence in place which segregates the away section from home supporters in the rest of the South Stand, but Norwich City do also put stewards along here to monitor and control fans' behaviour.
With no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, you are given a perfectly clear view of the pitch from this away section, and the adjacent Holiday Inn Hotel helps to provide protection from the side against the wind and the rain.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Plasterers Arms (43 Cowgate, NR3 1SZ) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-St Andrews Brew House (41 St Andrews Street, NR2 4TP) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Stadia Bar (19 Upper King Street, NR3 1RB) (Welcomes Away Supporters)
-The Waterfront (139-141 King Street, NR1 1QH) (Away Supporters Only)
Overview
Getting to Norfolk isn’t easy; for a lot of away fans it’s one of, if not the, longest trip for them during the season, but you are treated well when you get here.
Carrow Road is well placed near to Norwich Train Station, with plenty of pre-match food available from the Riverside Retail Park.
The general view inside is not too bad as well, and the very colourful interior is likely to stay with you a good while after you leave.
You won't find a stadium like this anywhere else in the country.
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