Twerton Park

Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C. since 1932. From 1986 to 1996 Bristol Rovers played at the ground following their departure from Eastville. From 2020 the ground also became the home stadium for Bristol City Women.

The stadium has four stands; the Bath End, the Main Stand, The Popular Side, and the Bristol End. The record attendance of 18,020 was set at a match with Bath versus Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup third round in 1960. The stadium is 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the city centre. The two bars within the stadium are named after former players: Charlies' (Charlie Fleming), and Randall's (Paul Randall). Twerton Park underwent several expansions in the 1980s, including the addition of the family stand, West of The Grandstand. Future expansion is likely to involve the complete redevelopment of The Grandstand and the surrounding car park.

History

The ground was opened on 26 June 1909 as Innox Park on land that had been donated by Thomas Carr. The opening ceremony involved a parade of scholars, the singing of hymns and a speech by the chairman of the parish council. Innox Park was named the Cities fourth recreation ground. The declaration was declared by Mr Hope, who stated; it was not usual that such a duty fell on the shoulders of a working man, but it was fitting that he should be expected to do so on behalf of the working and industrial community within the city.

Twerton Park became Bath City's ground in 1932. After Bath moved from the East Side of the city in Lambridge, Having previously played in Twerton at the Belvoir Castle Ground for nineteen years from 1900 to 1919, the community put out flags and bunting the length of the High Street to "celebrate the return of football to the area." The first game was played against Bristol Rovers Reserves in the Southern League on the 27 August 1932, in which Bath won 2–0. Roofing was added to The Popular Side in 1935, with the chairman, Mortimer believing it was a necessity to provide supporters with shelter during bad weather. Aldershot had a "very fine stand" and the price of it was one which appealed to the club's management team, A stand similar to that of Aldershot's would be erected though about half the size. On 23 April 1937 11,000 spectators watched the Coronation Cup final between Arsenal and Portsmouth, with Arsenal winning the match 2–0. 500 cars were said to be parked within the car park just outside of the ground. The mayor at the time stated that "there are no more welcome visitors to the city of Bath than the teams of Portsmouth and Arsenal."

In the summer of 1946 the stadium was in discussion to be converted to an arena for Greyhound racing, with the Bath Chronicle reporting that "they might be forced to sell unless greater support was shown." Chairman at the time Mr Arthur Mortimer stated that he was “against dog racing, though there may be no alternative." That year, the stadium was in plans for redevelopment. Mortimer stated that he desired to provide Bath with a stadium equal to, if not superior to any in the west of England. With the stadium in heavy discussion for expansion, to a capacity of 40,000, in aim to become; "a stadium worthy of the city". It was planned first to move the playing field a few yards to the west to enable a bank at the Bath End, and to extend the Popular Side, with the addition of further concrete terracing. The dressing room and facilities within the stadium were also being discussed for improvement.

The greyhound racing proposal was later rejected in August 1946 as it had recently been decided that no dog racing was allowed for any league club, the management committee felt their efforts towards gaining entry into the English Football League would be vetoed. The chairman stated: "We feel that our geographical position alone entitles us to a higher place in the sun, with Bath and the surrounding districts, we can call upon 100,000 to support league football in the town.

Attendances on average during the 1940s and 1950s were some of the highest recorded in the club's history. Notable large home attendances during this period included; 17,000 in 1944 vs Aston Villa 14,000 vs Southend United in the 1952–53 season and 11,700 at Twerton Park against rivals Yeovil Town in 1957. The record attendance of 18,020 was recorded in 1960 versus Brighton & Hove Albion.

Between 1986 and 1996, Bath City shared the stadium with Bristol Rovers, who were a Football League club. In 1990 the Grandstand was heavily damaged by Bristol City Hooligans, seven of, were later convicted of arson. The cost to rebuild the Main Stand was £800,000 Rovers notably played Liverpool in the FA cup on 5 February 1992. The ground has also hosted Team Bath, who were a full-time professional team playing in the Conference South until their resignation at the end of the 2008–09 season.

At the end of the 2011–12 season the club offered the naming rights to Twerton Park for just £50. The offer drew 167 entries from as far afield as the US, Australia, Norway and Singapore which raised £8,350 for the club. Businesses made up 58 of the entries with only a handful of the remaining personalised entries being deemed unsuitable. The winning entry drawn at random was The Mayday Trust, a charitable organisation that helps to rehome vulnerable people. In 2021, City fan, Ken Loach gave an interview with The Athletic; stating: "I made my debut for Bath in the late 1980s period and the first thing that strikes me now is that the stadium looks barely any different.”

Talks have been held in the past between Bath Rugby and Bath City about sharing a ground, as the former team wish to move away from their home ground Recreation Ground, although nothing has amounted from this. Following the resignation of Chairman Manda Rigby, she claimed that the club needed to move away from Twerton Park to "sustain their finances".

Structures and facilities

Up until the late 1980s, the ground had a capacity of 20,000. Though currently, Twerton Park has a recently reduced capacity of 3,528, 1,006 of which are seated. However the physical capacity is around 8,884. The stadium has four main stands:

The Grandstand

Located to the north which encompasses the majority of the seating. The Grandstand is the oldest of the four stands. It has a raised covered seating area, which means that spectators have to climb a small set of stairs to enter it. It has a steeply angled roof which points sharply downwards, with windshields to each side and a number of supporting pillars across the front. Below is a small uncovered terrace area which can house 100-200 fans at full capacity. Blue seats line the majority of the stand though premium black seats are located down the middle. It is single tiered. As the ground's main stand, it houses many of the ground's more established facilities, including Randall’s bar, and the two sets of dressing rooms. In 1990 the Grandstand was heavily damaged by Bristol City Hooligans, as a result the Stand required refurbishment, which cost £800,000 Entrance to all stands within the stadium in controlled by traditional turnstiles directly outside of the Grandstand on either end. The club's official bar is just outside of the grandstand next to the main car park. It was named "Charlies" in honour of Bath's record goal scorer Charlie Fleming.

The Bath End

Located to the east of the ground, the smallest of the four stands. The stand contains no roofing, and the terracing is shallow, stretching 4-5 rows deep. Wooden fencing lines the back of the stand. The Bath End is all standing, and can hold around 300-400 fans at full physical capacity. The Terrace contains netting behind it in an attempt to loose stop balls being kicked out of the ground.

The Popular Side

Located opposite the Grandstand, the terrace runs the length of the pitch and is covered by metal roofing and is all standing. The majority of the clubs most vocal support can be heard here. Originally the terrace was designed to hold around 6,000fans, though the stand has been brought forward significantly and thus it's overall capacity reduced, as referenced by Ken Loach in an interview The Athletic: "That one over there, you can see how far they’ve brought the ground forward because that’s virtually in someone’s garden,” he adds, pointing out something that I’d somehow failed to notice despite coming here hundreds of times over the years. “When that floodlight was put up, it was within the ground.” So, too, was the strip of land that is now occupied by houses behind the Popular side, where a long covered terrace stretches the length of the pitch and plays games with your eyes because of the slope on the playing surface." On 2 August 2022 the club announced the opening of a bar on The Popular Side.

The Bristol End

Located to the west, an open, all standing, terrace which is the designated away end when segregation is put in place, significantly larger than the Bath End at the opposing goal with an official capacity of 1,450, the terracing goes deeper and higher than both the Bath End and The Popular Side, being 26 steps high. The Bristol End is lined with two sets of metal barriers running parallel to the stand, the lower barrier being placed on the 10th step from the pitch height, and the upper barrier placed on the 18th. The barriers are more commonly used for fans to lean on during matches, but when at max capacity, they act as protection against a ‘human push or crush.’

Redevelopment

Twerton Park is currently being prepared for redevelopment. Initially, the club was in discussions with private investment company Greenacre Capital who wished to build purpose built student accommodation on the adjoining land. The agreement was for Bath City to give up part of their land to Greenacre, in exchange for the latter to build the club a new grandstand and facilities, which would include affordable housing, a sports bar, gym, offices and community space. The club also planned to convert the playing surface to a third-generation (3G) synthetic surface.

Although over 800 people backed the new proposals, councillors of Bath and North East Somerset Council voiced concerns about living conditions - with some rooms compared to "prison cells" - and the impact of so many students in a residential area. Other council members shared concerns about the student accommodation raised by planning officers, stating the scale of the seven-storey block was “excessive, visually intrusive and over-dominant”. They further added; “due to the poor outlook, quantity and quality of amenity spaces, room sizes and layouts”, would create a poor quality and “oppressive living environment” for future occupiers of the accommodation. Twerton councillor Sarah Moore had objected to the plans, saying she considered them to be “overdevelopment with insufficient space to provide adequate housing facilities for the numbers and types of properties proposed”.

In March 2020, these plans were rejected. The club issued the following statement: “We have worked closely with Bath and North East Somerset Council throughout this process and have sought the advice and guidance of council officers in an attempt to propose a scheme which would protect the future of Bath City FC, help us to pay off our debts, bring benefits to the local community and see much-needed investment in Twerton High Street. Along with our partners, Greenacre Capital, we have proposed a project that would have dramatically enhanced the prospects of Twerton, introduced new affordable housing to the area and, in fact, delivered Purpose Built Student accommodation clearly in line with the Council’s own strategy. In addition it would have ensured the city had a high grade football club and stadium for current and future generations. Despite a groundswell of support, with large numbers of positive comments on the planning portal from the Bath community, Bath and North East Somerset Council has decided not to approve this once-in-a-generation opportunity for Twerton. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to bring this application before the council and to everyone who has thrown their enthusiastic support behind it. Fans, players and staff can all rest assured that we will continue to act in the best interests of the Club and that there will be no drastic short-term changes although our focus will now be to Bath City FC to consider all options for its future.”

In December 2020 the club announced that they would not appeal the decision but were working with Greenacre, the council and other partners to create a scaled down version of the original plan.

References

Twerton Park Redevelopment

External links

Bath City FC WebsiteTwerton Community Site

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Sports venues completed in 1909
Football venues in England
Sports venues in Bath, Somerset
Bath City F.C.
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Multi-purpose stadiums in the United Kingdom
1909 establishments in England
English Football League venues
Bristol City W.F.C.
Women's Super League venues