Weston Homes Stadium – Peterborough United

On one side of the ground is the BGL South Family Stand, which was opened in 1996 and replaced a former open terrace. Encased in supporting tubular steelwork, the 5,000 capacity stand is an impressive sight. The two-tiered stand is covered and all seated. There is also a row of executive boxes running across its middle. The other side, the Main Stand, is a much older stand, being first opened in 1957. It is two-tiered, covered stand and is all seated. At one end is the London Road Terrace. This covered terrace has a bright white roof and is a classic looking old stand, having its roof put in place in the early 1950’s. As to be expected from a terrace of such vintage it does have a number of supporting pillars running across the front of it, which could impede your view of the game. Opposite at the Moy’s End is a new all-seater stand that was opened in November 2014. It is a single tiered all seated stand that has a capacity of 2,500. This covered stand replaced a covered terrace that was very similar in appearance to the London Road End. It has been named the Motorpoint Stand in a corporate sponsorship deal. In one corner of the ground between the South Stand and the London Road Terrace, is a Police Control Box, whilst on the other corner is a tall, old-fashioned floodlight pylon. The ground had a set of four at one time, but three have been taken down as the London Road ground has been redeveloped.

It June 2019 the stadium was renamed the Weston Homes Stadium Stadium in a corporate sponsorship deal. Weston Homes have agreed to a ten-year sponsorship of the London Road Ground.

The Club have announced that in partnership with the local council that they are actively seeking a site to build a new stadium, in an area called the Embankment, close to the existing London Road ground. The stadium will have a planned initial capacity of 17,500, with the potential to be increased to 22,000. The club hopes that the new stadium would be ready for the start of the 2022/23 season. The new Peterborough stadium will meet Premier League standards as the Posh hope to gain promotion to the top flight in the not too distant future. It is likely that London Road will be redeveloped for housing.

Away fans are normally housed in part of the Main Stand (towards the Moy’s End) where just over 1,800 fans can be seated. The view from this stand is quite good, although the facilities inside (such as the refreshment area and toilets) are on the small side and are quite basic. In the upper part of the stand, the seating is wooden, giving an indication of the age of the stand.

Food available inside the ground includes the standard fayre of; Cheeseburgers (£3.80), Burgers (£3.70), Hot Dogs (£3.70), Various Pies including Chicken Balti, Steak and Cheese & Onion (£3.30), Pasties (£3.30) and Jumbo Sausage Rolls (£3.30). On the whole, on each of my visits, I have found Peterborough to be a good and fairly relaxed day out, with some good pubs in the locality too.

Andrew Bartlett a visiting Southampton fan adds; ‘Away fans sitting in Block A of the Main Stand, should be made aware that the leg room is quite tight. Otherwise a very pleasant old fashioned ground with welcoming stewards.’ Please note that the seating area is situated at the opposite end of the ground to the main London Road.

Close to the ground is an unusual drinking outlet called Charters. This former Dutch barge is moored on the River Nene, just a few minutes walk away from London Road. Upstairs is a Chinese restaurant, but downstairs there is a bar, which had on my last visit 12 real ales on tap. It was friendly enough and fans were able to take their drinks out onto the river bank, which makes it quite pleasant when the weather is good.

Alun Thomas a visiting Wrexham supporter adds; ‘We enjoyed the Palmerston Arms on Oundle Reload. It is away fan friendly and has around 10 real ales on offer. It is around a 15 minute walk away from London Road’. This pub is owned by Batemans Brewery and serves a number of their own ales, as well as additional guest ales. It is a strange pub, in so much that apart from one real ale on handpump, the rest of the ales are dispensed straight from the barrels in the cellar, which can be viewed through a glass window behind the bar. Please note that the pub doesn’t stock the likes of Guinness, Carling etc… The pub also doesn’t serve food, but doesn’t object to customers bringing in their own. A few doors away is the Yard of Ale pub, which also serves real ale and has the benefit of showing Sky Sports. Handily located near to these pubs which you pass on the way to the ground is the Woodston fish and chip shop. Both Charters, the Palmerston Arms and the Yard of Ale, are listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Whilst Gordon Pearson recommends the Peacock, which can be found ‘as you come over the River Nene, proceed down London Road past the ground on the left and the pub is situated on the right at the traffic lights next to a KFC drive through’. Further on from the Peacock, turning right onto Park Street is the Coalheavers Arms, which has a selection of ales and ciders, a sizeable beer garden and is family friendly. It normally has a good mix of home and away supporters on matchdays. You can also street park in this area.

Alternatively, the ground is within walking distance (10 minutes) of the city centre (which is very pleasant and complete with a cathedral) where there are plenty of good pubs to be found. Most have doormen present on matchdays, but seem happy enough to admit away fans. If you are arriving by train then the Brewery Tap near to the station on Westgate, is worth a visit. The home of Oakham Ales, this spacious bar serves good beer, Thai food and allows you a view into the brewery itself. Pete Cluderay informs me; ‘I discovered an excellent pub just up the road from the Brewery Tap called the Wortley Almshouses which is housed within quite an old building. It serves reasonably priced beers by Sam Smiths as well as food.’

Richard Feek tells me; ‘Pubs wise there are a couple of notable additions that have recently opened in the City Centre, The Bumble Inn which a small micro pub located on Westgate (opposite the Wortley Almshouse) although on the small side it was very welcoming and serves a range of Real Ales, Ciders and continental lagers. The Stoneworks is a recently opened Craft Beer bar which has opened on Church Street in the City Centre, this is a fair sized open plan bar serving a good quality selection of craft beers, ciders and spirits, something slightly different to the usual City Centre pubs. The Drapers Arms on Cowgate is a two-minute walk from the Station and is a large welcoming Wetherspoons pub. And finally the Solstice is hidden away behind the City Market on Northminster Road, this a large modern yet traditional bar showing sports on various screens, it also has a large outdoor and partly covered seating area outside with Plasma screens. Food is served as is Real Ale and the usual selection of drinks. Attached to the Solstice is Harrys Tea Room for those who would prefer a more relaxed non-alcoholic pre-match drink or two’.

Please note that alcohol is not made available to away supporters inside the stadium.

Throughout Peterborough’s 87 year old existence, the club has played all their home games in one stadium: The London Road Stadium. The ground is currently known as the Weston Homes Stadium owing to a sponsorship deal. Once upon a time it belonged to Peterborough United’s predecessors, Peterborough & Fletton United, however, that was many moons ago. Over the past century, the Weston Homes Stadium has seen a lot of major reconstructions and now it looks nothing like the original structure. Peterborough’s stadium used to be a 650 seater at one point but the stadium has since been expanded to 15,314 seats.

The ABAX Stadium is located on the outskirts of the city centre, on the A15 London Road. The ground is fairly well signposted around the city centre.

From the North/West
Drive into the city centre, follow signs for Whittlesey (A605) which will lead you to the London Road. The new stand is quite visible from some distance away, so keep a lookout.

From the South
Leave the A1 at Junction 17 and take the A1139 towards Peterborough. Then take the third exit slip road onto the A1260 (signposted City Centre). Leave the A1260 at the first exit (signposted Orton Malborne) and at the roundabout take the third exit onto Morley Way. Then at the next roundabout take the first exit onto Shrewsbury Avenue. After a half a mile you will reach a set of traffic lights (there is a car sales showroom on one corner) where you turn right onto Oundle Road (A605). Continue straight along Oundle Road and you will reach the stadium on your right.

There is no parking available to visiting supporters at the ground. There is a council pay & display car park just off London Road (turn right at the traffic lights after crossing the bridge over the River Nene, from the city centre and it is immediately on the right). This costs £4 to park there for the day. Otherwise, there is street parking to be found on side streets further up Oundle Road (going away from London Road). Please though check for any parking restriction signs on lamp posts, as the side streets nearest to the ground operate a residents only parking scheme.

Post Code for SAT NAV: PE2 8AL

Peterborough Railway Station is around a mile away from the London Road Ground. Turn right out of station and follow the main road, passing an Asda store on your right. At the traffic lights near to the Rivergate Shopping Centre, turn right. Go over the bridge and you can see the floodlights of London Road, over on your left. It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the station to the ground. Thanks to Andrew Dodd 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:

Like a number of Clubs, Peterborough United operates a Category System (A & B) whereby the more popular games cost more to watch. Category A prices are shown below with Category B prices in brackets:

Home Fans*
Seating**
Adults £26 (B £24), Aged 60 and over £21 (B £19), Under 22’s £17 (B £15), Under 18’s £10 (B £8), Under 12’s £8 (B £6), Under 7’s £1***

Terrace**
Adults £22 (B £20), Aged 60 and over £17 (B £15), Under 22’s £13 (B £11), Under 18’s £9 (B £7)

Away Fans*

Main (North) Stand A Wing Seating:
Adults £26 (B £24), Aged 60 and over £21 (B £19), Under 22’s £17 (B £15), Under 18’s £10 (B £8), Under 12’s £8 (B £6), Under 7’s £1***

* The prices shown above are for tickets bought in advance of matchday. Tickets bought on the day of the game can cost up to £2 more. ** Fans who become Club Members can receive a discount on these prices. *** Under 7’s must be accompanied by an adult (over 18). Maximum of three Under 7’s per adult.

Also please note that proof of concession may be required on entering the ground.

Official Programme £3
Blue Moon Fanzine £2

Peterborough vs Northampton rivalry: Both teams are based along the river Nene, so their meetings are called the Nene derby. Peterborough and Northampton consider each other to be their main rivals.

Peterborough vs Cambridge rivalry: Meetings between these teams are commonly called the Cambridgeshire derby; Peterborough and Cambridge are the only two professional football teams in Cambridgeshire hence the atmosphere being taken up a notch when the two meet.

Peterborough vs Leicester City rivalry: This is actually one of the more recent rivalries to develop, as both teams did not consider each other as rivals until around 2008. The two then went head to head in the lower leagues for a period of time and a heat was brought to their meetings. Due to Leicester City’s success in recent years, however, this has become a very one sided rivalry, which looks unlikely to be reignited.

Peterborough United FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website)

If you require hotel accommodation in Peterborough 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.

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

Peterborough is famous for its Cathedral, which is right in the centre of the city. It is impressive both outside and in, with visitors welcome. You can of course at the same time, say a quick prayer for your team….

Record Attendance

30,096 v Swansea City
FA Cup 5th Round, 20th February 1965.

Average Attendance

2019-2020: 7,371 (League One)
2018-2019: 7,365 (League One)
2017-2018: 5,669 (League One)

Official Web Site:
www.theposh.com

Unofficial Web Sites:
Londonroad.net
Up The Posh

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