Shrewsbury Town's New Meadow

Our first ever visit to the New Meadow saw a complete contrast to Gay Meadow. A brand new stadium with modern facilities but also a lack of character and atmosphere, not helped by a 5/10 minute walk to get anywhere worth going.

Getting to the ground was fairly easy, although if you're not willing to pay £7 to park at the ground then it might take a while to find somewhere. Then it's a long way to the ground and due to there only being one entrance in the huge metal fence, it can turn into an extremely long walk indeed.

THE WEST STAND

As for the ground itself. It's a fairly nice ground that offers a great view of the action and it has a different feel to most modern stadiums. In this one you're not too far from the pitch, can create a fairly decent atmosphere if you want and generally enjoy your day out. Also, one thing I find excellent is that disabled fans are given a platform at the top of the stadium, meaning that they don't get bad views just because they're disabled, something you get at the majority of other games.

The away end and the stand behind the other goal are identical, and virtually the same as the behind-stand goals at Mansfield. The other two stands were also seemingly identical, with only the East stand's difference from the West being the executive boxes.

SOUTH STAND

Due to a small pitch that view at the other end was excellent and this made for a good game. I also was allowed into the home end to grab some of the pictures you can see on your right, and that stand also offered quite a decent view of the action. Well I say I was allowed, I just walked into it from the away end and not one of the stewards tried to stop me.

It's a pity that atmosphere from Gay Meadow hasn't come over to New Meadow as singing from the home fans was few and far between, something you're always bound to get in a new ground. Other than "You're Shit and you know you are" or "Salop, Salop, Salop" every fewe minutes, there was virtually no singing coming from the Shrewsbury fans, even when they weren't losing.

THE AWAY END - THE NORTH STAND

Overall the New Meadow isn't actually that bad, in many ways it's better than Gay Meadow but in some others it's worse. However, I would recommend this to all fans who are considering visiting this stadium. The view from the away end is half decent and the facilities are generally good. Shrewsbury is safe enough to visit as most of their fans are sensible enough.

My one serious recommendation though is to get there early, otherwise finding a parking space might prove a little bit tricky. Your best bet is to head to the pub next to the roundabout, parking for £5 and relatively quick to get out. The pub itself is also fairly decent and sells decent food. You can park at the ground if either disabled or have a permit, otherwise it's the pub parking.

ROLAND WYCHERLY STAND

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