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Recreation Ground
(Aldershot Town)

Address: High Street,
Aldershot,
Hampshire,
England,
G11 1TW

Capacity: 7,100 (2,136 Seated)

Aldershot Town

This is a stadium tightly packed into the surrounding area, and that limits its accessibility.

More affectionately known as ‘The Rec’, it became home to Aldershot Football Club when it opened in 1927.

The ground played host to league football between 1932 and 1992, when Aldershot FC went out of business and resigned from the Football League.
A new club, Aldershot Town Football Club, were formed in the spring of 1992, beginning life in the Isthmian League Division Three. The Recreation Ground was adopted as Aldershot Town’s home soon after, becoming a Football League stadium once more between 2008 and 2013.

Aldershot Town have remained at the ground ever since.

Location and Getting There

The Recreation Ground is located incredibly close to what is considered the Centre of Aldershot. Goose Green Park is 0.3 miles away to the northeast, and Manor Park is around 0.2 miles away to the south.

Coming to the Recreation Ground by car should certainly be possible.
The stadium has little car parking spaces around its vicinity but finding free parking elsewhere in Aldershot should not be too big of an issue. The town has several Pay & Display Car Parks, with residential streets to the southeast potentially offering legal parking spaces for you.

Aldershot Station, served by South Western Railway, is a less than 10 minute walk southwest of the Recreation Ground.
A simple route to take from here is to head up Station Road to Arthur Street, turn right onto Windsor Way, continue along to Victoria Road, and head east along here. It will eventually bring you to the western side of the Recreation Ground.

Outside the Ground

Coming from Aldershot Station will first bring you to the western side of the stadium. It is normally referred to as the High Street End because the High Street runs along behind it.
There is a perimeter fence a little away from the High Street End itself which has brick buildings attached to it. The largest of these is in the centre, holding Aldershot Town’s Club Shop and Main Ticket Office.
Turnstiles are housed either side of the Club Shop and Ticket Office.

The entrance alongside the High Street is the front entrance for the whole of the Recreation Ground. Home fans based in the northern, western and southern sides of the stadium will all these entrances to enter the ground’s immediate vicinity. The entrance for away fans in a different location.

Continuing round in a clockwise direction from the High Street End is the North Stand.
You can make out part of the North Stand from off the High Street outside the ground. Its exterior uses a brickwork base with blue corrugated iron higher up and a tiled roof at the top, looking more like a house in parts than a stand at a football stadium. Considered the Main Stand at the Recreation Ground, it houses the Players’ Entrance, Director’s Entrance, Media Centre, Conference Room Facilities, and other Club Offices. The Phoenix Bar is also located on this side of the stadium.
Access to the terraced and seating area inside the North Stand comes via the Front Entrance on the western side of the ground. There is a small building with turnstiles inside here and the path behind leads up to the North Stand’s exterior.

The East Stand at the Recreation Ground is known as the East Bank and is the largest of the four sides. It has a rather old-looking exterior that consists of a blue corrugated iron base and a dark, barrel-shaped roof at the top.
Open gaps are in place along the base that lead to the stand’s interior, with the Main Car Park located immediately outside of it.

The East Bank is shared between home and away supporters on a matchday. Home supporters will reach it by heading through the Front Entrance on the western side of the ground, and then walking round past the North Stand to reach the East Bank’s exterior.
Away fans on the other hand have a completely different set of turnstiles. To reach them, you will need to head south of the stadium, under the railway bridge, and turn left onto Redan Road. Continue along here past a mini roundabout, and there will be a footpath on your left that is signed for Away Supporters. Head left up this path, following the signs for Away Supporters, and you will eventually come to the Away Turnstiles that are based on a green corrugated iron wall. Heading through these will bring you to the away concourse and away section.

The South Stand at the Recreation Ground has the railway tracks right up next to it, limiting how much of its old, corrugated iron exterior you can see. This side of the stadium holds Walley’s Bar inside though.
The South Stand is often split between home and away fans, with home supporters using the Front Entrance on the western side of the ground to get round to here. Away fans use the Away Turnstiles on the eastern side of the ground to reach the southern away section.

It's fair to say that when compared to other stadiums at this level, the Recreation Ground is not very accessible from all four sides. The Front Entrance outside the High Street End is the only place where most visitors will need to go on a matchday.

Inside the Ground

The High Street End has a seating area that only runs along part of the pitch’s width.
Known as the Community Stand, it is single tiered and consists of alternating blue and red seating blocks that are only a few rows high.
Views from inside here are perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof.
The stand doesn’t have windshields at either end though, with just small walls in place to offer protection from the sides.
The rest of the High Street End is taken up by a large electronic screen, electronic scoreboard, and other facilities including a green portacabin that acts as the Police Control Box.
The Community Stand is not that often in use, only really being made available when exceptionally large crowds are expected at the Recreation Ground.

The North Stand can be split into three sections.
The section by the stadium’s northwest corner consists of rows of standing terrace. These have red and blue metal bars in place across them for fans to lean on.
Your view from inside most of this terraced section is clear, though there is a red supporting pillar coming down from the roof that can restrict the view for those stood behind it. It will not get in your way though if you are stood down at the front.
A windshield by the northwest corner provides protection to those inside.
The central section of the North Stand is the largest and consists of seating. The outer blocks contain alternating rows of red and blue seating. These alternating rows continue at the front of the central blocks, with separate blocks behind being more solid in colour and padded for executive use. The area holding the matchday camera is based right up at the back. The Recreation Ground’s dugouts and tunnel are based right down at the front of this central section, with the changing rooms located inside.
Supporting pillars come down from the roof and will restrict the view of those sat behind them. With the pillars well-spaced out though, there are seats that do not have views as restricted, especially those down at the very front where the pillars do not get in the way at all.
The section by the stadium’s northeast corner consists of rows of standing terrace. These have red and blue metal bars in place across them for fans to lean on.
Your view from inside most of this terraced section is clear, though there is a red supporting pillar coming down from the roof that can restrict the view for those stood behind it. It will not get in your way though if you are stood down at the front.
The far end of this terraced section is actually right in line with the East Bank and so can have a slightly restricted view in places as a result.

The East Bank consists of a single tier of standing terrace which has rows of red and blue metals bars running across it for fans to lean on.
The stand has red supporting pillars coming down from the roof inside, and also has red and blue supporting pillars coming down along the front. Your view is very likely to be restricted as a result, with the best views being found right down at the front between each pillar.
Windshields are in place at either end, though they only protect the rows further back.

The South Stand can be split intro three sections.
One of these sections includes the stadium’s southeast corner and consists entirely of uncovered standing terrace. There are rows of red and blue metal bars in place for fans to lean on, and this whole section is directly connected to part of the adjacent East Bank.
Your view from most of this section is clear, though there is a telegraph pole right at the front by the pitch and this can cause a slightly restriction to your view depending on where you are stood behind it.
Red and blue metal bars at the end segregate this section from the rest of the South Stand as it is for away supporters.
The central section of the South Stand is a single tier of covered seating, with the blocks alternating between blue and red in colour. A row of windows up at the back lead to the Phoenix Bar inside.
There are three supporting pillars in place part-way down the stand which will cause restrictions to the view of those of those sat behind them. They should not get in your way though if you are sat down at the front or at the ends of the outer seating blocks.
There are no windshields in place at either end however, with just small walls in place to offer protection instead.
The section by the stadium’s southwest corner consists entirely of uncovered standing terrace and is known as ‘The Slab’. There are rows of red and blue metals in place for fans to lean on, with views from this section perfectly clear from anywhere inside.

Away Fans

Away fans are housed in what is considered the southeast side of the ground. This comprises of a section of covered terrace in the East Bank, a section of uncovered terracing around the southeast corner and South Stand, and a section of covered seating in the South Stand.

Views from all the away section can be restricted.
Supporting pillars down at the front and half-way up the East Bank terrace will restrict the view of all but those stood right down at the very front.
A telegraph pole in front of the uncovered terracing section can restrict the view of those stood behind or near it.
A supporting pillar half-way down the covered seating section can restrict the view of those sat behind it.
The best view in this section comes either right down the front or at the very end of the stand.

The main thing of note with the away section at the Recreation Ground however is how you reach it. Home supporters will make use of the Front Entrance outside the high street, but away fans will need to head to the other side of the stadium to find their turnstiles.
To reach them from the High Street, you will need to head south of the stadium, under the railway bridge, and turn left onto Redan Road. Continue along here past a mini roundabout, and there will be a footpath on your left that is signed for Away Supporters.
Head left up this path, following the signs for Away Supporters, and you will eventually come to the Away Turnstiles that are based on a green corrugated iron wall. Heading through these will bring you to the away concourse and away section.

Matchday Pubs

Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Phoenix Bar at the Recreation Ground itself (Home Supporters Only)

-The Crimea Inn (Crimea Road, GU11 1UE) (Popular with Away Supporters) (Located near Aldershot Station)

-The George Aldershot (Wellington Street, GU11 1DX) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located in more central Aldershot)

-The Golden Lion (364 High Street, GU12 4LU) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)

-The Queen Hotel (1 High Street, GU11 1BH) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located in more central Aldershot)

-The Royal Staff (37A Mount Pleasant Road, GU12 4NW) (Away Supporters Welcome) (Located close to Redan Road and the Away Turnstiles)

Overview

Accessibility into the Recreation Ground is limited to just its western and eastern sides depending on whether you are a home or away supporter. The exterior and interior do show their age in plenty of places, but the ground still able to accommodate decent-sized crowds.

Well located next to the town’s train station, this is a unique football stadium with a one-of-a-kind layout.
Worth coming to experience first-hand.

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