Whaddon Road

Whaddon Road
Whaddon Road
Full name	Whaddon Stadium
Capacity	7,066
Field size	111 x 72 yards
Construction
Built	1927
Opened	1927
Tenants
	Cheltenham Town(1932–present); Gloucester City(2010–2017)

Whaddon Road,known as theEV Charger Points Stadiumfor sponsorship reasons, is afootballstadium inCheltenham,England.It is the home ground ofCheltenham Town F.C.It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing. The ground's official name was theVictory Sports Ground^[1]until April 2009 when it was renamed theAbbey Business Stadiumthrough a sponsorship deal.^[2]It was announced on 13 July 2015 that the club had agreed a three-year deal to rename the stadiumThe World of Smile Stadium,^[3]but the deal ended after only one year and the stadium was renamedLCI Rail Stadiumin 2016–17, before being namedJonny-Rocks Stadiumin 2018–19, andCompletely-Suzuki Stadiumin 2022.

History

The stadium, on the site of what was the Berkeley Hunt kennels, was built by the Cheltenham Original Brewery in 1927 and has been the home ofCheltenham Townsince 1932, although it did not hostseniorfootball for 67 years. Cheltenham marked their 70th anniversary at the stadium by winning promotion to theFootball League Second Division,the third tier of English football, for the first time.

The record attendance is 8,326, at a game versusReading,FA Cup1st Round, 17 November 1956. Whaddon Road was the smallestLeague Onestadium in the2007–08and2008–09 season.

Stands

Hazlewoods Stand (then the Carlsberg Stand) and Colin Farmer Stand (then the In2Print Stand), in 2011

The ground is made up of 4 stands:

Hazlewoods Stand(Whaddon Road) – capacity approx 1,100. An all-seated stand behind one of the goals, initially named the Carlsberg Stand, it was opened in 2005 and is designated for away fans. For the 2009–10 season it was given to home supporters, but after one season it was returned to away fans.
Colin Farmer Stand(Wymans Road) – capacity approx 2,000. An all-seated stand that runs down one side of the pitch. The stand was opened in November 2001 and is home to the vocal "1887 Red Army" supporters, who are situated in block 1. For big games, two sections of the stand are given to away supporters. It was renamed theColin Farmer Standat the beginning of the 2016–17 season, in memory of Colin Farmer, a former director of the club for many years.
Optimising IT Stand(Prestbury Road End) – capacity approx 2,000. Given a roof in 2000–01, this is now a covered terrace and is the home standing end.
Autovillage Stand(Main Stand) – capacity approx 1,600. Built in 1963, it is a mixture of terracing (Tunnel and Paddock enclosures) at the front and seating at the back. The Main Stand runs down one side of the pitch, but is unusual in that it does not stretch the full length of the touchline and does not reach either corner flag. It contains the players dressing rooms, and hospitality, directors' and press boxes. The Family Section is located in Block C of this stand.