Darlington FC
Ground Name: Northern Echo Darlington Arena
Capacity: 25,000
08/09 Average Home Attendance: 2,931
Address: Neasham Road, Darlington, DL2 1DL
Nickname: The Quakers
Home Colours: Black and White
Main Telephone No: 01325 387000
Official Website: www.darlington-fc.net
Ticket Details:
2009/10:- Fixture: Sat 29 Aug 2009 - 3pm
2009/10:- Adults £18/Conc £12/U16 £8/U10 £5
A family ticket (2 x adult + 2 x U16) is available on the day at £45. Darlington offer a £2 reduction on adult/conc/junior tickets, a £5 reduction on the family ticket and a £2 reduction on U16/U10 tickets if they are purchased in advance of the match day. To order tickets in advance telephone 0871 855 1883.
Away fans are housed in the East Stand at one end of the stadium, where around 3,000 supporters can be accommodated.
Coach with Official Travel Club:
(non-members +£2)
By Car:
The postcode for your SatNav is DL2 1DL
Distance from Cheltenham - 224 miles
Car Parking and directions:
M5 north, M42, A42 then M1 north at Nottingham. At junction 32 take the left-hand lane to join the M18 (signposted The North, Doncaster). At junction 2, branch left and at the roundabout take the first exit to join A1(M) (signposted The North). Follow the A1 and A1(M) for 80 miles. Leave the A1 (M) at Junction 57 and take the A66 towards Darlington/Teeside. Continue straight along the A66 going across two roundabouts. At the third roundabout you can clearly see the stadium just over on your left. Turn left at this roundabout into Neasham Road for the stadium.
There is a good size car park at the stadium (£5 per car).
By Train:
Darlington station is around 1.5 miles away. Walking directions: Leave the station and turn right past the taxi rank and towards the car park. Cross the covered footbridge back over the railway into Albert Road. Go right down this road and then take a right into Neasham Road. The stadium is about a mile down this road on your left.
There is a subsidised bus service that runs every 15 minutes from Tubwell Row in the town centre to the ground (£1.50 return).
Around The Ground:
The stadium is on the outskirts of town and there are not many facilities nearby. There is the 'Copper Beech' on Neasham Road, a ten minute walk towards the town centre. Otherwise there is the 'Tawny Owl' about a quarter of a mile the other side of the A66 roundabout. Alcohol is available on the concourses inside the stadium in the form of Fosters Lager & John Smiths Bitter. Well behaved away supporters are also admitted to the stadium social club.
Worth a thought -
Darlington is a town in the County of Durham and has a resident population of 98,000.
The football club are known as The Quakers because of the contributions made to the town by men such as Edward and Joseph Pease, members of the Religious Society of Friends.
Darlington is known for its associations with the birth of the railways. This is celebrated in the town at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. The world's first passenger rail journey was between Shildon(via Darlington) and nearby Stockton-on-Tees, on the Stockton to Darlington Railway, in 1825.
To commemorate the town's contribution to the railways, David Mach's 1997 work "Train" is located alongside the A66, close to the original Stockton-Darlington railway. It is a life-size brick sculpture of a steaming locomotive emerging from a tunnel, made from 185,000 "Accrington Nori" bricks.
The club's nickname is The Quakers, in reference to the religious movement that had a historic influence on the town.
Darlington Football Club was founded at Darlington Grammar School in 1883 and in 1889 it joined the Northern League. The club turned professional in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League.
In 1919/20 the side managed to finish second in the North Eastern League and the following year were champions. This was a stroke of good luck as their victory coincided with the forming of the Northern Section of the Football League's Third Division, which Darlington were elected to.
The football club plays at their new stadium, variously named since its opening in 2003. Though the stadium can seat up to 25,500 people, the club is restricted to just 10,000 because of county and local planning regulations. The club played at Feethams from 1883 to 2003, which was located close to the historic town centre and has since been demolished.
Some famous names from the area include; actress Wendy Craig (of T.V. Butterflies fame, which was filmed in Cheltenham), Frederick Dickens (Charles Dickens' beloved scapegrace brother) is buried in the West Cemetery, drummer Michael Lee (Little Angels, The Cult, Page and Plant, Thin Lizzy) and comedian Vic Reeves.
