Kingsmeadow: Kingstonian FC & Chelsea Women

Graham C99 / Flickr.com

Kingsmeadow, or the Cherry Red Records Stadium as it’s officially known for sponsorship purposes, was home to not one but two different football teams until 2017. AFC Wimbledon, formed in response to the decision to create the MK Dons from the ashes of Wimbledon Football Club, ply their trade in the Football League, but Kingstonian FC also called Kingsmeadow home from 1989-2017.

About half of the 4,850 capacity is seated, and although AFC Wimbledon played there, it is actually Chelsea FC that own the leasehold as they use the club for their ladies team.

Stats

Kingsmeadow Photos

• View from behind dugout View from behind dugout
• Kingsmeadow Kingsmeadow
• Norsedons founding charter Norsedons founding charter
• play-off win over Staines Town play-off win over Staines Town
• Night Game Night Game
• Kingsmeadow on a foggy night Kingsmeadow on a foggy night
•  

Kingsmeadow Seating Plan & Where to Sit

The John Green Stand features a camera gantry and is known as The Noodle Stand because it was originally sponsored by Nong Shim Ltd, a South Korean food producer. The Paul Strank Stand is the main stand in the ground and contains the dressing rooms, whilst the RyGas Stand is a terraced section that hosts the scoreboard and the away fans. The Chemflow End is another terraced area where the most vocal supporters tend to congregate.

Getting To Kingsmeadow

Kingston is not far from Greater London, so if you can reach the home of Big Ben, Boris Bikes and the Crown Jewels then you’ll be ok. Here are some tips:

Train - Norbiton Train Station is about fifteen minutes walk away from the ground and trains run regularly from Waterloo.

Bus - The 131 runs from the centre of Wimbledon and Kingston to near to the stadium.

Car - London’s a nightmare to drive in and Kingston is close enough for it to be a bother. Your best bet is to put the postcode, KT1 3PB, into your sat-nav to be honest and see what traffic is like on the day.

By Air - London has a wealth of airports, though Heathrow is probably the closest to the ground.

Taxi - A taxi from Wimbledon station to Kingsmeadow will take about twenty minutes and cost around £15.

Parking Near Kingsmeadow

There is a 350 space parking area at the ground and you can also park on residential roads around the ground, but look out for restrictions.

• See Available Parking Near Kingsmeadow

Useful Resources

Kingsmeadow Hotels

Obviously nearby London is your Oyster (card), but if you’re hoping for more targeted instructions to places nearer to the ground then here are our tips:

Twickenham Guest House - £70+

10 Russell Road, Twickenham, TW2 7QT

Around four miles from Kingsmeadow in Twickenham, as the name might have given away, is this quaint 3-star guest house with nineteen rooms, free Wi-Fi and a free English breakfast thrown in. More details.

Travelodge - Kingston - £60+

International House, Wheatfield Way, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2PD

Slap bang in the middle of nearby Kingston is the good old Travelodge. Cheap and cheerful but you know exactly what you are going to get, and if you don't mind sharing a room with your mates it can work out a steal. More details.

London Marriott Hotel Twickenham - £90+

Twickenham Rugby Stadium,198 Whitton Road, Twickenham, TW2 7BA

Description - We’re back to Twickenham and a four mile journey to the ground for this member of the Marriott chain of hotels. It’s worth it, though, as the hotel’s got a restaurant, a bar, a health club with an indoor pool and a business centre.
More details.

Pubs & Bars Near Kingsmeadow

Once again the bright lights of central London shouldn’t be ignored if you like a night out, but if you want to drink closer to the ground then here you go:

Facilities

The stadium is basic, to be honest, but it’s fine compared to other Football League standard grounds.

Prices

• Programme: 3.00
• Cup of tea: 1.50

Hospitality

AFC Wimbledon hospitality packages need a little work when it comes to branding, but here they are. The aptly named Hospitality Package includes a 3 course meal, tea and coffee and a pre-match briefing from the manager; the Matchday Hospitality Package includes all of the above plus seats in the Paul Strank stand; while the Executive Hospitality Package (these names...) includes the same but with the addition of seats in the directors box and access to the Presidents Lounge.

Private Hire

Kingsmeadow refers to itself as ‘Kingston’s premier conference and party venue’, and who are we disagree? There is certainly a lot that goes on there, even a comedy festival. Weddings, conferences, birthday parties and product launches have all been hosted by the stadium in days of yore.

Stadium Tours & Museum

There are no tours and no museums available here, though some of the supporters of both clubs are dead old so you could just ask them about stuff.

Kingsmeadow History

The freehold of the site where Kingsmeadow, or the Cherry Red Records Stadium as it is currently known, is owned by Kingston Council. The leasehold for the site used to belong to Kingstonian FC when they invited AFC Wimbledon to move in, but the Dons bought it from the club’s previous owner in 2003. As part of the deal there was an agreement put in place that Kingstonian could sub-lease the ground for 25 years and play a pre-season friendly against AFC Wimbledon every summer, with the idea being that the gate receipts from the friendly would cover their rent.

Kingstonian actually built the ground with the money they earned from the sale of their previous home, Richmond Road. It was opened with a friendly match against Queens Park Rangers in 1989 but when the club was relegated out of the Conference financial difficulties took hold. Kingstonian was bought out by the Khoslas family but fans believed they were only in it for financial reasons, something that seemed to be justified when they sold the ground for £2 million in personal profit in 2003. History repeated itself when Chelsea FC took over the lease and allowed the Dons to rent it, which allowed AFC Wimbledon to financially prepare for their new stadium, Plough Lane, they moved into in 2020.

Future Developments

Very few developments are expected in the foreseeable future at Kingsmeadow, but Chelsea have loads of money so if anything needs doing they will probably be on top of it fairly quickly.

However, AFC Wimbledon have left for their brand new stadium of their own called... Plough Lane. Yes, they have headed back home to the site of their original stadium. Construction got underway in 2019 and the stadium opened in 2020 with a capacity of 9,000. This was all made possible by a £4 million cash injection raised by the supporters themselves.