www.footballgroundguide.co.uk

Manchester City

The stadium is located in the North East of Manchester.

From the South M6:
Leave the M6 at Junction 19 and follow the A556 towards Stockport and then join the M56 going towards Stockport. Continue onto the M60 passing Stockport and heading on towards Ashton Under Lyne. Leave the M60 at Junction 23 and take the A635 towards Manchester. Branch off onto the A662 (Ashton New Road) towards Droylsden/Manchester. Stay on the A662 for around three miles and you will reach the Stadium on your right.

From The M62:
Leave the M62 at Junction 18 and then join the M60 Ashton Under Lyne. Leave the M60 at Junction 23 and take the A635 towards Manchester. Branch off onto the A662 (Ashton New Road) towards Droylsden/Manchester. Stay on the A662 for around three miles and you will reach the Stadium on your right.

Whilst Iain Macintosh informs me; 'I find this an easier route to the ground; Leave the M60 at Junction 24 and take the A57 (Hyde Road) towards Manchester. Turn right onto the A6010 (Pottery Lane). There are quite a number of unofficial car parks on both sides of Pottery Lane, costing around £5 per car. Pottery Lane becomes the Alan Turing Way and goes right past the stadium on your left'.

There is some parking available at the stadium itself which costs £5 per car. The East Car Park is nearest to the away entrance. Please be aware that there is a residents only parking scheme in place in the streets near to the ground, which extends about a mile out from the stadium. So if you want to street park, it means parking further away and then walking to the stadium. Some unofficial car parks have sprung up mostly charging around £5 per car. Peter Llewellyn adds; 'The road links are busy even on non-match days so make sure you allow plenty of time. The stadium is part of Sportcity so car users should follow the brown Sportcity signs until near the stadium'.

By Train

The closest train station is Ashburys which is a short five minute train ride away from Manchester Piccadilly Station. The stadium is about a ten minute walk away from Ashburys station. As you come out of the station turn left and after proceeding up the road you will come to the stadium on your left.

Otherwise if you have time on your hands then you can embark on the 20/25 minute walk from Piccadilly Station to the stadium. At the bottom of the main station approach turn right into Ducie Street. At the end of the road turn right onto Great Ancoats Street. Cross over the road, then the canal and turn left into Pollard Street - this is well marked as a walking route to "Sportcity". Continue straight along Pollard Street which leads onto the A662 Ashton New Road and you will come to the stadium on your left.

A shorter route from the station is to use the new exit to Fairfield Street (the taxi rank). As you come off the platforms, it’s in the left hand corner of the main concourse. Lifts or escalators down. (There’s also an exit from the little concourse off the bridge near platforms 13/14.) At the street exit head toward the railway over bridge, under that, then left again under the railway (Travis Street continuing into Adair Street), left at the end and right into Pollard Street (then as above).

Alternatively you can get a taxi from Piccadilly Station (around £4.50) or a bus from Piccadilly Gardens - Go down the main approach from the station, then along London Road to Piccadilly Gardens; normal service and special matchday buses leave from the right hand side of the square (between Lever Street and Oldham Street) - £1 each way. 216 and 217 the main service buses, but 185, 186, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, X36 and X37 also go from the city centre to the stadium (and 53 and 54 from the city's ring road). On the return, the special buses leave from Ashton New Road just across from the away end.

Thanks to Steve Parish for providing the above directions and bus information.

Pubs

There are not a great deal of pubs around the stadium however 'The Stanley' (aka Sports Bar) pub does let in away fans in small numbers. It is about a ten minute walk away from the stadium, just set back from the main A6010 (Pottery Lane), going towards Ashburys train station. It does though cost £1 for adults to enter it, whilst children are free. Inside there is a large screen showing SKY Sports, good service and a good mix of home and away support. Keith Bradley a visiting Newcastle United fans informs me; 'About ten minutes walk from the ground is the Bradford Inn on Bradford Road. Although looking a bit run down from the outside, it was full of away fans, fairly friendly and the bar staff tried to be as efficient as they could in serving the large numbers. Otherwise alcohol is available inside the stadium (lager £2.40, cider £2.40, John Smiths bitter £2.30).

Dave Clinton adds; 'If you want a pint beforehand then it is probably best to drink in the city centre. My tip, as we do, would be to head to the Printworks in Manchester, near Victoria station. There is a connecting tram service from Piccadilly. There are loads of pubs at the Printworks, with plenty of choice of food. It’s a 20 minute walk away from the stadium or a five minute cab ride, (about £3). The pubs around Piccadilly itself are not too clever, Deansgate would be a good place to head for if you are taking in the City centre, this is about 30 minutes walk, with a load of bars down the bottom end going towards Victoria station. The alternative cheaper pubs near the ground are Mary Ds, or The Crossroads on Grey Mare Lane. Mary Ds does restrict entrance to Blues only on derby days, however, it’s a fantastic football atmosphere and there has been no trouble in there to date'. Mary Ds is located on Grey Mare Lane, across the road from the away entrance behind the huge new sculpture, that looks like it was inspired by a game of Kerrpunk! . Chris Fogarty adds; 'away fans should avoid the Queen Victoria pub at the bottom of Grey Mare Lane'.