AFC Bournemouth – Fitness First Stadium (Dean Court)
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The Fitness First Stadium, home ground of AFC Bournemouth is an all-seater venue, with a capacity of 10,700.
Despite the club’s lucrative stadium sponsorship deal with Fitness First, it is still (and will always be) known by many fans as Dean Court.
The home of AFC Bournemouth since 1910, it was completely rebuilt in 2001, with the pitch being rotated 90 degrees from its original position. It comprises 3, covered, single tier stands, with windshields on both sides. There is an unused, open area at the South end of the ground.
How to get to the Fitness First Stadium
By Road:
The Fitness First Stadium is located in King’s Park, Bournemouth, Dorset BH7 7AF.
Drivers arriving from the North should follow the M6, exiting onto the M42 towards London, Warwick and Solihull, exiting at junction 3a onto the M40. Leave the M40 at junction 9, taking the A31 / A34 exit. At the Wendlebury Interchange, take the 3rd exit onto the A34 towards Oxford / Newbury. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto the M3. Follow the M27 and A31, exiting onto the A338 towards Bournemouth. Take the exit towards Boscombe, taking the 2nd exit at the roundabout, into King’s Park Drive. The ground is on the left.
From the South East, follow the A27, M27 and A31, exiting onto the A338 towards Bournemouth at the Ashley Heath roundabout. Having gone over the flyover, take the next slip road on the left and go straight across the mini-roundabout King’s Park.
From the South West, follow the A35 to the A338. On the A338 take the slip road to the Springbourne Roundabout signposted King’s Park. Take the 3rd exit off the roundabout. Turn left at the fire station onto Holdenhurst Road. Keep left and go straight on at the traffic lights (the Queen’s Park Pub is on the right). Go around the small roundabout and into King’s Park.
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By Rail:
Pokesdown, served by trains from London Waterloo, is the nearest station. It is about a mile and a 15-minute walk from the ground. On exiting the station, turn right onto Christchurch road. After about 450 yards, turn right into Gloucester Road. The Fitness First Stadium at is the bottom of this road.
Bournemouth Central station is a good ½ hour walk from the ground, but rail connections are available to Pokesdown. Otherwise, leave the station by the South exit and turn left. Yellow Bus no. 33 runs to King’s Park Drive from the stop near the service station. Use service no. 2 for the return trip. Click here to check the current train timetables
By Air:
The nearest airport is Bournemouth, at a distance of just over 3 miles. Click here to check the current flight times
Taxis
There are several taxi companies in Bournemouth that can take you to and from Dean Court. You can always prebook a private hire taxi, or hail a black cab on any highway.
Calling all Bournemouth Taxi Companies – Why not advertise your company here?.
Where to Park?
There is a large car park located at the ground. However, visiting fans recommend that those seeking a quick getaway after the match park in the council run car park on the opposite side of the dual carriageway.
Away Friendly Pubs near the Fitness First Stadium
The main pub for away supporters is the Queens Park, which is situated by the Wessex Way dual carriageway. The pub is popular with both home and away fans and serves Ringwood real ale. On my visits it has been relaxed, with home fans tending to congregate in the bar and the away fans in the lounge. To find this pub, simply walk away from the ground, on the road going from the main entrance to the stadium. At the end of the road turn left and the pub is a little way up on the left.
Hotels near the Fitness First Stadium
The Village Hotel Bournemouth, Wessex Fields, Deansleigh Rd, Bournemouth, BH7 7DZ opened in December 2005 and is easily accessible from the main routes into the centre of Bournemouth. As well as comfortable rooms, the hotel offers fantastic leisure facilities with heated indoor pool, sauna, steam room and whirlpool spa. Guest reviews suggest that it is ideally located (within a mile of the Fitness First Stadium), offering excellent service from helpful staff.
The Roundhouse, 1 Meyrick Road, Lansdowne, Bournemouth, BH1 2PR is easily accessible by road, close to the central rail and bus stations and only 1½ miles from the ground. Guest reviews note excellent value for money, good food and helpful staff.
Click here to see all hotels near Dean Court
What have other Away Fans said about their trip?
Most visiting fans report a good atmosphere in the East Stand, which is shared with home supporters, though this is not helped by the open, unused South end. Seating is reportedly a little cramped, but the views of the playing action are good. Facilities are reportedly okay, with respectable toilets and a wide concourse, allowing plenty of room for queuing. Stewards are reported friendly and unobtrusive.
Nice ground, bit awkward to get to with traffic building up even a few hours before kick off, nice bar for away fans but an expensive pint, the Queens park pub had signs outside saying ‘Home fans’ only so the comment above isnt true.
Visited in the 2010/11 season.
We arrived a good 3 hours before kickoff, so decided to park up in the car park next to the ground (BIG mistake.. more on that later) and head out to get some food and a few pints inside us. A friendly steward directed us to The Dolphin pub on the main road about a 10 minute walk from the ground (we walked past the Queens Park pub, and can confirm that it is indeed sadly now “Home fans only”)
The Dolphin wasn’t a bad pub – They had decent food and the drink wasn’t that badly priced. Home and away fans were able to mix (there was even a Brighton fan who’d stopped off on his way to a BHA home game) without any hint of trouble. They were showing the lunchtime kickoff game on the big screen too, so if you’re a Plastic Premiership fan, you can still get your fix before watching a real football match.
We took our seats in the stadium with about 10 minutes to go – view of play was excellent (away fans are situated along one side of the pitch.. we were in line with the edge of the penalty area), and there’s a scoreboard for those of you who can’t count (it might have been needed for our game though.. we lost 3-0, and our keeper got man of the match.. it honestly could have been 7 or 8).
So having been well and truly hammered, we return to our car in the car park to find we’ve been given a parking ticket. Turns out that the wasteground car park is actually a pay and display car park – Quite where they’d hidden the pay machines or signs warning you it was a P&D carpark I’m not sure, as the carpark was pretty empty when we arrived, and we couldn’t see any – We weren’t the only ones to have been caught out either.. I spoke to at least 10 other drivers who got stung too.
Of course, you then need to get out of said car park. Which is achieved by a process of “free-for-all” driving across the wasteland to the exit that is big enough for one car, which leads onto a one-track road. A road that has traffic lights at the end of it that let two cars through every minute. End result – we finally got out of the car park nearly TWO HOURS after the final whistle. It took us less time to drive all the way home!
Not a bad away day – the Bournemouth fans are a good crowd and the stadium itself is ok. But whatever you do – DON’T park in the car park next to the ground.