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Field Mill
(Mansfield Town)
Address: Quarry Lane,
Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire,
England,
NG18 5DA
Capacity: 9,186
It may only be in use on three of its four sides, but these stands are very good and would look the part at any modern English football ground.
Known as the One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, the site dates back to before 1861, making Field Mill the oldest stadium in the entire Football League, with some reports dating its existence back to 1850.
The stadium has been the home of Mansfield Town Football Club since 1919.
Originally known as Mansfield Wesleyans, the Stags took over Field Mill from its previous tenants Mansfield Mechanics, who had been there between 1912 and 1916, and since then several redevelopments have taken place which leave this historic football ground looking the way it does now.
Between 1984 and 1986, Field Mill was also used for the Mansfield Marksman, a now defunct Rugby League team.
Location and Getting There
The Stadium is based close to the St. Peter’s Retail Park and less than one mile south of Mansfield Town Centre. The Field Mill Pond and the River Maun are both outside and along the ground’s southern side, with a local nature reserve also close by to here. Heading due west from the stadium brings you to Moor Lane Park, and heading due east brings you to Titchfield Park.
Being close to the centre of Mansfield, you should certainly be able to find free parking that is a short distance away from the ground.
I’ve found luck personally heading to the east, finding space on Bath Street between Nottingham Road and Littleworth, but you should be able to find parking spaces in the residential estates on the northern side of the ground. Be sure to keep an eye out for any parking restriction notices that could be in place depending on where you go.
Mansfield Station is less than 0.5 miles north of the ground and walking from there can take less than 10 minutes down Portland Street, and then up the hill on Quarry Lane to the stadium’s southern side.
Outside the Stadium
Field Mill only has its northern, western and southern sides open for fans.
The East Stand, better known as the Bishop Street Stand after the road that leads up to it, has been closed since 2006 after being deemed unfit for purpose.
Plans have been discussed about building a new stand on this side of Field Mill, but no construction has yet occurred.
You can still walk up Bishop Street to the original stand’s entrance, but it is all bricked up.
Most supporters will approach Field Mill up the hill on Quarry Lane, and that first brings you to the South Stand, which is better known as the Quarry Lane End.
Its exterior has a brickwork base but most of it is made up of silver corrugated iron, with a blue strip running across near to the top and a blue cantilever roof coming down the back. Part of the stand protrudes out near to the southwest corner and this additional space holds Mansfield’s Reception, Main Ticket Office and Club Shop.
Turnstiles into the Quarry Lane End can be found in the centre of the stand and by the southeast corner, with the space between the turnstiles and the stand acting as the outer concourse.
Some of Field Mill’s parking spaces are out beyond the Quarry Lane End and the southwest corner.
Continuing round in a clockwise direction brings you to the West Stand, which is named after Ian Greaves.
Born in Lancashire on 26th May 1932, Greaves played as a full-back for Manchester United, Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic before becoming a manager in 1968. Manager of Mansfield Town for six years between 1983 and 1989, Greaves guided the Stags to promotion to the Third Division (now League One) in 1986, and the following year won the Freight Rover Trophy (better known now as the EFL Trophy) at the Old Wembley Stadium.
Considered one of Mansfield Town's most iconic figures, Ian Greaves passed away on 2nd January 2009 at the age of 76.
The Ian Greaves Stand is the clear largest at Field Mill, but still maintains the same exterior design as the adjacent Quarry Lane End. It has a brickwork base with silver corrugated iron higher up, with that same blue strip near to the top and a blue cantilever roof coming down the back.
Turnstiles are near to either end of the stand and you can find Executive Entrances in the centre.
A few rows of parking spaces are out beyond the Ian Greaves Stand and there is a full-sized grass pitch out beyond that, with two small 3G pitches also close by.
The North Stand is a similar height to the Quarry Lane End opposite.
Its exterior is the same as well, brickwork at the base with silver corrugated iron higher up, and you can once again find that blue strip towards the top and a blue cantilever roof coming down the back.
The two sets of turnstiles are located in the stand’s centre and over by the northeast corner, and the fenced off area behind the turnstiles is the stand’s outer concourse.
Beyond the North Stand exterior is the Portland Retail Park, and some fans with tickets for this stand get up to here by walking along the path beside the car park.
Inside the Stadium
When it was in use, the Bishop Street Stand consisted of terracing and since closing it has become full of large advertising boards.
The roofed building in the centre of the stand is still in place though and on top of this is the area holding the matchday camera.
Mansfield also have a large electronic screen installed near the northeast corner which can be seen by most supporters in the stadium.
The Quarry Lane End is made up of a single tier of yellow seating with the letters MTFC spelt out in blue across the central blocks. Mansfield’s stadium control box is situated at the back of the stand by the southwest corner, and since the changing rooms are inside this stand, Field Mill’s tunnel is attached to one side of the Quarry Lane End as well.
Since the pitch is based on a slight slope, one side of the stand is technically higher up than the other, and you can clearly notice this if you are sat in the North Stand opposite.
The Quarry Lane End’s cantilever roof means that there are no supporting pillars coming down and so your view from every seat is perfectly clear.
There are no windshields at either end though, with just small walls in place to keep the cold and the rain out when present.
The Ian Greaves Stand is made up of two similarly-sized tiers.
Most of the seats in this stand are blue, but a couple of columns at either end of each block are instead coloured yellow. The director’s box is in a clearly visible space at the front of the upper tier.
Following a request by then-Stags manager Steve Evans, Mansfield’s dugouts are now based at the front of the Ian Greaves Stand and these do restrict the view of those sat in blocks D and E of the lower tier. The rest of the stand though provides a perfectly clear view because of the cantilever roof on top.
Windshields cover every row in the upper tier but hardly any of the lower tier rows. Small walls are in place here to keep fans down the bottom of the Ian Greaves Stand protected from the elements.
The North Stand is made up of a single tier of blue seating with the letters STAGS spelt out in yellow across the blocks. There are two flat platforms in the North Stand which are purpose-made for disabled supporters, allowing them to get a good view of the game whilst still feeling part of the crowd around them.
The cantilever roof in this stand means that your view is perfectly clear from any seat, but neither end of the North Stand has a windshield to protect supporters inside.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed behind the goal in the North Stand.
Small crowds typically take up the central blocks whilst larger crowds take up the seats at either end of the stand as well.
It’s a very good away stand which is already segregated from the home crowd nearby and provides a quality view of the action coming towards or away from you.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Court House (Market Place, NG18 1HX) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Midland Hotel (Station Road, NG18 1LP) (Away Supporters Welcome) (Located very close to Mansfield Station)
-The Railway Inn (9 Station Street, NG18 1EF) (Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Mansfield Station)
-The Sandy Plate Sports Bar (Quarry Lane, NG18 5DB) (Away Supporters Welcome, apart from High-Profile Games) (Located at the base of the Ian Greaves Stand)
-The Stag and Pheasant (Unit 4, Clumber Street, NG18 1NU) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Talbot Inn (151 Nottingham Road, NG18 4AE) (Home Supporters Only)
Overview
Field Mill may only have three sides available for use, but each of these sides are top quality, with a clear view almost fully guaranteed from any seat.
The stadium is very well placed close to Mansfield’s railway station and parking can be easy to find.
A lack of windshields in two of the stands is only a minor issue and Field Mill overall is an excellent, modern ground and an ideal place to watch professional football.
If one day we do see a new stand built on the east side of the stadium as well, this place will become even better.
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