Then once you've got to the town centre, you're still a couple of miles from Huish Park. The big day did not arrive though, as on 2 January 1971 the game was postponed because there was a blanket of snow four inches deep on the pitch. Plenty of drinks, a cracking menu and a good laugh is almost guaranteed here. This is where the noisiest Yeovil fans tend to go. In order to use the live chat functionality you need to opt into live chat cookies. When the road was eventually built only one very small area of land, at the Queen Street end, was lost. [5] On 21 March 1989, the club finally got planning permission for an out-of-town stadium, on land previously used by the Houndstone Army Camp, and just over a year later, a home match against Telford United on 5 May 1990 marked the end of seventy years of football at Huish. [2] Over 35,000 applications for tickets were received but the ground could only hold half that number. All of the usual places to buy food and drink exist behind the scenes, and the views are generally reasonably good from inside the ground. Plus the sport on TVs, of course. From London take the M3 then the A303 then the A3088 as above, whilst from the South take the A30 until you see the signs. Over the next five years the top bank of clinkers, earth and railway sleepers was removed and a concrete terrace was installed. For a statistical breakdown by season, see List of Yeovil Town F.C. [5], An extensive ground improvement scheme was then begun in 1949. A small number of seats are allocated to away fans in the Cowlin Stand, which is covered. The knocked Sunderland out of the Fourth Round of the competition in 1949 earning themselves a game against Manchester United in the process. Before the next round home tie against Bristol Rovers, additional terracing was added at the Bruttons End and toilets were installed. 1 The Park, Yeovil, BA20 1DY (01935 471 046). With the latter you get a car parking space, a two course carvery meal, access to a pay bar and you’re able to hang around in the Legends Lounge. [2] The site is now occupied by the car park of a Tesco Extra hypermarket. There is plenty of seating outside, which is very pleasant in good weather. Negotiations continued before the First World War for a move to this more central location in the town, with the club at the time playing at a ground adjacent to Pen Mill station. [5], Greyhound racing took place around the pitch as early as 12 May 1928. A total of 17,123 spectators crammed into Huish, the largest attendance at the ground. to 30s for the stand. The new 2,000 seater Main Stand was finally completed just in time for an FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace, on 7 December 1963, when the Social Club was opened. Car - From the Midlands and North you’ll want the M5 to Junction 25 then the A358 to the A303 before the A3088. You get truly personalised service, though, with free parking and a free cooked-to-order breakfast. The view is unobstructed but remember it's open to the English weather when you choose your attire in the morning! It was the second home ground of Yeovil Town Football Club, after the Pen Mill Athletic Ground which they left in 1920, until the club's departure for Huish Park in 1990. [5] In 1954 a wall was built in front of the North Terrace and floodlights were installed at the ground. There is a car park at the ground that charges £3 per car. As things currently stand these plans have dropped off the agenda as far as the club is concerned. In March 2011 a plan was announced to build a brand new stand to replace the away section of the ground, with the training pitches developed into a retail outlet. Impressions: As new stadiums go, it wasn't bad. I even put my debit card on the 'reader' and he stared at me. The club had earmarked the site of an old army camp as the place they wanted their new stadium to be built. The Bell, on Preston Road, near the town centre, is a very large pub which serves excellent food. Well impressed with Doncaster and their fans too. You'll be unlucky to have more than a 5-10 minute walk in. Admission charges were raised from 4s 6d to 15s for the terraces and from 6s 6d. Yeovil Town v Luton Town - Roger Cornfoot [. By the first week in May building work was under way, and at the start of the 1963–64 season the dressing rooms had been completed and the stand was open but the rest of the facilities were still under construction. Yeovil is down towards the bottom of the country, so if you’re heading there from the North then you’ve got a long journey on your hands! England Under-18s, Under16s and Schools teams have all played at the Huish Park site since 1991. By Train The nearest / closest train stations to Yeovil Town's Huish Park Stadium are Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction, both of which are some way from the town centre, and neither are in the same direction as Huish Park. Enjoy: Yes, loved it. In the end the deal went through and the club moved to their new stadium in Houndstone in time for a friendly against Newcastle United on the 4th of August 1990. [5] The ground's most famous moment came on 29 January 1949, when Huish hosted Yeovil's greatest giant-killing as the then Southern League upset 'Bank of England' side Sunderland in the fourth round of the FA Cup. A substantial amount of money was loaned to the club at a nominal rate of interest for the period that football was played at Huish to fund the purchase, and fans were asked to play their part in wiping off the balance. The final game of that season at Huish saw Yeovil draw 2–2 against Hastings United to win their first Southern League Championship. Despite never having won it, Yeovil made something of a name for themselves as ‘Giant Killers’ in the FA Cup. Huish Park opened in 1990 as a replacement for Yeovil Town’s previous home, Huish Athletic Ground. At one end is the covered Blackthorn Terrace, whilst at the other end is the Copse Road terrace which is open to the elements. It doesn't have a museum though, sorry about that. [3], Anglo Italian Semi Professional Tournament, List of defunct English football stadiums, "English Football Is All Down Hill From Here", "Recounting Yeovil's historic FA Cup giant killing", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Huish_Athletic_Ground&oldid=916561560, Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom, Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 September 2019, at 14:15.