Leicester City – Walkers Stadium
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The Walkers Stadium is all-seater, with a capacity of 32,500. Constructed in 2002, with a build cost of £35 million, the new stadium replaced Leicester’s former Filbert Street home. It is completely enclosed with all corners being filled with seating.
The sides are of a good size, built in the same style and height. Running around three sides, just below the roof, is a transparent perspex strip, which allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. On the remaining side is a row of executive boxes.
Completely encircling the stadium and hanging from the roof itself is a collage of player images, along with adverts for the sponsors. There are also electric scoreboards at both ends of the ground.
How to get to the Walkers Stadium
By Road:
The Walkers Stadium is located in Filbert Way, Leicester LE2 7FL.
Drivers from both North and South should exit the M1 at junction 21, taking the A5460 towards Leicester. On passing under the railway bridge, turn right at the lights (about 200 yards) into Upperton Road (signed “Royal Infirmary”), then right again into Filbert Street. The Walkers Stadium can be seen to the rear of the old Filbert Street ground.
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By Rail:
The train station in the city centre is a comfortable 20-minute walk to the ground. On exiting the station, cross the road and turn left. Follow the road round to the right with the Central ring Road on the left. Keep this to your left as the pavement becomes a separate path and the road sinks down into a dip down to your left. A quick left and right to stay on the pathway as it crosses New Walk and you go down the left hand side of New Walk Museum.
The pathway rejoins the main road as pavement again and you see a small recreation ground (Nelson Mandela Park) on the right. Turn right into Lancaster Road and cross the park to the crossings over the main road by the public toilets. Head for the Victory pub opposite (not recommended for away fans), turning left across the front of the Leicester Royal infirmary. Take the first right into Walnut Street the stadium is visible behind the old Filbert Street ground. Click here to check the current train timetables
By Air:
The nearest airport is East Midlands, some 17 miles away. The “Leicester SkyLink” bus service offers regular connections to Leicester city centre. Click here to check the current flight times
Where to Park?
There is plenty of on-street parking available in the Upperton Road area, which is a 15-minute walk from the ground. Alternatively, Leicester Rugby Club, a 10-minute walk from the stadium, offers reasonably-priced parking.
Away Friendly Pubs near the Walkers Stadium
The majority of pubs near the ground are “home fans only.” Visiting fans are strongly advised to avoid the half Time Orange, the Victory and F Bar pubs. The Counting House, on Freemens Common Road, has received favourable reports, but excludes away fans for high-profile matches.
The Leicester Gateway, on Gateway Street, near the hospital (about 15 minutes from the ground), reportedly offers a good mix of home and away fans. It offers a wide selection of beers and good value food. The Hind, opposite the railway station is also recommended.
Hotels near the Walkers Stadium
The Express By Holiday Inn Leicester Walker Stadium, Raw Dykes Road, Filbert Way, Leicester, LE2 7FQ is located adjacent to the ground. This modern, fully equipped hotel, which opened in late 2004, is just minutes from the city centre and the M1 and M69 motorways. All rooms are air-conditioned, offering satellite TV, 
high-speed Internet access and direct-dial telephone. Free on-site parking is available.
The 3-star Ramada Leicester, 73 Granby St, Leicester, LE1 6ES is a centrally-located hotel, within a grade II listed building. All rooms have an en suite bathroom and a variety of modern facilities. Guest reviews indicate a clean, well-decorated hotel with pleasant efficient staff.
What have other Away Fans said about their trip to the Walkers Stadium?
Most visiting fans have commented that the Walkers Stadium is bland-looking and lacking in character. However, there have been few complaints about the atmosphere within the ground, with excellent acoustics and home fans singing on both sides of the away section.
The atmosphere is boosted by a huge bare-chested drummer, located at the back of the home section. Though seating is some distance from the pitch, views of play from the away are reported as excellent. There have been few complaints over catering, with a good range of quality food available. Stewarding is also reported as efficient, yet unobtrusive. One or two fans have questioned the design of the gent’s toilets, where a zigzag entrance slows down “traffic” flow, especially at half-time.
We parked in Leicester Rugby Club car park for about £5 and then walked the 10 minutes or so to the ground.
The Walkers stadium looks really impressive from the outside, and once inside, you really get a feel for the sheer size of it. However, you also get the feel of it being an “identikit” stadium not unlike many other new stadiums currently springing up over the country.
I found the stewards to be incredibly friendly and helpful – as the away allocation had not sold out, we were told “ignore your tickets, sit anywhere you like” as we went in – Worlds apart from the allocated seating Hitlers you get a some grounds.
I was disappointed with the lack of atmosphere created by the home fans. “Welcome to the Leicester Library” came the chant from the away fans. No response at all from the home fans.
we parked up in a residential area on the western outskirts of city and took a bus along Hinckley Road into the Braunstone Gate area of Leicester. We had no problems getting a drink in that area at its various bars, including the Black Horse – which served a good range of beers (although we weren’t in colours our accents were a slight give away). The bonus was that this area was a short walk along the River Soar from the ground (certainly nearer than the city centre). There was a good atmosphere in the ground, led by the 3,250 away supporters in the corner and a small section of home fans to our left, who were being led by a large fella with tatooos and a drum (it’s good to see that it’s not just Newcastle that have this type of follower!) The large away following stood throughout the game and we were never asked to take our seats by the stewards – the stand did seem to move quite alot under the weight of the pogo-ing fans but I guess this is a design feature of this otherwise featureless, but functional stadium! My only complaint was the time it took to get out of the stadium at the end of the game – you are a long way from the exit if your seat is at the top of the stand (I’m just glad we didn’t have to get out in an emergency!)