St Andrews Trillion Trophy Stadium – Coventry City

For the second time in seven years, Coventry City find themselves groundsharing away from the Ricoh Arena, after being unable to reach an agreement with the owners of the Ricoh to remain there as tenants. Although St Andrews is closer than the previous groundshare at Northampton Town, it is still around 18 miles away. To a certain extent, the distance doesn’t matter, not having a ground that is yours in your home city does. So it may be a bit of a surreal experience and one which may be quite unpopular with some Coventry fans.

The Club have been looking for some time for a suitable location to build a new stadium in Coventry. However, nothing concrete has so far been forthcoming and whether this will happen one day with the current Coventry City owners (Otium Entertainment Group – a subsidiary of SISU) and come to fruition is anyone’s guess. Or whether they will resolve their differences with Wasps Holdings the owners of the Ricoh Arena and return there, then we will have to wait and see.

On the whole St Andrews is a modern ground with three newish stands. The oldest part of the ground is on one side, where the Main Stand resides. Built in the 1950’s this two-tier covered stand, looks rather tired in the presence of is newer neighbours. Originally it had a terrace in the lower part but this was replaced by seating and a row of executive boxes were also added to the back. The team dugouts are located at the front of this stand.

At one end is the Gil Merrick Stand aka the Railway End, which is an interesting looking stand, with a small upper tier overhanging a much larger lower tier, at the back of which are a row of corporate boxes. In-between this stand and the Main Stand is a large video screen and in the same area, the players tunnel is also located, as the team dressing rooms are located underneath this stand.

The rest of the ground the Tilton Road End and Spion Kop are also two-tiered stands, but more conventional-looking. The corner in-between these stands is filled with seating. The Spion Kop also houses a row of corporate boxes at its rear as well as a Director’s Area.

Away fans are housed on one side of the lower tier of the Gil Merrick Stand (towards the Spion Kop side). Up to 4,500, visiting supporters can be housed in the lower tier, the whole of which can be made available to away fans. The facilities in this stand and the view of the playing action are fine. Currently, half the ground remains closed on matchdays with Coventry City supporters housed in the Spion Kop Stand, which is located to the right of the away fans section. This means that the atmosphere generated inside the ground can be a bit lacking. Directly outside the away turnstiles is a large separated compound, where the away coaches are parked

Normally pubs close to the stadium for Birmingham City matches are for home fans only, but as technically both teams are playing away from home, then this is not the case for Coventry City matches. Apart from the Roost on Cattell Road then other pubs around St Andrews or on the route from New Street Railway Station are generally welcoming to visiting supporters. Behind the Tilton Road End on the corner of Tilton Road is the Royal George, whilst around a five minute walk away is the Cricketers Arms on Little Green Lane, which is behind the Roost pub and the Morrisons Superstore. Another pub nearby but on the other side of the ground is Bainsy’s Bar. It is located on Lower Dartmouth Street on the edge of Garrison Lane Park and also offers Indian snack food and curries. Just off the Coventry Road on Whitmore Road is the Bordesley Labour Club, which also welcomes visiting fans.

If arriving by train and taking the 30 minute walk to the ground then you will pass a number of pubs, a number of which have an Irish flavour. Also of note in the Digbeth area are the Anchor, Spotted Dog, and DigBrew, all of which serve good real ale. DigBrew has its own brewery on site, in fact, you are really drinking in the brewery itself, rather than a conventional pub. It only opens on Saturdays. Whilst the Spotted Dog is featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Also of note is the Old Crown pub, on the High Street Deritend, which is also Birmingham’s oldest building being built in 1368, which all serve decent real ale. If you like Craft Beer then close to the Anchor on Gibb Street (inside the Custard Factory complex) is the Beer Bar, which although on the small size, has an impressive array of different craft beers. Although  The Royal George, Bainsy’s Bar and the Cricketers all show Sky Sports.

If you coming by train, or decide to drink in the city centre beforehand, then there are plenty of pubs within five minutes walk of the station. Just outside the main entrance to Birmingham New Street Station, is the Shakespeare pub, which is also popular with visiting supporters (normally under the watchful eye of the local Constabulary). Frequented not only those on their way to St Andrews but those on their way to Villa Park, if Villa have a Saturday afternoon fixture that weekend. If you like your real ale then there is the Wellington pub on Bennetts Hill, with 16 ales on tap. Also on Bennetts Hill, there is the ‘Sun On The Hill’ pub, which also shows televised sports and there is a Wetherspoons Pub called the Briar Rose, which normally admits visiting fans as long as no colours are shown. On the pedestrianised New Street itself is the Post Office Vaults, which is also good for real ale on cider. Also near the station and of note are the Windsor on Cannon Street and the Trocadero on Temple Street. Both these latter pubs show Sky Sports. Both the Wellington and the Post Office Vaults are featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. There are a couple of taxi ranks nearby that you can use if you wish to get you to the St Andrews ground.

The locations of all these pubs can be found on the ‘Map Showing The Location Of St Andrews and Listed Pubs’ below. There is also a separate map showing the locations of Hotels in the area.

You can also purchase alcohol inside the ground.

Leave the M6 at Junction 6 and take the A38(M) (known locally as the Aston Expressway) for Birmingham City Centre. Continue past the first turn off (Aston, Waterlinks) and then take the next turn off, for the Inner Ring Road.

Turn left at the island at the top of the slip road and take the Ring Road East, signposted Coventry/Stratford. Continue along the ring road for two miles, crossing straight across three roundabouts. At the fourth roundabout (there is a large McDonalds on the far left-hand side) turn left into Coventry Road going towards Small Heath. Birmingham City’s ground is about a 1/4 of a mile up this road on your left. The ground is well signposted on the Inner Ring Road.

Match Road Closures

Please note that from 2pm on Saturdays that Cattell Road and Coventry Road (up past Macdonalds from the inner ring road) are closed to vehicles. The roads re-open at 3.15pm, but then close again after the match has finished to allow the crowd to disperse. This may mean that they are closed for around 45 minutes.

Car Parking

There is no parking available at the ground for visiting supporters. On Cattell Road going past the ground and the Roost pub is the Church of God and Prophecy that offers parking for £5. As it lies just outside the area of road closures it can mean a relatively quick getaway after the match has ended. There is a fair amount of street parking available in the area, but on the other side of the stadium to the main entrance (which is not a bad thing as it can mean an easier getaway after the match has ended especially if the main Coventry Road leading up to the ground, is closed one hour before kick off and then for an hour after the end of the game, as it is for Birmingham City games). To find the street parking area then following the directions above, then at the third roundabout, where there is a Big John’s on the left and a Mercedes Dealership on the right, take the first exit onto Garrison Lane. Then take the next right turn at the old Garrison Lane pub (now closed but the former meeting place of the original Peaky Blinders) into Witton Street. There is street parking in this area, although still make sure you get there relatively early 90 minutes before kick off to get a space.  There is also the option of renting a private driveway near St Andrews via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

Post Code for SAT NAV: B9 4RL

The nearest station is Bordesley, which is about a ten minute walk away from the ground. It is served by trains from Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street. Normally most trains don’t stop at Bordesley but on Saturday matchdays there is a regular service (every 10 minutes) and the train ride from Birmingham Moor Street only takes two to three minutes. For evening matches after the game has ended they run back from Bordesley to Moor Street at 21:51, 22:16, 22:22, 22:43 and 22:54.

If you arrive at Birmingham New Street Station in the city centre, either walk to Moor Street station (ten minutes) take a taxi (about £9) or embark on the 25-30 minute walk to the ground, some of which is uphill.

Birmingham New Street Station has recently undergone some major refurbishment, so if you have not been for a while it will seem quite different, but for the better! As you come up off the platforms onto the main concourse follow the overhead signs towards Moor Street and Bullring. After passing through some glass doors you will come out onto the street and you will see a large Debenhams Store in front of you. Cross over the street towards Debenhams and then turn right. Go down to the end of the block and on the left you will see a doorway with a sign pointing downwards towards Bull Ring Markets. Enter the doorway and go down the stairs. At the bottom, turn left and proceed along the street with Debenhams now on your left. Pass the markets on your right and then St Martins Church on your left.  As you pass the Church you will reach the end of the pedestrianised area where you turn right into Moat Lane. Go down Moat Lane following it around to the left, passing a Chinese supermarket on your right. At the next traffic lights turn right onto Digbeth High Street (busy dual carriageway). Passing Birmingham Coach Station on your right, use the pedestrian crossing to cross over to the other side of the carriageway. Continue up the High Street Passing the Old Crown pub on your left (Birminghams oldest building and normally okay for away fans in small numbers). You will then reach a fork in the road where you want to bear left passing underneath a railway bridge. Continue straight down this road, crossing a large roundabout (with a McDonalds over on one corner). The entrance to the away section is further up the road on your left.

Otherwise, you can take the number 60 bus from the city centre to the ground. The bus departs from bus stop MS4, which is located across the road from Moor Street Station (see Network West Midlands Birmingham City Centre Bus Stop map). It is a regular service running every ten minutes and takes around 15 minutes to reach the ground. Alternatively, the number 60 can also be caught outside Birmingham Coach Station.

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:

If you require hotel accommodation in the Birmingham area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Booking.com. They offer all types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced Apartments. Plus their booking system is straightforward and easy to use. Just input the dates below that you wish to stay and then select from the map the hotel of interest to get more information. The map is centered to the football ground. However, you can drag the map around or click on +/- to reveal more hotels in the City Centre or further afield.

Adults £20 Over 60’s/Under 22’s and Students* £15 Under 18’s £10**

* With current NUS card. ** Under 16’s can be admitted for £5 and Under 13’s Free if they take out a Junior Sky Blues Membership.

Official Programme £3.

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

Aston Villa, Leicester City and Birmingham City.

Record Attendance

At Highfield Road: 51,455 v Wolverhampton Wanderers Division 2, April 29th, 1967.

Average Attendance

At St Andrews 2019-2020: 6,677 (League One)

At The Ricoh Arena 2018-2019: 12,363 (League One) 2017-2018: 9,255 (League Two)

Official Web Site: www.ccfc.co.uk

Unofficial Web Site: Sky Blues Talk (Forum)

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