All you need to know about our first visit to the Keep Moat Stadium
Most saints supporters wont have had the pleasure of an away trip to Doncaster to see Saints and very few will have had the chance to go to Rovers new ground the Keep Moat Stadium which has the rare pleasue of being next to a lake.
The ground opened in January 2007 seems to be your bog standard modern football stadium with one tier of seating stretching around the pitch with a capacity of around 15,000.
Away fans are situated in the north stand where Saints have an allocation of around 2,000 seats.
If you are travelling by Train the ground is about two miles from Doncaster station, if you are walking turn right out of the station and continue along this road (Trafford Way) and you will come to the ground, or you can get a taxi or one of the shuttle buses from the adjacent bus station.
Those travelling by car need to take the usual route to Yorkshire via the M1 and then take the M18 Eastbound at juction 32.
Once on the M18, leave at Junction 3 and take the A6182 towards Doncaster (the stadium is well signposted from Junction 3 and is about one and a half miles away). You will pass a retail park on your left and then at the next island (which has the Lakeside Pub visible behind it) turn left onto White Rose Way. The Lakeside Shopping Centre is now on your right (the stadium is located directly behind the shopping centre). At the next island turn right onto the industrial estate and after passing the Tesco distribution centre on your right, turn right at the bottom of the road and the stadium is further down on your left.
There are just 1,000 car parking spaces at the stadium, which will mean that for the bigger games, parking will be at a premium. There are 60 parking spaces reserved for disabled fans, which must be booked prior to matchday. The stadium management are also giving preference for parking to those cars carrying more than one passenger, but apparently this won't be enforced. The cost of parking at the stadium is £5. A number of firms on the nearby industrial park, offer matchday parking at around £3-£4 per vehicle. If you happen to arrive a couple of hours before kick off then there is also some free street parking to be had in this area.
For those who want a drink before the game the Stadium has its own Sports bar on the outside of the West Stand. Away fans are admitted to the bar (unless there is an objection to this for some games by the local Police), however the bar soon fills up prior to the match and so can be difficult to get in. 'There is a bar in the bowling alley next to the Vue Cinema, which is situated on the other side of the lake'. Otherwise there is not much near to the stadium, the nearest pub, the Lakeside, Beefeater outlet near Stadium Way is for home fans only), so it may be best to stop for a drink on the way. The club used to serve alcohol to away fans inside the stadium but they don't anymore.
About a mile from the stadium is the Fitzwilliam Arms in Oxford place DN1 3RH that welcomes away fans and has a large car park and serves a reasonably priced menu as well as the usual beers, Saints fans can either park and walk to the ground or travel nearer to the ground as kick off approaches.