Clarence Park: St Albans City

From St Albans FC

Clarence Park is a Victorian era park, in which a football stadium is located. It is still mostly in its original form, with plenty of different trees and planting located within the actual park. The sports ground is not just the home of St Albans City, also being where the likes of cricket, bowls, croquet and hockey takes place. The first football match took place at the park on the 22nd of September 1894. The fact that it is part of the overall park has been troublesome for St Albans City in the past, such as in 1993 when the club finished as the runners-up in the Isthmian League but couldn’t be promoted because a diseased oak tree was growing in one of the terraces.

St Albans Football Club was formed in 1894 and then disbanded five years later. At that point, St Albans Amateur Football Club came into being, also lasting five years before ending in 1904. There was then a break of four years before St Albans City Football Club was created in 1908, immediately becoming members of the Spartan League Eastern Division and the Herts County League Western Division. The club has spent most of its existence in the lower leagues of the English Football League pyramid, enjoying sporadic success over the years. Most of the club’s major successes have come in the more recent years.

Stats

Clarence Park Photos

St Albans FC Replica Kit

St Albans FC Crest

Clarence Park Stadium from Above

The Terraces at Clarence Park

Clarence Park Seating Plan and Where to Sit

The majority of games are not segregated, with only some cup matches requiring segregation. The actual stands within the ground are named after where you’ll find them geographically, with the North and South Stands located behind the two goals. The East Stand runs along one side of the pitch and is partially covered, whilst the West Stand is opposite it and is a standing terrace.

St Albans FC Ticket Prices

If you’re wondering how much tickets cost for St Alban’s City matches, the answer will depend on your age and your personal circumstances. Here is a look at the ticket prices as they were for the 2023-2024 campaign, to give you some sense of what you’re likely to have to pay:

• Adult: £16.50
• Concession: £11
• Next-Gen (18-23): £8
• Youth (12-17): £6
• Child (0-11): Free

You can also get a family ticket, which includes two Adult and 2 Youth tickets for £33, or one Adult and one Youth tickets for £18.

How To Get St Albans FC Tickets

For anyone hoping to go and see a St Alban’s City match in person, the best place to go is to the club’s official website. Though the layout is a little tricky to understand, you’ll be able to buy tickets for games on there. If you’re a bit of a technophobe then you can also get tickets on the turnstiles.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To Clarence Park

Train – St Albans City Station is the closest train station and is served by trains from St Pancras. It is located between five and ten minutes’ walk from the stadium, depending on your walking pace.

Bus – Clarence Park is well-served by buses, with numbers 34, 230, 301, 302, 304, 305, 601, 602 and 653 all stopping relatively close to the park itself. Obviously none can get particularly close to the football ground.

Car – If you’re planning on driving to Clarence Park then you’ll want to take the M1, leaving it at Junction 7 in order to get onto the M10 towards St Albans itself. When the motorway ends, get onto the A1081, following signs to St Albans City Railway Station once you see them. From there, you’ll almost certainly be able to follow signs for Clarence Park.

By Air – London Luton Airport is less then ten miles from St Albans, so if you’re looking to fly in for a St Albans City match then that will be the best one to look out for.

Taxi – A taxi from the train station to the ground will likely cost in the region of about £5, depending on how heavy the traffic is.

Parking Near Clarence Park

There is a car park at St Albans City Station, which you’ll have to pay a nominative amount to use. The football ground itself boasts a small car park, but unless you’re there super early you’re unlikely to be able to use it. As a result, you’re probably best-placed parking on local streets, being careful to keep an eye out for any parking restrictions that are in place and doing your best not to annoy local residents.

• See Available Parking Near Clarence Park

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Pubs and Bars Near Clarence Park

About St Albans FC

There were a couple of aborted attempts to start a football team in St Albans before St Albans City was formed in 1908. The club joined the Spartan League Eastern Division and the Herts County League Western Division almost immediately, allowing it to take part in matches virtually straight away. The club enjoyed a big match on the 22nd of November in 1922 when more than 4,000 people turned up to Clarence Park in order to watch St Albans City take on Dulwich Hamlet in a replay of the FA Cup fourth qualifying match that had ended 1-1. It was notable for the fact that Wilfred Minter scored seven goals for the home team in a match they lost 8-7 after extra-time.

May the seventh 2006 saw the club defeat Histon 2-0 in the Conference South Play-Off Final, putting them in the Conference National for the first time in their history. What followed was a period of time in which the club moved up and down through the divisions, with financial worries in 2009 owing to the fact that the construction firm of the club’s chairman, John Gibson, went into administration. Thankfully nothing came of it, but St Albans City once again found itself moving between the lower leagues. The 2021-2022 season saw the club go on a mini-FA Cup run, defeating League Two’s Forest Green Rovers in the first round.

Clarence Park History

Clarence Park itself was laid out in 1894, comprising of a 16-acre sports ground and a nine-acre public park. Sir John Maple was the benefactor, donating the land and paying for it be laid out accordingly. It was opened in 1894 by the then-Duke of Cambridge. The public park is used for the likes of summer games and sun-bathing when the weather suits, with football taking place in the area for the first time in 1894. Clarence Park football ground was used by St Albans when the club was formed, then St Albans Amateur side and finally St Albans City from the moment that the club was created in 1908.

There is a cricket ground located right next to the football ground, with the first recorded cricket match taking place there in 1875. It is proof, perhaps, of the desire of the people of St Albans to always have some form of sport to watch in the local area. As you can imagine, the football ground has undergone numerous changes since that first match was played on it in 1984, although it would be untrue to suggest that it is now some form of towering colossus in the world of non-league football. The major changes have been cosmetic, with the aim being to make the ground good enough to host Football League matches when required.

Future Developments

In 2018, a proposal was put forward for St Albans to be able to move to a new 6,000-capacity football ground in Noke Lane. The ground would be part of a 900-home ‘village’ located not far from the M25, with the likes of an Academy, restaurant, bar and conference facilities all being built to help and sustain the football club. The main reason for the proposal was the fact that Clarence Park itself cannot be developed any further than it already has been, with the then club co-owner, Lawrence Levy, stating that the club wouldn’t be able to survive for much longer if St Albans as a city didn’t show support for it.