The Brentford stadium, which is now called the Gtech Community Stadium, was a long time in the making. After having played at Griffin Park since 1904, the Bees made the switch in 2020 after executing a plan that had been in development since 2002. The ground has four distinct stands – South, North, West, and East.
The premium seats, dugouts, and media seats are available on the south stand. The family area is located in the North stand, while the hard-core supporters can be seen in the West stand. The away end is found in the East Stand.
Visiting supporters are housed in the East Stand, which has a perfect, unrestricted view of the action which is hardly a surprise given the age of the stadium. Typical football food is on offer on the concourse while alcohol is served before the match and at half time.
Away fans have to access the ground via the railway bridge from Capital Interchange Way to the East Stand.
Gtech Community Stadium seating plan:
If as expected, you arrive at Kew Bridge station, there are a number of pubs in the local vicinity including Tap on the Line, The Botanist and the Coach and Horses. All within a short walking distance.
Also a short walk from the stadium is The Pilot. Lovely little find serving hot food and a good selection of drinks.
There is no street parking around the stadium on match days and although there are a number of 'football car parks' nearby, these can be pricey and do get filled up pretty quickly.
Need cheap and convenient parking near the stadium? Rent a local resident's driveway and book Gtech Community Stadium parking with YourParkingSpace.Co.Uk
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Taking the train or the metro is a convenient option to reach the stadium, as it is only 100 meters from Kew Bridge Station. Kew Bridges has Saturday trains every 15 minutes, with around four per hour on a Sunday. For weekday games they also serve the station every 15 minutes until 10pm, where it goes to 30 minutes until the last train.
Brentford station is the nearest for step-free access, with Chiswick station a 30-minute walk away.
Rivals - QPR, Fulham
Travel: Despite recent the recent strikes of railway personnel, I had a relatively trouble-free journey: train from home to Leeds, change at Leeds, break the journey at King's Cross, then tube to Vauxhall and train to Kew Bridge. The ground is spitting distance from the latter.
Refreshments: Not trusting the railways, I arrived in London just after 9 a.m., so took the opportunity to enjoy a bit of culture at the British Museum, before heading for Brentford at about 11.30. The closest pub to Kew Bridge Station is the Express Tavern, but this was already getting busy and the billowing smoke from some sort of cooking was pretty off-putting, so headed for the more civilized 'One Over the Ait', overlooking the waterfront, for burger & chips and a couple of pints. Just time for a quick visit to the so-called Brentford Superstore. £4 for a programme seemed over-priced, but this was nothing compared to the £6 club badge that was little more than a glorified drawing pin.
Impressions: The ground is shoe-horned in between what appear to be high rise apartments, but is quite attractive, externally, as new grounds go. Fans mingled freely outside, but away supporters have dedicated turnstiles on Capital Interchange Way. At the time of posting this review it is quite interesting to compare images of the ground's surroundings on Google Streetview to the area now occupied by the GTech Stadium. Once inside, the concourse is reasonably spacious for a small ground, seating and safe standing areas are good, and sight lines are excellent. The quirky rooflines were presumably determined by planning restriction requirements.
Atmosphere: A great game if you were a Brentford fan; less so for Leeds as we lost 5-2. This was due in no small part to inconsistent refereeing and the poor interpretation of VAR (or absence of use, in the case of what was a clear Leeds penalty), some shambolic defending by Leeds, and a great performance by Ivan Toney, who bagged himself a hattrick.
Exit: Relatively straight forward, picking up a train from Kew Bridge, although having to change at Euston rather than Vauxhall as it didn't stop there. Tube to King's Cross then train home.
Enjoy: Positives: Good journey, nice ground, friendly atmosphere. Negatives: The result, and over-priced merchandise
Ground Name: Gtech Community Stadium
Capacity: 17,250 (all seated)
Address: Brentford Community Stadium, Lionel Road, London
Main Tel No.: 0333 005 8521
Team Nickname: The Bees
Year Ground Opened: 2020
Site: www.brentfordfc.co.uk
Online Shop: Brentford FC Photos
