top of page
Brisbane Road
(Leyton Orient)
Address: Brisbane Road,
Leyton,
Greater London,
England,
E10 5NF
Capacity: 9,271 (All-Seater)
Its size can’t match other stadiums in London, but its unique layout makes Brisbane Road a ground that is well worth talking about.
Currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Breyer Group Stadium, Brisbane Road’s name comes from the road that passes the stadium’s eastern side.
The ground dates back to 1937, when it was held its original name of Osborne Road. Leyton Football Club were first based there at a stadium that had only one stand on its eastern side and a covered area for standing on its western side.
Leyton Orient Football Club moved into Brisbane Road in 1937 from their previous home at the Lea Bridge Stadium, and have been there ever since, with multiple renovations taking place there over the decades since.
Location and Getting There
Brisbane Road is located in the Leyton district of East London. Based around one mile north of Stratford and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Leyton County Cricket Ground is less than 0.5 miles north of Brisbane Road and Leyton Jubilee Park is less than 0.5 miles to the west.
As with all London-based football grounds, I would not recommend coming to Brisbane Road by car.
The area surrounding the ground is certainly more residential than other stadiums in the capital, but it’s difficult to tell exactly how far away you would need to go in order to find free, legal parking.
Coming by rail is certainly a more suitable option.
The nearest station to Brisbane Road is Leyton, served by the Central Underground Line and based little more than a 10 minute walk southeast of the stadium.
Leyton Midland Road is served by London Overground and is roughly a 15 minute walk north of the stadium.
You can also make use of local bus routes, with the 58, 69, 97 and 158 services all stopping at the Buckingham Road stop which is slightly to the east of the ground.
Outside the Stadium
Perhaps Brisbane Road's most unique feature is the large residential buildings that housed on each corner, occupying the space between each stand. Though they are not considered part of the stadium, three of the buildings do have balconies looking out towards the pitch, and you may find Orient fans making full use of them when a game is going on!
Most fans who arrive by rail or bus will approach the stadium from its eastern side, and that will therefore first bring them to Brisbane Road’s East Stand, which is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the GiPrint East Stand.
It’s the oldest of the four, and admittedly does show its age with wear in places. The exterior consists of a white brickwork base that holds the entrances inside, with a large wall of corrugated iron slightly behind it. In the very centre of the exterior is a red brick building stacked on top of the white wall that is used by APA, an events and security company.
The GiPrint East Stand is typically split between home and away supporters on a matchday, and you can find the away turnstiles up (Gates 1 and 2) towards the northeast corner of the stadium and the home turnstiles (Gates 3 and 4) down towards the southeast corner of the stadium.
Continuing round in a clockwise direction brings you to the South Stand, which since 2008 has been named after Tommy Johnston.
Born in Loanhead, Scotland on 18th August 1927, Johnston had two spells at Leyton Orient between 1956 and 1961, becoming the club’s all-time record goal scorer and being voted the club’s greatest player of all time in 1999. He was also remembered for playing with a bandaged arm, as it had become withered following a injury received whilst he worked as a miner. He passed away on 4th September 2008 at the age of 81. His ashes have been interred within the southern side of Brisbane Road.
The exterior of the Tommy Johnston South Stand is almost completely taken up by residential buildings with a row of car parking spaces outside of it. The residential building located at the stadium's southeast corner is known as Bloomfield Court, and the residential building located at the stadium's southwest corner is known as Johnston Court.
The entrances for fans on a matchday (Gates 5 and 6) are located down at ground level towards either end of the exterior, and out beyond the stand is Buckingham Road and the Coronation Gardens.
Just inside the entrance to the Coronations Gardens, you can find an statue of Laurie Cunningham.
Born in Archway on 8th March 1956, Cunningham was a winger who began his career at Leyton Orient, playing 85 times for the O's between 1974 and 1977. Cunningham is notable for becoming the first ever British player to sign for Spanish giants Real Madrid, and became the first black footballer to represent an England international team when he was called up the U21 side in 1977. His playing career included spells with clubs in England, Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
Capped six times at senior level for England, Cunningham was killed in a car crash in Madrid on the 15th July 1989. He was 33 years old at the time of his passing. The statue of Cunningham within the Coronation Gardens has been in place since November 2017.
Since January 2020, the West Stand at Brisbane Road has been named after Justin Edinburgh.
He was born in Basildon on 18th December 1969. A left-back who played for the likes of Southend United, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, and Billericay Town across an eighteen-year career, Edinburgh attracted notable praise as a manager, taking charge of Grays Athletic, Rushden and Diamonds, Newport County, Gillingham and Northampton Town. He was hired as the Leyton Orient manager in November 2017, and secured Orient’s promotion back into the Football League by winning the National League title at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
On 3rd June 2019, Edinburgh suffered a cardiac arrest, passing away five days later at the age of just 49. His tragic passing was mourned by football fans from around the world and Leyton Orient ever since have continued to pay tribute to the man who oversaw one of the most important moments in the club’s recent history. He will never, ever be forgotten in this part of London.
The Justin Edinburgh Stand runs alongside Oliver Road and is the new Main Stand at Brisbane Road Stadium. It has a modern-looking exterior that consists of a brickwork base with large silver panels higher up. The central part of the exterior can be accessed by a ramp or small staircases and this is where you can find Leyton Orient’s Main Ticket Office, Superstore, Reception, and Supporters’ Club, with access to the Main Executive Area of the stand also located around here.
Turnstiles for fans (Gates 7 and 8) are based at either end of the Justin Edinburgh Stand’s exterior, right alongside Oliver Road. At ground level, you can also find the Oliver Road Polyclinic, and the entrance to a covered car park beneath the stadium.
Out beyond the Justin Edinburgh Stand is a building that houses a Nursery, Beach Volleyball Court and the Leyton Orient Trust.
The North Stand at Brisbane Road is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Qualiteach Community Stand.
Much like the Tommy Johnston South Stand opposite, the exterior here is mostly taken up by a residential building with a row of parking spaces outside of it, in addition to a covered car park housed underneath the stand.
Access for fans is only permitted part-way along the exterior, off of Oliver Road, and enables you to reach Gate 10 for home supporters.
To get to Gate 11, based near the northwest corner of the stadium, you will need to head away from the Qualiteach Community Stand and along Windsor Road to the north. You can then turn back down Brisbane Road and head towards the GiPrint East Stand. The northwest turnstiles (Gates and 12) can be found before you reach the East Stand's exterior.
Inside the Stadium
The GiPrint East Stand consists of a single tier of red seating, though the seats down in the front rows of each block are lighter in colour. The letters “The O’s” are spelt out using black seating across the central blocks.
Three pillars come down from the roof above to provide support, but they are well spread apart and will only slightly restrict your view if you are sat at either end of the stand. If you are sat in any of the lighter-coloured rows down at the front, the pillars will not get in your way at all.
The GiPrint East Stand does not have windshields in place at either end though, with just small red walls in place, though the buildings located in the northeast and southeast corners of the stadium can help with restricting the amount of wind and rain that can get in from the sides.
The Tommy Johnston South Stand consists of a single tier of red seating with the letters ORIENT spelt out in white across the three central blocks.
Your view from anywhere inside this stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, though the stand does not have windshields in place at either end.
The buildings in the southeast and southwest corners however can help in providing protection from any wind or rain at times.
The Justin Edinburgh Stand is the largest and most modern-looking of the four at Brisbane Road.
It is split into two sections, a lower seating area and an upper executive area. The seating area is almost entirely red except for the letters LOFC which are spelt out in black across the blocks. Towards the southern side of the stand is an additional area for disabled supporters to use.
The upper section of the stand contains two levels of executive boxes, one of which has a balcony seating area protruding out of it, and the area holding the matchday camera can be found up towards the very top.
Leyton Orient’s changing rooms, tunnel and dugout can all be found in the Justin Edinburgh Stand.
Your view from anywhere inside here is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof high up above, but the stand has no windshields in place at either end, relying on the buildings in the southwest and northwest corners of the stadium to offer whatever protection they can against any wind or rain on a matchday.
The Qualiteach Community Stand is very similar in height to the Tommy Johnston South Stand opposite.
It consists of a single tier of red seating with the letters LOFC spelt out in black across the blocks.
Your view from inside the stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof.
Like the rest of the stadium though, there are no windshields in place at either end, though the buildings in the northwest and northeast corners of the stadium can at times provide protection from any wind or rain that is present.
A somewhat unique feature of Brisbane Road can also be found in the northeast corner between the Qualiteach Community Stand and the GiPrint East Stand.
Whilst most of the corner is taken up by a large brick building, you can find a very small stand in place right behind the corner flag. It looks much more like your standard dugout than your typical football stadium stand, and can hold a handful of people on a matchday.
You’re unlikely to find something like this in place at a football stadium anywhere else.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed in the GiPrint East Stand.
They are given the seating blocks on the northern side of the stand and stewards are used to segregate these supporters from any home fans present elsewhere in the stand.
If you are up towards the back of this away section, you are likely to have your view partially restricted by the supporting pillar that comes down from the roof, but you will have a perfectly clear view of the pitch if you are sat in one of the rows down at the front.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-Leyton Orient Supporters Club (Brisbane Road, E10 5NF) (Mostly Home Supporters, though a Small Number of Away Supporters Permitted)
-The Birkbeck Tavern (45 Langthorne Road, E11 4HL) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located east of Leyton Underground Station)
-The Coach and Horses (391 High Road Leyton, E10 5NA) (Home Supporters Only) (Located east of Brisbane Road itself)
-The Leyton Technical Pub (265 High Road Leyton, E10 5QN) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located southeast of Brisbane Road itself)
-The Northcote Arms E11 (110 Grove Green Road, E11 4EL) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
Overview
Brisbane Road will often be overlooked as it doesn’t compare in size to other stadiums in the capital, but it’s unique layout and good accessibility makes it one that you really should take interest in.
Three of its four stands provide excellent quality views of the action taking place on the pitch, with views only slightly limited by a few pillars in the East Stand.
Whilst windshields are not in place at Brisbane Road, the four buildings that are based on each corner can provide protection from the elements on a matchday, and its also fun to see local residents who live in this buildings watching a match take place either through their window or out on the balcony that is attached to where they live.
It’s safe to say Brisbane Road is a very underrated football stadium and one that continues to pay homage to some of its tenants most important and memorable figures.
Well worth checking out.
bottom of page