Banks’s Stadium/Bescot Stadium (Walsall)

Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It is also, where Aston Villa’s reserve team play their matches, so it’s a busy ground.

General information

Official website: www.wfcthevenue.co.uk

Arena capacity: 11,300 spectators

Address: Bescot Crescent, Walsall, WS1 4SA

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 52.5655°N 1.9909°W

Year of construction: 1990

Construction cost: £4.5 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 110 x 73 m

Seating plan of Banks’s Stadium

Built in the early 90s, Banks’s Stadium has four distinct stands. The Main Stand has two tiers that are separated by corporate boxes. The Community Stand (St Francis Group) is a single-tier structure that has supporting structures for its roof that sometimes impede your view. The University of Wolverhampton Stand is behind one of the goals and is used for the away fans, whilst The Homeserve Stand houses the dugouts, executive facilities and the television gantry.

Where to buy tickets?

Pricing for Walsall games is uncomplicated, breaking down prices depending on how old you are and where abouts in the ground you’d like to sit. There’s also the possibility to buy family tickets and the like. Finally, you’ll find that you’ll pay more if you buy your ticket on the day of the game itself rather than in advance, and this will be by an extra two pounds.

You can get tickets online, over the phone or by calling in to the club’s ticket office. There are also a select number of tickets available by paying cash at the turnstile on the day, but these are first come first served so better to plan ahead.

How to get there?

Walsall is in the aptly named Midlands, what with the Midlands being in the middle of the country and everything. In other words, it’s reasonably easy to get to from wherever you are.

Train

The Banks’s Stadium has its own Railway Station, called Bescot Stadium, which is situated behind the away end and is only a few minutes walk from the turnstiles. Trains run there on a local line from Birmingham New Street and the journey time is around 20 minutes. There is a regular service on Saturdays along this line and you should not have too many problems getting away after the game.

Bus

Bus numbers 401E, 45 and 4 all run to the ground from the centre of Walsall on match days.

Car

The Banks’s Stadium is located right next to the M6, in fact, you can see it from the motorway just north of the RAC Control Centre. Unfortunately, this stretch of motorway normally has a large traffic jam on both Saturday lunchtimes and early weekday evenings, so allow extra time.

From M6 South: Leave the M6 at Junction 7 and take the A34 towards Walsall (beware though of speed cameras on this stretch of dual carriageway). At the end of the dual carriageway turn left at the Bell Inn public house into Walstead Road (sign posted Bescot Stadium, Bescot Station Park & Ride). Continue straight on this road for two miles, passing another pub called the Tiger on your left. You will come to Bescot Stadium and entrance to the away end on your right.

From The M6 North: Leave the M6 at Junction 9 and take the A461 towards Walsall. Bear right onto the A4148 (Wallowes Lane) and turn right at the second set of traffic lights. You will see the ground on your left.

Taxi

Birmingham New Street is the best train station for the Midlands area, with a taxi from there to the stadium taking about half an hour and likely to cost in the region of £40. A taxi from Walsall Railway Station to the ground, meanwhile, will cost £20 and take around fifteen minutes.

Parking

You can park at the ground itself, with the club charging £4 per car for the privilege. Spaces are limited, though, so get there early or else you might end up crawling the nearby area looking for a road without parking restrictions.

Where to eat and sleep?

Obviously, Birmingham is a good choice for you if you’re looking for the bright lights of the big city. If you’re happy to stay in Walsall, though, then these are some of our recommendations.

1. Park Inn by Radisson Birmingham Walsall. Located virtually next door to the stadium is this branch of the Park Inn chain of hotels. It has a restaurant, a bar, a business centre and a 24-hour fitness centre.
2. Village Hotel Birmingham Walsall. Another chain hotel, but this time an offering from the Village, this place promises a bar, a restaurant, a health club and an indoor pool. It’s about two and a half miles from the ground.
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3. Fairlawns Hotel and Spa. The furthest hotel from Banks’s Stadium at a little under five miles, Fairlawns Hotel & Spa is also the most expensive of our suggestions. For your money, though, you’ll get a full-service spa, a health club with an indoor pool, a business centre, free Wi-Fi and free parking.

As with the hotels, Birmingham is always an option if you’re looking for somewhere to go for a pre-match pint. Walsall has plenty of great places of its own to offer, though, with these being some of our favourites.

1. The Wheatsheaf. This place is in the centre of Walsall, so it’s a bit of a trek to the ground on foot, but a taxi will get you there in no time. You wouldn’t want to walk anyway after sampling the great real ales, tasty pub food, and relaxing in some of their comfortable sofa seating. There’s also a pub cat!
2. The Windmill. There are no airs and graces about the Windmill but it’s an honest old boozer with plenty of room for football crowds both indoor and out. It’s very close to the stadium but the journey is a little awkward. About 5 minutes in a taxi.
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3. The Registry. If you want a quiet pint and chat with locals then this probably isn’t the place for you. If, on the other hand, you want 18 screens and viewing booths showing live sport, karaoke nights, quiz nights, and live bands, then this is where you should come.

Facilities

Your view may be restricted by supporting pillars in some areas of the ground and the stadium is starting to show its age a touch, but you’ll still find all of the usual facilities such as clean toilets and places to buy food and drink.

The main hospitality option at Banks’s Stadium is The 1888 Lounge. Named after the year the club was founded, here you’ll enjoy first-class hospitality and access to a pay bar as well as a padded seat in The Main Stand. It’s a little dated but comfortable never the less.

Alternatively, you could opt for an Executive Box for up to 10 guests, which offers panoramic views of the game, and comes with waitress service, half time refreshments and up to five car parking passes.

Banks’s Stadium offers nineteen different function rooms, so if you’re looking for somewhere to host an event in the West Midlands region then it’s probable that they’ve got you covered. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to host a conference, hold a presentation or even launch a product from, the home of Walsall FC should be somewhere you strongly consider as a venue.

History

From 1888, when the club was formed, until 1893 Walsall played at the wonderfully named The Chuckery. This was a purpose-built sports ground with twelve football pitches. They moved to West Bromwich Road in 1893 for three years before settling at Fellows Park in 1896, only leaving in 1990 when the new ground, then called Bescot Stadium, was built.

Both ends of the ground were originally all-standing areas, with the club converting them to seated stands in the wake of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough Disaster. The ground has two large conferencing suites, The Bonser Suite and The Stadium Suite, that can both host conferences and events such as cabaret evenings and concerts.