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Moss Lane
(Altrincham)
Address: Moss Lane,
Altrincham,
Greater Manchester,
England,
WA15 8AP
Capacity: 7,873 (1,323 Seated)
One of those long-standing Non-League stadiums which offers something that should be to everyone’s taste.
Known for sponsorship reasons as the J. Davidson Stadium, it has been home to Altrincham Football Club since opening in 1910. Alty moved here from nearby Pollitt’s Field, and the stadium’s name comes from the road that passes by its southern side.
Moss Lane has in the past been used for games involving Manchester United’s Women’s and Youth Teams. In 1989, Chorley Borough Rugby League Football Club moved to the stadium and renamed themselves Trafford Borough Rugby League Football Club. They would return to Blackpool and become Blackpool Gladiators Rugby League Football Club in 1992, folding five years later.
Location and Getting There
Moss Lane is located less than one mile east of Altrincham Town Centre. Stamford Park is 0.2 miles away to the west, Timperley Brook is 0.2 miles away to the north, and Timperley Hall is around 0.2 miles further north from here.
Parking spaces immediately around Moss Lane’s vicinity are limited in number. Finding free parking in the surrounding streets should not be difficult though.
Ensure that you are legally allowed to park where you find and do not block the drives of any residents.
Altrincham Station, served by a northern rail line from Manchester, is near to the Town Centre and a 10-15 minute walk west of the ground.
Hale Station is on the same line as Altrincham and the next stop to the south, with the walk from here to Moss Lane also taking between 10 and 15 minute.
Altrincham Station also holds Altrincham Interchange, which is part of the Purple Line of Manchester’s Metrolink system. It comes from Manchester Piccadilly Station and the route takes around 20 minutes with multiple stops in between.
Outside the Ground
Heading to Moss Lane from Altrincham Station will take you along the road Moss Lane and first bring you to the stadium’s southwest corner. Heading clockwise from here and past the concrete perimeter wall will bring you to the West Stand, which is known as the Golf Road End after the street that passes along behind it.
Its exterior is very bare in design, with a concrete perimeter wall taking up most of it. You can see part of the stand’s corrugated iron exterior behind it and through the trees though.
At either end of the exterior are small brick buildings that house the turnstiles for both the Golf Road End and the northern side of Moss Lane. Fans in the Golf Road End typically use the turnstiles next to the stadium’s southwest corner.
The North Stand at Moss Lane is known as the Popular Side.
You can head round to the exterior of the stand from off Golf Road, but there is very little of note here. The exterior shows its age in plenty of place, using a thick concrete base with worn red corrugated iron in one section and grey corrugated iron in its larger central section. A metal fence is normally up that prevents you from going any further along this side of the exterior.
There are car parking spaces immediately outside the Popular Side’s exterior, with a load of allotments in place further out beyond it.
The turnstiles for the Popular Side are housed off Golf Road next to the stadium’s northwest corner.
The East Stand at Moss Lane is better known as the Hale End after the area near to it.
You are not able to walk along its exterior as there are houses and gardens backing up to it.
The only thing of note on this side therefore are the Away Turnstiles, which are housed in a small brick building off Moss Lane that is next to the stadium’s southeast corner.
If you find yourself on Golf Road by the stadium’s northwest corner, you will need to head down Golf Road and then along Moss Lane to reach these Away Turnstiles.
Moss Lane’s South Stand is the Main Stand and for many years has been sponsored by the late Fred Nash and his wife Carole. Its exterior can essentially be split into four sections.
The section next to the Away Turnstiles for the Hale End has a concrete perimeter wall along it, though you can see part of the grey corrugated iron and red trim that forms the Family Stand inside.
The largest section is the Main Stand itself, which uses a brickwork base with grey corrugated iron higher up and red trim at the top. A triangular roof in the middle leads to the entrance doors for players and officials.
The third section along this side of the stadium holds the Community Sports Hall, using a brickwork base with red trim at the top and red-rimmed windows along it. A red door on this building leads to the Reception.
The fourth section of the exterior uses a concrete perimeter wall and takes up the southwest corner. Part of a brick toilet block building can be seen behind it.
The turnstiles for this side of the stadium are housed along Moss Lane between the Main Stand and Family Stand.
Inside the Ground
The Golf Road End consists of a single tier of standing terrace that does not quite run along the whole width of the pitch. The southwest corner is left open to house toilets and refreshments as a result. The terracing area meanwhile has a red metal bar running along it for fans to lean on.
Supporting pillars come down regularly along the front of the stand and these will restrict your view if you are stood behind them. Your clearest view will come from behind stood right down at the front or beside the pitch in the southwest corner.
Both ends of the stand are left open, with just metal poles in place to offer limited protection.
The Popular Side is a single tier of standing terrace.
The central section of this stand is taller than the sections either side of it, with a gantry hanging down from the roof which holds the matchday camera. The stand as a whole has rows of red metal bars running along it for fans to lean on.
There are supporting pillars coming down regularly along the front of the lower down sections, and these will restrict your view unless you are stood right at the front. The taller section of this stand does not have any pillars in front of it and so offers the clearest view of the pitch from this side of the stadium. It is also possible though to stand in front of the covered terracing area right up at the edge of the pitch.
Both ends of the Popular Side are left open and have little protection from the side. One of these needs to be open however to allow access from the turnstiles in the northwest corner.
The space in the northeast corner between the Popular Side and Hale End has often been used for storage and normally isn’t available for supporters on a matchday.
The Hale End is a single tier of completely uncovered terrace.
There are a few rows of red metal bars in place for fans to lean on, with the only real protection here provided by the back wall and the advertising boards atop it.
The terraced area does not run along the full width of the pitch, with the open space next to the southeast corner taken up by toilet and refreshment facilities.
The southern side of Moss Lane consists of three key sections inside.
The first section, next to the southeast corner, is the Family Stand. It is a single tier of red seating which is only a few rows high, holding the Sponsors’ Lounge up behind the back row.
There are no supporting pillars coming down from the stand’s roof, but one of the floodlights is in front of this seating area and can restrict your view of the pitch slightly as a result.
There are no windshields at either end, with just small walls in place to offer protection from the sides instead.
The middle section is the Main Stand and the tallest part of the southern side. It consists of a single tier of red seating. Some seats within the middle part of the central block are lighter in colour, however. The stadium’s dugouts are based down at the front of the Main Stand, the tunnel is located to the left between the Main Stand and Family Stand, and the changing rooms are located inside the Main Stand.
There is a supporting pillar which comes down right at the front of the stand and this can restrict the view for plenty of seats behind it. Your best views in the Main Stand are likely to come from the front row at either end of this seating area.
Windshields are in place at either end to offer protection.
The final section, next to the southwest corner, is the Community Sports Hall. It houses a bar that served food, shows Sky Sports, and often welcomes away fans on matchdays as well. Altrincham’s Club Shop can be found in this part of Moss Lane.
Fans often position themselves in front of the Sports Hall at the edge of the pitch when the weather is good, and the space between the Community Sports Hall and southwest turnstiles is taken up by toilet and refreshment facilities.
Away Fans
Away fans are typically housed behind the goal in the Hale End.
It is a completely uncovered terrace which has rows of metal bars running along it for fans to lean on. The only protection you will get here comes from the back wall and the advertising boards atop it. Be sure to wrap up warm if you’re coming to Altrincham on what is set to be a cold day or night.
In the lower depths of Non-League, where away segregation is more relaxed, it is possible for away fans to head round to any side of the stadium and have better cover over their heads. This is normally because the overall attendance will likely be low when compared to the stadium’s capacity.
Turnstiles for the Hale End can be found in the stadium’s southeast corner off Moss Lane. You will need to head along the whole southern side of the ground to reach them if you are coming from Altrincham or Hale Station.
The Hale End Terrace does not cover the full width of the pitch, with the open space next to it taken up by toilet and refreshment facilities.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Community Sports Hall at Moss Lane itself (Away Supporters Welcome)
-The Cheshire Tap (36 Railway Street, WA14 2RE) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located in more central Altrincham)
-The King George Pub (Moss Lane, WA15 8BA) (Home and Away Supporters) (Located east of the football ground)
-Pi (18 Shaw's Road, WA14 1QU) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Altrincham Station)
-The Tatton Arms (3-5 Tipping Street, WA14 2EZ) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located west of Moss Lane itself)
-The Unicorn (1-7 Ashley Road, WA14 2DP (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located in more central Altrincham)
Overview
Moss Lane has the feel of what you would call a typical Non-League football ground.
All four sides are different in shape and design, with supporters given the option to either stand or sit on a matchday depending on where they go.
Views from a number of places are restricted however, and your best view will likely come from being stood right next to the perimeter fence that surrounds the pitch.
Moss Lane is a good size though and would compete capacity-wise with several football league grounds.
With two train stations and a Metrolink stop also located close by, accessibility to the stadium is good. You do only really need to walk around its southern and western sides though before you head inside.
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