Away Ground Guide - Southport( Saturday 11 August 2018)

Southport Football Club

Haig Avenue,

Southport, Lancashire, PR8 6JZ

ADMISSION PRICES 2018/19

Main Stand £15

Concessions £11

Terracing £13.50

Concessions ( 65)£10

All 12-18 year olds will be admitted for £5

Under 11’s accompanied by a paying adult will be admitted free.

From not accepting credit card payment Southport do a 100% turnaround and the following offering from them advises that they have moved to a cashless system.
In this respect however please note the highlighted comments that confirm that AWAY FANS CAN PURCHASE TICKETS ON THE DAY AT THE CLUB SHOP.....

Southport Football Club can confirm that for the 2018/19 season there will be cashless entry at the turnstiles.
Ahead of an exciting campaign, another new development is in place to aid the match-day experience as the club continues its fast-paced improvements.
In partnership with Kaizen Ticketing the club already offer advance purchasing of e-tickets, but from pre-season the Merseyrail Community Stadium will now become cashless at the turnstile.
Supporters of Southport as well as visitors are encouraged to take advantage of modern technology to obtain their match ticket. The simple, quick and secure online process allows fans to order and pay via their mobile phone, using their device at the turnstile to scan their ticket. Alternatively a PDF from the confirmation email can be printed and brought with you to the turnstile for scanning.
For those who wish to purchase on the day of the game in cash, can still do so, at the Club Shop.
For both sets of fans purchasing tickets for our home league games in August against Altrincham, Stockport County and Ashton United online means you can not only avoid any queues, but also benefit from an extra 10% discount at the checkout.
Visit https://southportfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets to secure your ticket now, it takes less than two minutes!
Please note, online ticket sales will end at 8pm the day before a weekend fixture and at noon on the same day as a midweek game. The Club Shop will be open on a Friday (2-6pm) and Saturday (from 11am) for weekend games, and on Tuesday evening fixtures (from 2pm) to allow fans to purchase tickets as well as merchandise.
 




Disabled Entry
The procedure for disabled admission is as follows:
The disabled person or carer on his/her behalf goes to the ticket office to purchase a ticket at the appropriate price.
The carer is admitted free.
The disabled person and his/her carer then enter through the disabled gate (if a wheelchair they go in the paddock. If ambulant disabled they can sit in the stand).

Haigh Avenue  is a decent football ground, and with access to seats in the main stand, supplementing the open terrace behind one goal that County are usually given, the ingredients should be in place for an enjoyable afternoon watching football.

Enter the `County Occasionals’ itching for a fight and not that fussy who with last season….if the weather was good, the conduct of some within the away support purporting to be County Supporters was anything but.

Some disgraceful scenes were enacted under hedgies nose after County went 2 down.

First off the view of ( County ) disabled supporters was wilfully blocked by a group of individuals, who then turned their attention to opposing players who were warming up, filling the air with vile abuse and appalling threats, before one of their number jumped the barriers and attempted to assault a player.

This was totally unacceptable behavior and an affront to the majority of County supporters who are a credit to the Club, and it is to be hoped there is no repeat this time around.

Sustenance!  

The catering unit that sorted us last season, was there again this time at the open terrace end, and did good business throughout the game. 

Nothing particularly special about the football fare on offer, but on the whole County fans looked OK with what they purchased.

     

Programme.       

`The Sandgrounder’ offered 44 pages for £2.50, and was a reasonable buy, containing 4 standard pages on County and  some readable items which included a page on Pete Corkhill’s Cyclists, and 2 devoted to a groundhop . Not a bad read at all.

DIRECTIONS: 

The nearest railway station is Meols Cop on the Manchester to Southport line which is a ten minute walk from the ground.

Come out of the station entrance, turn immediately left onto Norwood Road and continue walking along the road until you reach The Thatched pub. Haig Avenue is directly opposite on the right hand side.

Southport station is in the Town Centre and is a good 20 minute walk from the ground or you can get bus number 44 from Eastbank Street. The buses depart(stop outside Specsavers) at 32, 52 and 12 minutes past the hour and take about ten minutes to get to Haig Avenue with a £2.20 fare.

If coming up on the train from the South, it works out quicker, and usually cheaper to come into Liverpool Lime Street and walk over to Liverpool Central station (a five minute walk) and get the train from Liverpool to Southport (40 minute journey).

To walk you are best coming out of the main station entrance, turning left into the pedestrian area, walking up to Eastbank Street, turn left (you will see KFC in front of you) and then keep walking straight for about 1 ½ miles down Eastbank Street, onto Scarisbrick New Road and then Haig Avenue is on the left. There are a few pubs along Eastbank Street  if you fancy a drink but once at the top of Eastbank Street the next pubs are past the ground, The Richmond on Scarisbrick New Road and  The Thatch & Thistle on Norwood Road opposite Haig Avenue. Both do reasonably priced meals and snacks.

BY CAR: 

Use Post Code PR8 6JZ for Sat Nav

From the North: Exit the M6 at Junction (28), sign posted Chorley. Then take the B5248, which runs onto the A59 / A565. On reaching Southport, take the second turning off the roundabout on to Preston New Road (Plough Hotel on left) Follow this road until you reach a set of traffic lights. Go straight across onto Cambridge Road. Continue down Lord Street into Southport Town Centre turning left into Eastbank Street and continue until you reach a roundabout. Go straight on into Scarisbrick New Road. Turn left into Haig Avenue at 2nd set of traffic lights.

From the South: Take the M6, and exit at Junction (26) sign posted for the M58. Follow the M58 until junction (3), and take the A570. Stay on the A570 through Ormskirk (one-way), and this will take you, after about 5 miles into the Kew district of Southport. At the roundabout with McDonalds on the left take the third exit, Scarisbrick New Road (A570) you will see the ground on the right, it is situated just past the College (KGV). Turn right at first set of lights into Haig Avenue. From the East: Take the M62 then the M60. Then join the M61 North-bound, exit at Junction (8) signed Chorley. Then follow directions from the North.

From the South avoiding Ormskirk: A bit longer distance but can be quicker in time on a busy day. Leave the M6 at Junction 21A joining the M62 towards Liverpool. Leave the M62 at Junction 6 to join the M57. Go to the end of the M57 and use the new road A5758 following the signs to Southport. You will go on the Formby By Pass, through Ainsdale and turn right into Carr Lane(the ground is signposted). At the top of Carr Lane follow the road round to the left and keep going straight ahead. Passing Dobbies on your left go straight ahead past Southport Hospital and you will come to a big roundabout at Kew. Take the first exit and you will see the ground in the distance across the playing fields.

By Coach;

The Fingerpost Flyer will get you there, details are:-

Leaves Finger 11.45/ Picks up Mercian Way 12.00
£14/ £10
Ring 07896 536757 to book, but not after 7.30pm please.

PARKING: 

The club’s small car park is for players and officials only. Therefore, supporters have to park in the surrounding streets. There are usually many spaces under a couple of minutes walk but watch out for parking restrictions around the streets.

Home and away supporters will be able to use the off-road parking facilities at KGV College for a maximum fee of £2.

KGV College’s car park is a short 5 minute walk along Scarisbrick New Road to the Merseyrail Community Stadium.

Supporters can also use the on-road parking around the stadium, but these are subject to standard Sefton Council parking restrictions.

FOOD & DRINK: 

There are catering outlets within the ground serving Hot Dogs, Burgers, Pies etc.

The Grandstand Bar welcomes all visitors and is open from Noon on a Saturday and serves its own unique brand of Real Ale, Grandstand Gold.

A short walk from the ground are two pubs serving meals. The Thatch Pub & Grill and The Richmond. Away from the ground there are plenty of places to eat in the Town Centre.

Real Ale pubs close to the ground....

Both are only 0.3m away...firstly......

Thatch & Thistle on Norwood Rd( PR8 6EF)

then on Scarisbrick New Rd( PR8 5HL) is the Richmond Hotel

hedgegrower