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Molineux
(Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Address: Waterloo Road,
Wolverhampton,
West Midlands,
England,
WV1 4QR
Capacity: 32,050 (All-Seater)
One of English Football’s most recognisable grounds. Molineux is a fantastic stadium and the perfect home for a club with a proud history.
Built and opened in 1889, Wolverhampton Wanderers have played here ever since, moving from their previous home Dudley Road which could only hold a fraction of what Molineux can accommodate.
The name Molineux comes from the former mansion house, now a local authority facility, that was built by local merchant Benjamin Molineux in the 18th century.
Location and Getting There
Molineux is very well placed within Wolverhampton itself, less than 0.5 miles north of the city centre. The small areas of Dunstall Hill and Park Dale can be found slightly north and slightly southwest of the ground respectively.
Wolverhampton Train Station is around 15 minutes walk southeast, and if you’d prefer to come by car then there’s a whole host of places available to park, some paid and some free.
I’ve found luck personally heading down the A460 east of the ground and looking for street parking around there, though some of these spots are a fair distance from Molineux itself.
Outside the Stadium
If you’re coming from the train station, you should approach the stadium from its South Stand, known as the Sir Jack Hayward Stand after the late president of Wolverhampton Wanderers. It previously was known as the Jack Harris Stand after the club’s former chairman.
The stand has a very nice golden tint to it along the walls and its cantilever roof, reflecting the club’s iconic colours, with a brown brickwork design along the base that gives the exterior a very stylish look.
Turnstiles into here can be found at either end, slightly away from the stand's walls.
There is also a car park out beyond the back of the Sir Jack Hayward Stand, and Wolverhampton’s City Archives are in a building slightly further beyond this.
Heading round in a clockwise direction down either the staircases or ramps brings you to the West Stand, named after club legend Billy Wright.
Born in Shropshire on 6th February 1924, the defender spent his entire career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming the first footballer in the world to win 100 caps for their country and captaining England a record 90 times. He would win three First Division Titles and one FA Cup with Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as finishing runner-up in the Ballon d'Or for the World's best player in 1957.
Billy Wright passed away on 3rd September 1994 at the age of 70.
The golden tint on the cantilever roof continues once again here, with a large white brick entrance underneath that the players and officials get into the ground through. Molineux’s conference and events area is also located here.
The turnstiles for fans can be found along the base of the stand on either side of the official entrance.
A statue of Billy Wright is also placed proudly in front of the stand, right next to Waterloo Road.
Wolves’ Main Ticket Office can be found in the northwest corner between the Billy Wright Stand and Molineux’s North Stand, named after Stan Cullis.
Born in Ellesmere Port on 25th October 1916, Cullis was a former player and manager who won three First Division Titles and two FA Cups with the club. His Wolves team became one of the strongest in the game, competing in the early years of the UEFA European Cup's existence.
Capped 12 times by England as a player, Stan Cullis passed away on 28th February 2001 at the age of 84.
The Stan Cullis Stand is the tallest of the four at Molineux, not only holding the Wolves Official Merchandise Megastore but also the Wolves Museum. Ticket collections can be found on one side of the stand towards the northeast corner.
The Stan Cullis Stand has very good aesthetics, with a really nice combination of black and gold bricks along the walls, and it once again uses gold panels along the top, with a cantilever roof also in place.
Molineux’s East Stand is named after former player Steve Bull.
Born in Tipton on 28th March 1965, Bull played as a striker for Wolverhampton Wanderers between 1986 and 1999. He made 561 appearances for Wolves in total, scoring 306 goals which remains a club record.
The Steve Bull Stand has golden coloured walls on the sides and a cantilever roof, with large glass panels running along the top parts of the exterior. Large stone pillars run down the lower parts of the stand and the turnstiles can be found behind these.
The Steve Bull Stand is split into two equally-sized sections, with one section being on higher ground than the other. There are two separate sets of staircases that allow you to get up to the higher turnstiles, but you can easily take the much smoother incline along Molineux Street instead.
Inside the Stadium
The Sir Jack Hayward Stand is the smallest of the four at Molineux. It is made up of a single-tier of golden coloured seating, with two large wolf heads, the same ones which feature on the Wolverhampton Wanderers club crest, made out of black seating at either end of the stand.
The cantilever roof above means that there are no pillars blocking the view for supporters, but windshields only go part-way down. Unless you are in the back rows of the Sir Jack Hayward Stand, you won’t be very well protected from the sides.
In the southwest corner of the ground are another couple of blocks that are considered part of the Sir Jack Hayward Stand, but these are not covered at all by the roof. On the cold winter days and nights, these are the seats that are going to be affected the most by the weather, so be wary of that if you do get a ticket here.
Wolves announced plans in May 2019 to convert the entire Sir Jack Hayward Stand to rail seating for future seasons, understandable when the stand is known for producing the best noise in the stadium. If you’re looking for Wolves’ most passionate and vocal fans, this is the area to go.
The Billy Wright Stand consists of two tiers, with the top tier considerably bigger than the one below and separated from one another by a row of executive boxes. The letters WOLVES are spelt out in black amongst the gold seats in the top tier, and a wolf head is made out in black between the letters L and V. The club’s changing rooms, tunnel and dugouts can be found in this stand as well.
With no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, your view is perfectly clear from anywhere inside. Windshields at either end however only protect the back rows of the upper tier.
The Stan Cullis Stand towers over the rest of the stadium.
It consists of two tiers with both levels a similar size to each other. The letters WOLVES are spelt out in black along the top tier, with two large wolf heads made out along the bottom tier. The blocks at either end of the stand are made up of black seating, as opposed to the gold colour seats which make up the inner blocks.
Some of the Stan Cullis Stand seating blocks curve round slightly in the northeast corner, and given the roof of the adjacent Steve Bull Stand protrudes out, there is a good chance that some upper tier seats here will have a slightly restricted view. The rest of the stand however has a perfectly clear view of the pitch with no supporting pillars in the way.
The Steve Bull Stand is also made up of two tiers, with WOLVES spelt out along the upper tier and a row of executive boxes separating the two levels from one another. It looks very similar to the Billy Wright Stand opposite, and the only real difference is that there are no dugouts on this side of the stadium.
There are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, and so your view from anywhere inside is perfectly clear. Windshields however do only protect the back rows of the upper tier.
What makes the Billy Wright and Steve Bull Stands different to others in the UK is their shape. The stands curve inwards, meaning that the seats in the middle blocks are further away from the pitch than the ones at either end. Your view therefore is technically better if you buy a seat towards one of the stadium's corners rather than directly in the middle, though there isn't too great of a difference.
Anywhere inside either stand has an unrestricted view though and the top tier seats are just as good as the lower tier ones.
You can find two large screens that show action replays and a live scoreboard in both the northwest and southeast corners of Molineux. This means that no matter where you are in the stadium, you will be able to see at least one of these screens clearly.
Away Fans
Away fans are normally put in the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand, along the side of the pitch.
Depending on the allocation, they can be given the entire lower tier or just part of it, but with home fans on all three sides and also directly on top of you, it can really help to enhance the atmosphere on a matchday.
I have also known Wolves to put the away fans in the black seating blocks of the Stan Cullis Stand, using up both tiers in the northeast corner. As mentioned previously, this means that some away fans can be left with restricted views because of the Steve Bull Stand’s roof.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include*:
-The Bluebrick Table Table (191 Broad Gauge Way, WV10 0BA) (Designated for Away Supporters)
-The George Wallis (11-15 Victoria Street, WV1 3NP) (Away Supporters Welcome)
-The Great Western (Corn Hill, WV10 0DG) (Home Supporters Only)
-The Hogshead (186 Stafford Street, WV1 1NA) (Home Supporters Only)
*Finding a drink as an away supporter is difficult, as the pubs around Molineux are almost exclusively for home supporters only. It is a similar situation in Wolverhampton City Centre as well.
Overview
Molineux is one of the standout grounds in England and the perfect home for a club of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ size and stature.
Past renovations have made the ground perfect for the modern game and planned renovations will ensure that Molineux remains one of the country’s top football stadiums for many years to come.
This is a football ground definitely worth checking out.
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