Ashton Gate was the home of Bedminster F.C. until their 1900 merger with Bristol South End who played at St John's Lane, and the merged club played at St John's Lane until the end of the 1903–04 season, when they moved to Ashton Gate.
Bristol City have called Ashton Gate home since 1904, exactly 110 years before Bristol Rugby joined them at the historic old stadium. When it was opened in 1887 it was actually home to a club called Bedminster FC, but when they joined forces with Bristol South End to form Bristol City in 1900 the new club actually played its games at South End’s old ground, St. John’s Lane.
As is the case with Bristol as a city, football has not had it all its own way at Ashton Gate. In fact, the rugby played at the stadium has arguably been of more importance over the years, with the stadium setting an all-time Premiership record attendance outside of Twickenham when Bristol played Bath in 2006. The ground has also been used for England internationals, with a match against Wales recorded as early as 1899.
Ashton Gate Stadium has undergone some major transformation recently with the building of two new stands and the refurbishment of a third. The most recent and largest edition is the new Lansdown Stand on the West side of the ground. Opened in August 2016 this huge stand has a capacity of around 11,000, spread over two tiers. It has a large lower tier, with a smaller one above, whilst in-between the tiers there is a row of corporate boxes stretching across its middle. The stand has quite a high roof with a strip of perspex running across the top of the upper tier just below, to allow more light to get to the pitch. The upper tier also has large transparent windshields to either side. At one end is another new stand. The South Stand was opened in August 2015 and has replaced the former Wedlock End. This new South Stand is a good sized single tiered stand, having a capacity of just over 6,000 seats. It extends around both corners of this end of the stadium. It has perspex panels built into the front of the roof, to allow more sunlight onto the playing surface.
Of the remaining parts of the ground, then the Atyeo Stand at one end of Ashton Gate is a handsome, covered all seated single tiered stand, albeit now the smallest stand at Ashton Gate. It was opened in 1994 and is named after former playing legend John Atyeo. On the remaining side is the Dolman Stand which was opened in 1970. It is a two-tiered all seated stand that has a large upper tier and a smaller lower tier. As part of the development works at the ground, its roof was further extended to meet the new stand in the South East corner and the stand itself was refurbished.
Away fans are housed at one end of the stadium in the Atyeo Stand, where around 4,200 fans can be accommodated. The stand is free of supporting pillars and offers good views of the playing action. The stand is also located quite close to the pitch and with good stand acoustics, a good atmosphere can be created.
Entrance to the ground is gained through the use of electronic turnstiles, whereby your ticket needs to be inserted into a bar code reader. Normally fans are searched on entry. Unless there is a large following then the seats are unreserved, so if you want a particular view then make sure you get into the ground early. Inside the stand the facilities are adequate. Although don’t make the mistake that some fans do and queue at the first refreshment kiosk located inside the turnstiles. If you proceed up the stairs and through the double doors, then this leads to a larger area that has a number of refreshment outlets. Refreshments available include; Steak & Ale Pies, Cheese & Onion Pasties, Steak Pasties and Sausage Rolls.
There are also a number of food stalls dotted around the outside of the stadium, but mostly behind the home end (the Rude Hot Dogs Stall has been well recommended to me). There is also a KFC outlet located just outside the main entrance to Ashton Gate.
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