ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PLAY-OFF FINAL AT STOKE
Altrincham v Eastbourne Borough
Sunday 15 May, k.o. 1pm
Buying Tickets and General Information
Altrincham FC have been given 5,106 tickets for sale for Sunday's game against Eastbourne Borough at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke (1pm). Ground capacity is 28,000 but only one side of the ground will be open.Altrincham FC is required to sell tickets in a pre-defined sequence i.e. so the seats are filled up from the front first. Prices are £10 for adults and £5 for concessionaries i.e. senior citizens and under-17s. All children and concessionaries must sit in a special family area, adults may accompany their children. So, senior citizens have to sit in the family area unless they are prepared to pay full price (£10). Altrincham have been allocated the lower level of the Main (West) stand, whilst Eastbourne have the upper tier. Altrincham will be playing in their normal red and white stripes but will use the away dressing room.
Tickets will be available at the ground from 11am on Sunday.
"Neutral supporters can purchase tickets by personal visit to the Britannia Stadium Ticket Office priced £10 in the John Smiths Lower Tier Block 17" says the Stoke website. It is believed that this office will be open on matchday but ring Stoke City's ticket office on 01782 592204 to be certain.
Disabled and Infant Spectators
Disabled spectators can get a joint ticket for themselves and a helper at the cost of a single person's ticket. Disabled car users must buy a £5 car-park ticket in advance (available from Moss Lane). All infants-in-arms must also have a valid concessionary-rate ticket for the game.Sponsors' Boxes etc
Corporate-box tickets, which include a meal, half-time and post-match refreshements and other perks, can be bought for £65 per person for up to 8 people per box. You can also book a table and meal in the Waddington Suite for £60 per person. The deadline for booking has now passed but it may be worth your contacting Stoke direct if you are still interested.Behaviour
Anyone encroaching on the pitch will be arrested, before, during or after the game.Match entertainment
There will be (unspecified) pre-match entertainment and Alty mascot Rocky Robin will be in attendance. As a result the players' warm-up is restricted to 20 minutes. At half-time there will be a penalty shoot-out between five children from each of the two competing clubs.Match programme
Matchday programme prices will be £3.Getting to the ground
Coming by STAR supporters' coach
For just £7 (£5 for concessionaries) you can travel to and from the match. See the Away Travel page for details. This page also has a link to a map of the area around the stadium, from which you can zoom out to confirm your route if travelling by car (see below).
Coming by car
For those taking a car to Stoke, parking at the stadium costs £5 - tickets for parking are also available from the club. The club has been warned that any parking elsewhere in unauthorised places will result in heavy fines being imposed by the local authority.
Ian Watts has kindly advised the website that There are major road re-development works going on in Stoke on what is known as the D-road (the A500). On a Sunday, these might not delay you too much but to avoid these anyone driving is probably better leaving the motorway at Junction 15 - rather than the more northerly junction 16. You will then not have to negotiate the road works as the ground will be on the A500 before you reach them.
You will not be allowed to leave the car park for 15 minutes after the final whistle, presumably to allow spectators on foot to disperse.
Coming by public transport
Ian Watts has also helpfully sent me the following:For those travelling by train who are fit enough, the common route to the ground is to walk along the canal towpath. Alternatively, the taxi rank at Stoke station is at the left hand end of platform 1 as you get off the train.
For those travelling by train who are fit enough, a common route to the ground is to walk along the canal towpath. It is generally described as up to a 30 minute walk although obviously that will depend on your walking speed and you probably need to be in Stoke by around 12. To get to the canal towpath turn right out of the station and go to the end of the road. At the traffic lights turn first right and drop down under the railway line. Cross over when you get to the other side of the railway bridge and walk down the adjacent side street continuing away from the railway in front of Grindeys. You can then join the towpath at the end of this road. You have to leave the path briefly due to the road works. Climb to the main road turn left and work your way around until you can cross. After crossing, head right until you can rejoin the towpath. Leave the towpath when you reach a post in a brick circle containing the stadium's name. Follow the path up and over the canal and the ground is ahead of you.
Ian adds, The Central Trains service from Crewe to Stoke is a rail replacement bus on Sunday. Anyone going that way is probably best checking with Crewe Station in advance. There is a rail replacement bus also on the route from Wolverhampton-Stafford-Stoke according to National Rail but no sign of any engineering work affecting services between Manchester and Stoke. Routes from further South that avoid Stafford appear OK apart from any local problems (eg Euston appears to be shut and buses operating to Milton Keynes then train to Stoke). A lot of this info has come directly from the website. In short, please check before travelling.
Stoke City have advised the club that the bus shuttle from Stoke centre/station to the Britannia Stadium will not operate on Sunday. It is only used when the gate is expected to exceed 5,000.
Though provided in good faith, no responsibility can be taken for the accuracy of any of the above information regarding the match or travel arrangements