Kassam Stadium/Grenoble Road (Oxford)

The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground’s owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam.

General information

Official website: www.thekassamstadium.com

Arena capacity: 12,500 spectators

Address: Grenoble Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, OX4 4XP

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 51°42′59.11″N 1°12′29.04″W

Year of construction: 1997

Construction cost: £15 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 112 × 78 yards

Seating plan of Kassam Stadium

North Stand

The North Stand consists of a single tier of entirely blue seating. Down towards the front and centre of the stand are two flat platforms for disabled supporters to use.

Your view from anywhere inside the North Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof on top.

Large windshields are in place at either end, but they only provide protection to the rows further back. The rows down towards the front only have small walls in place at either end to offer protection.

East Stand

The East Stand is similar in shape and design to the adjacent North Stand.

It consists of a single tier of entirely blue seating, but there are no flat platforms in place within the stand.

Your view from anywhere inside the East Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above.

Large windshields are in place at either end, but they only provide protection to the rows further back. The rows down towards the front only have small walls in place at either end to offer protection.

South Stand

The South Stand is split into two tiers of blue seating, with a row of executive boxes based between them. Oxford United’s changing rooms are located inside this stand, with the dugouts and tunnel based down at the front.

The central blocks of the upper tier consist of executive seating, with the gantry up at the back available for use by the press and also holding the matchday camera. The Stadium Control Box is also located at the back of the upper tier.

Above the row of executive boxes are yellow plaques, which list the years of some of Oxford United’s most important achievements.

Your view from anywhere inside the South Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above.

Large windshields are in place at either end, but they only provide protection to the upper tier rows. The lower tier rows only have small walls in place at either end to offer protection.

Away Fans

Away fans are housed in the North Stand, taking up the seating blocks nearest to the stadium’s northwest corner. They are segregated from any home supporters present in the stand by large sheets and a row of stewards.

Your view from inside this stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above, but the windshield in place at the end only protects the rows up towards the back. There is just a small wall in place to offer protection for those sat towards the front of the stand.

The Away Ticket Office can be found next to the away turnstiles. Turnstiles 26-30 are for use by away supporters.

Where to buy tickets?

It’s reasonably easy to figure out ticket prices for Oxford United matches. They don’t categorize their games, but they do charge different amounts depending on your age and for different parts of the ground. East Stand is the most affordable place to watch the game and the South is the most expensive.

The best way to get tickets is via the club’s official website, but the ticket office is available from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday either over the phone or in person. There will be a £1 surcharge however unless you pay at the window or print your ticket a home.

How to get there?

Oxford is in the South of England and not far from London. As a famous University town it’s quite used to having influxes of people coming and going, so here are the normal travel routes to the stadium you’ll want to consider.

Train

Oxford Railway Station is over four miles from the ground and it is really not advisable to try to walk it.

In October 2015 a new railway station serving Oxford was opened. Called Oxford Parkway it is served by trains from London Marylebone. Although it is located on the other side of Oxford to the Kassam Stadium, it does have good bus transport links into Oxford City Centre.

Bus

Oxford Bus Company/Stagecoach route 3A runs half hourly from the city centre (Westgate stop E1 and High Street stop T2), Iffley Road and Sandford-on-Thames direct to the ground on Saturdays only. Return and day tickets bought from one operator can be used to return on the other. Plus Bus tickets are valid.

From stop R2 at the railway station Stagecoach route 1 and Oxford Bus Company route 5 run at frequent intervals (combined every 4-5 minutes on Saturday and 7-10 minutes evenings and Sunday) throughout the week to Knights Road in Blackbird Leys, a short walk from the ground. Buses take approx 35 minutes to Knights Road. Return and day tickets bought from one operator can be used to return on the other. Plus Bus tickets are valid.

Other services from the city centre, which stop a short 5-10 minute walk away from the ground are Stagecoach routes 12 (at Plover Drive in Greater Leys) and 16 (at Carpenter Close in Minchery Farm).

You can get the Oxford Bus Company Service, Number 3A, which on Saturdays only runs to the Kassam Stadium via Sandford-on-Thames. The fare for an Adult is £3.50 return, or £1.70 return for a child. It departs from bus stop S2, which is located in Speedwell Street in the City Centre. See the Oxford Bus Company website for timetables.

Car

From all main roads around Oxford: Follow the brown football signs towards the Kassam Football Stadium. On seeing signs to the car parks form the main road, follow car park R2 and head for the Conference Reception entrance.

From the M4: Leave the M4 at Junction 13 and join the northbound carriageway of the A34. Follow the A34 towards Oxford. Exit A34 at Hinksey Hill Interchange and onto A4142 and follow the brown football signs towards the Kassam Football Stadium.

From the M40 – Northbound: Leave the M40 at Junction 7. At the end of the slip road, turn left onto the A329 signposted Little Milton and Stadhampton and you will see signs for the B480. Continue forward on the B480 (through Stadhampton and Chiselhampton) for approx 8 miles until you reach a main roundabout. Take the first exit signposted Reading & the Bowlplex and the Kassam Stadium is approx 1 mile on the right hand side.

From the M40 – Southbound: Leave the M40 at junction 8a. Follow A40 to the first roundabout (McDonalds Family Restaurant is on left hand side). Take first exit towards Cowley and Newbury A34 and follow the brown football signs, which will take you to the stadium.

Taxi

A taxi from the train station to the ground will take just over fifteen minutes and cost about £20.

Parking

There are 1,600 car parking spaces at the stadium itself, which are free. However, the car parks tend to fill up fast, so try and arrive early if you can (at least 75 minutes before kickoff). An additional 400 car parking spaces are now available at the Ozone cinema and bowling alley complex adjacent to the stadium, which are also free to use.

When arriving at the stadium, ignore the first stadium car park entrance that you come to and go up to the second entrance as the first will have you parking at the “open” end. There is a roundabout by the second entrance, which will take you back to the first entrance if the other half is full. Also after the game there are only two exits available.

If you do end up arriving late at the stadium and find that the stadium car parks are full, then don’t get tempted to park on a grass verge as you may well end up with a parking ticket for your trouble. There is also some street parking available along Grenoble Road (going away from the stadium), just make sure you use the marked bays. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near the Kassam Stadium via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

Where to eat and sleep?

As a student town, Oxford has a number of hotels used to housing parents dropping off their loved ones. Here are some of our preferred destinations.

1. The Tree Hotel at Iffley. The Tree is midway between Oxford and the stadium, about a mile from either, but it’s a good deal cheaper than many city centre options. Nevertheless it boasts a restaurant, bar, free Wi-Fi, parking and breakfast – even a playground for the kids.
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2. Holiday Inn Express Oxford-Kassam Stadium. You can’t get much closer to the ground than a hotel that is actually part of it. The Holiday Inn Express has a bar, a business centre, a meeting room and a free buffet breakfast on offer. There’s also free parking on site and the now almost ever-present free Wi-Fi.
3. Hampton Inn Oxford. Right next to the ground is this Hampton hotel that has a business centre, a snack bar and a restaurant as well as a lounge. There’s also a free continental breakfast included in the price of your stay, free Wi-Fi and, of course, free parking.
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As is the case with any student town, Oxford has a number of great places to go for a drink. Here are some crackers.

1. The George. The George is a lovely little pub located halfway between the stadium and the centre of Oxford. It has a great beer garden, a decent pub grub style menu and a number of TVs for live sports.
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2. Holiday Inn Express Oxford-Kassam Stadium. The Holiday Inn Express might not seem like the natural place to go for a pre-match pint, but if you’re after somewhere to have a drink near to the ground then this is about the best you’re going to find.
3. Jude The Obscure. Right next to Oxford Railway Station is this fun pub with bags of personality and a brilliant menu. It also has an excellent cocktail selection and plenty of sprits too. Definitely an upmarket place to go, but worth it.
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Facilities

As one of the newer grounds in the Football League, Kassam Stadium’s facilities are generally quite impressive. We wouldn’t go as far as to say state of the art, but they’re good.

There are a couple of hospitality packages available for Oxford United matches. Executive boxes are always a good place to start if there’s a group of you, coming with padded covered seating, waiter service and half time refreshments; or the 1893 Club may also impress with a three course meal, special guest speakers including club players and a match day host.

The Kassam Stadium is the largest venue in Oxford for conferences, exhibitions, events and meetings. If you’re hoping to host an event in Oxford then this place should be top of your list of locations. With space for up to 600 people they can handle pretty much anything you throw at them.

History

It was decided in 1995 that Oxford United would leave the Manor Ground, with the cramped and outdated stadium no longer suitable for the club take itself to the next level. The idea was that they would move to a new 16,000-seater stadium in Blackbird Leys by the turn of the millennium. Construction began in 1996 but halted in December of 1997 after financial difficulties caused major problems. The work didn’t resume again until February of 2000.

Between 2012 and 2015, the rugby union side London Welsh played their RFU Premiership games at the ground. They will have known, at least, that there were no evil spirits at the stadium. That is because in 2001 the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, did an exorcism on the ground after Oxford lost thirteen out of seventeen games there. The losses were blamed on a gypsy curse placed on the ground by a man who had been evicted during its construction.