Oakwell – Barnsley

Oakwell is a mostly modern ground. On one side is the particularly attractive two-tiered covered East Stand running along one side of the pitch. Opened in March 1993, this stand has a capacity of 7,100. Opposite is the classic looking West Stand, part of which dates back to 1904. It was made all seated in the mid 1990’s, but is only covered at the rear. On its roof is perched an ugly precarious looking television gantry which obscures a probably more attractive gable. At the Pontefract Road End (now named the CK Beckett Stand) is an all seated, covered stand for home supporters, which has a capacity of 4,500. This stand was opened in 1995. The opposite end, the North Stand, is a large single tier, covered stand, housing around 6,000 fans. Replacing a former open terrace it was opened in 1999. Away supporters are housed in this stand. An unusual feature of the stadium is a purpose built stand for disabled supporters. This is a three floor structure that sits at the corner between the East and South Stands. There is also an electric scoreboard at one corner of the North Stand, on top of a security control room. The teams come out from one corner of the ground between the North and West Stands.

Away fans are housed in the North Stand, at one end of the ground. This good sized covered stand is mostly free of supporting pillars, meaning you normally get a very good view of the playing action. The normal allocation for away supporters is 2,000 tickets and fans are normally housed on one side of this stand on the West side (towards the old Main Stand). If demand requires it, then most of this stand can be allocated, increasing the number of tickets available to 4,700 (the stand can actually hold 6,000 but the capacity has been reduced to keep a sizeable gap in-between the away fans and home fans located in the East Stand). The acoustics of the stand are not bad meaning that visiting fans can really make some noise. The facilities on the fair-sized concourse are good and access is given to an adjacent open-air area if fans wish to smoke. There are a row of supporting pillars running across the stand towards the rear of the stand. So if your team has a large following and you are seated above Row NN, then you may a pillar partially obstructing your view. Food on offer inside the ground includes; a range of Pukka Pies (£3.20), Sausage Rolls (£2.60), Burgers (£3.80) Hot Dogs (£3.80) and Chips (£2.60). Please note that the refreshment kiosks do not accept card payments and are cash only.

I found this club to be particularly friendly from the car park attendant to the programme seller. Even the P.A. announcer had a sense of humour (although a little optimistic), when he announced that perhaps the visiting fans would like to come up again to see the next Barnsley home game, so that we could see a decent game of football! Normally an enjoyable and relaxed day out.

It is fair to say that there won’t be any works taking place at Oakwell any time soon. The latest news out of Barnsley suggest there is some friction between the club and the shareholders of the Oakwell ground. The solution isn’t clear but we know the possibility of ground shares with other teams has been explored. The other point of note is that the West Stand at Barnsley’s ground is currently closed; safety concerns were raised. Action is due to be taken.

Popular with away fans and in easy walking distance of Oakwell is the Metrodome Leisure Complex, which has a bar inside. If a sizeable away following is expected then additional bar facilities are brought into the sports hall at the Metrodome, which as you would expect is a bit sparse. Neil Tubby a visiting Norwich City fan, recommends the Dove Inn on Doncaster Road. This pub which is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide is an outlet for the Old Mill Brewery. It is only a five minute walk away from the ground down Oakwell Lane and is happily frequented by both home and away fans. Further along, Doncaster Road (on the right after the Primary School on the left) is the Barnsley East Dene Working Mens Club, which is happy to admit visiting supporters (including accompanied children) for a small donation. You can also leave your car there at a cost of £2. Kevin Downsworth a visiting Hull City fan adds; ‘The Barnsley East Dene Club was very welcoming to us as away fans for a pre-game pint. Handy parking too and only about a ten minute walk away from Oakwell”. There is also the Harbour Hills Working Mens Club on Vernon Street, which also normally admits visiting supporters.

Beck Gough informs me; ‘I would recommend the Corner Pocket on Elm Row, around a 10-15 minute walk from Oakwell. Cheap beer, cheap food but all homemade – chips, chip butties, burgers, pie and peas, absolutely gorgeous! A separate room to the side holds a generous amount of pool and snooker tables. It shows televised sport, is, family-run and is owned by the ex-snooker player Joe Johnson’.

David Crossfield adds; ‘There are two really good real ale outlets in the town centre. Both are within a couple of minutes walk of the Transport Interchange. The Arcade Alehouse is an award-winning micropub in the Victorian Arcade. Usually 5/6 real ales and ciders on offer. Local pork pies at £1.20 on matchday. Small groups of away fans are welcome. The other is the Old No7 on Market Hill. This is the brewery tap for Acorn Brewery. There is always a choice of pale, bitter and stouts/porters on offer from Acorn plus guest breweries. They also sell cider and a wide choice of craft beers. Pork pies sold on match days. There is also a cellar bar which usually opens when the pub is busy’. In Market Street near the Alhambra Shopping Centre s a Wetherspoons outlet called the Silkstone Inn. Like the Arcade Alehouse and Old No.7 it is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Also popular with both home and away fans is another Wetherspoons called the Joseph Bramah on Market Hill.

Generally drinking elsewhere in the town centre is generally not recommended, especially the Garrison, which is very much a home pub. I have also been informed that on occasion if large numbers of away fans arrive by train, then the Police sometimes will prevent access to the town centre and escort them directly to the Metrodome.

Alcohol is normally made available in the form of Bottles of Carling Lager (£3.70), Cans of Worthington Bitter (£3.50) and Bottles of Kingstone Press Cider (£3.90). Kieran Bleasby a visiting Ipswich Town fan informs me; ‘At the back of the stand on the concourse just past the main food and drink outlets, is a small enclosed room called the ‘Beer Bar’. It is for over 18’s only and has a doorman, but made a welcome change.’ However, access is to this bar is given only when the whole stand is allocated to away fans. Normally though just the one side (the West side towards the old Main Stand) is allocated and the bar facilities are located on the ‘out of bounds’ other side.

Barnsley have been playing their home games at Oakwell throughout their existence as a football club. The stadium opened way back in 1888 and to this day there are still features of that original build present; one example being the seats of the West Stand. The Barnsley stadium isn’t all old school though. The other three stands have all been either rebuilt or extended since the nineties. That was the plan for the West Stand too but the footballing side of things let the club down before the club spiralled into debt and eventually administration; it was this that caused the ground to be sold, which is now catching up with the club today.

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Leave the M1 at Junction 37 and take the A628 towards Barnsley. Stay on this road (the ground is well signposted) and you will eventually see the ground on your right. There are a couple of car parks located at the ground, but they are mainly for permit holders only. Inbetween the ground and the MetroDome is a car park for visiting supporters, called Queens Ground, which costs £5 Cars and £20 Coaches (post code S71 1AN). Otherwise you can try parking at the MetroDome itself (although it can be slow to get out of after the game has finished) or street parking. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near in the local area via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

Oakwell Ground Post Code for SAT NAV: S71 1ET

Barnsley Railway Station is about a ten minute walk away from Oakwell. This station is served by trains running between Sheffield and Leeds.

From the train station turn left away from the town centre and head towards the bridge that the dual-carriageway runs over. Please note that due to building works the temporary bridge over the railway level crossing is closed one hour before kick off and one hour after the game has ended (see the Barnsley Council website for more information and alternative routes to the ground). Go under the dual-carriageway bridge and turn left up the slip road and then take the first road on the right and head towards the Metro Dome leisure complex at the top of the hill. Oakwell is now clearly visible. Thanks to Ian Ambler & Bryn Williams for providing the directions.

Booking train tickets in advance will normally save you money! Find train times, prices and book tickets with Trainline. Visit the website below to see how much you can save on the price of your tickets:

Barnsley operate a category system of ticket pricing (A*, A, B,C & D) whereby the most popular matches will cost more to watch than the least popular ones. Category A prices are shown below with Categories A, B, C & D prices shown in brackets:

All areas of Oakwell*

Adults £36 (A £30) (B £28) (C £25) (D £23)
Over 65’s/Under 22’s £24 (A £22) (B £20) (C £18) (D £16)
Under 17’s £10 (all categories)
Under 12’s £5 (all categories)**

* These prices are for tickets purchased in advance of matchday. Tickets bought on the day of the game cost £2 more.

** Only available when purchased with an adult ticket.

Official Programme £3.

Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday rivalry: Barnsley fans cite Sheffield Wednesday as their biggest rivals. It’s all about the geography with the clubs both being Yorkshire based. Of course, the Owls have a bigger rivalry.

Barnsley vs Sheffield United rivalry: Just behind the Sheffield Wednesday game in the derby stakes is Barnsley vs Sheffield United. The reasoning is, again, all about the Yorkshire connection. United and Wednesday dislike each other more than they hate Barnsley.

Barnsley vs Leeds rivalry: Barnsley are unfortunate – or fortunate depending on how you look at it – that most of their rivals have bigger games to concern themselves with. Leeds is another that brings added fire to Oakwell owing to the Yorkshire connection. Again though, Leeds don’t consider Barnsley as one of their top rivals.

Barnsley FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website).

For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website.

Record Attendance

40,255 v Stoke City
FA Cup 5th Round, 15th February 1936.

Modern All Seated Attendance Record

22,650 v Manchester City
Division One, 11th March 2000.

Average Attendance

2019-2020: 14,061 (Championship League)
2018-2019: 12,527 (League One)
2017-2018: 13,704 (Championship League)

Official Web Site: www.barnsleyfc.co.uk

Unofficial Web Sites:
Tykes Mad (Footy Mad Network)
Barnsley Bulletin Board
Supporters Trust

If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at: [email protected] and I’ll update the guide.

The aerial footage of Oakwell was produced by Outrageous Eye and made publicly available via YouTube.