AFC Bournemouth
Ground Name: Dean Court
Capacity: 9,600
08/09 Average Home Attendance: 4,930
Address: Kings Park, Bournemouth, BH7 7AF.
Nickname: The Cherries
Home Colours: Red and Black
Main Telephone No: 01202 726300
Official Website: www.afcb.co.uk
Ticket Details:
2009/10:- Fixture: Sat 6 Feb 2010 - 3pm
2009/10:- Adults £16/Conc, Student, U16 £7
Away fans are located on one side of the East Wing Stand, at one side of the pitch. The normal allocation for this area is 1,500, but this can be increased to 2,000 if required. Tickets need to be purchased from the ticket booths before entering the turnstiles.
Coach with Official Travel Club:
Coach Tickets on sale from:- On Sale Now
Departure Time:- 10:30am
Travel Club Members price:- Adults - £14 Concessions - £12
(non-members +£2)
(To become a Travel Club member and enjoy a reduction in coach seat prices click here)
By Car:
The postcode for your SatNav is BH7 7AF
Distance from Cheltenham - 98 miles
Car Parking and directions -
From the North: A34 to the M3 to the M27 to the A31
From the South East Coast: A27 to the M27 to the A31. From the A31, take the A338 to Bournemouth at the Ashley Heath roundabout. Carry on straight over the flyover. Take the next slip road of to the left (signposted Football Ground) to Kings Park. At the mini roundabout go straight across into Kings Park itself.
From the South West Coast: A35 to the A338. On the A338 take to slip road to the Springbourne Roundabout signposted Kings Park. Take the 3rd exit of the roundabout, at the Fire Station, stay in the left hand lane and turn left onto Holdenhurst Road. Stay to the left and go straight through at the traffic lights (the Queens Park Pub should be on your right). Go around the small roundabout and into Kings Park itself.
N.B There is a car park in Kings Park for which a small charge is payable. This is a Council car park and is pay & display at all times. It is not uncommon for £60.00 fines to be levied at persons without a valid car park ticket.
By Train:
The nearest train station is Pokesdown, which is roughly a mile from the ground and around a 15 minute walk away. However, most trains arrive at Bournemouth Central, which is around a half an hour walk to the ground.
Either try to get a train to Pokesdown or grab a cab. If you do arrive at Pokesdown Station (which is served by trains from London Waterloo), then exit the station (there is only one exit) and turn right down the main Christchurch Road (A35). Proceed for about 400 metres and then turn right into Gloucester Road. The Fitness First Stadium is located down the bottom of this road.
If you arrive at Bournemouth Central, then leave the station by the South exit, thereby facing an Asda Supermarket. Turn left and walk down to the main Holdenhurst Road. Turn left (going away from the town centre) and then keep straight on along Holdenhurst Road for around 25 minutes, reaching the Queens Park pub.
Continue straight on past the pub until you reach a roundabout at which you turn right into Kings Park Drive. The ground is down the bottom of this road on the left. Alternatively you can catch a No.33 bus to the ground, normally a half hourly service. Come out of Station again by the South exit, facing Asda and turn left until you get to a Texaco Garage. There is a bus stop with shelter on the same side of the road. Ask the driver to be let off near Kings Park Drive. Please note that if you decide to use the same service coming back, take a yellow number 2 bus as this is a circular service'.
Around The Ground -
For visiting fans the main pub is the Queens Park, which is situated by the Wessex Way dual carriageway Popular with both home and away fans it serves real ale beers. To find this pub, simply walk away from the ground, on the road going from the main entrance to the stadium and at the end of the road turn left. The pub is a little way up on the left.Worth a thought -
Famed for its glorious beaches this south coast resort is one of the U.K's premier seaside locations. Whilst the region surrounding Bournemouth has been the site of human settlement for thousands of years, even up to the year 1800 the Bournemouth area was largely a remote and barren heath. No-one lived here and the only regular visitors were a few fishermen, turf cutters and gangs of smugglers until the 16th century.
In fact during the Tudor times the area was used as a hunting estate and by the late 18th century, where the main town square is now situated, there sat just a small cottage.
By 1841 it had developed into a very small town when it was visited by the physician and writer Augustus Granville, the author of The Spas of England. His book described health resorts around the country and as a result it encouraged the growth of visitors to the seaside seeking the medicinal use of the seawater and the fresh air of the pines.
At the turn of the century, in 1900, when railway connections were at their most developed, Bournemouth's towns population had rapidly risen to 60,000. Now, with the adjoining towns of Christchurch and Poole seemingly part and pacel of the greater Bournemouth conurbation there is a permanent resident population of 400,000.
The Bournemouth International Centre is a popular venue for the conferences of the major political parties. The centre hosted the Labour Party conference in 2003 and 2007, the Conservative Party conference in 2006, and the Liberal Democratic conference in 2008.
As far as the Football Club is concerned, from 1983 to 1992 the club was managed by Harry Redknapp and former high profile players include, Darren Anderton, George Best, Luther Blissett, Jimmy Case, Jermin Defoe, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Redknapp and Nigel Spackman.
Founded in 1899 out of the remains of the older Boscombe St. John's Club, the club was originally known as Boscombe F.C.. To reflect the overall town it became Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic F.C. in 1923 just before being elected to the Football League. The club adopted the more streamlined A.F.C. Bournemouth name in 1972.
Nicknamed The Cherries the team traditionally, played in red and white stripes, until 1971, when the strip was changed to one similar to that of AC Milan playing in red and black stripes.
