Key information about The New Lawn
The New Lawn is one of the newer stadiums as it was built in 2006 and it now houses Forest Green Rovers. The ground itself is located in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire and is also one of the more eco-friendly stadiums out there.
Its maximum capacity is 5,140 but only 2,500 are seated. The New Lawn also has a pitch that measures 101 by 64 metres and is covered with natural grass with no undersoil heating installed nor a running track surrounding it.
The record attendance of 4,836 was set on 3 January 2009 when Forest Green Rovers faced Derby County.
A history of The New Lawn
The New Lawn has been the home of Forest Green Rovers ever since it was built in 2006 but the club was originally settled at a ground called ‘The Lawn Ground’, which was also famously known as a place ‘at the top of the hill’, hence the club’s nickname ‘The Little Club On The Hill’.
But in 2003, the £3million project was authorised by the council and construction of a new stadium commenced on 3 May 2005. And this was despite much frowning and controversy due to the ground’s location which was on school playing fields. The New Lawn would be finished in 2006 and the first official game to be played there was a friendly clash against the England C team in September.
The ground now has various facilities to house 230 car parking places, three coach parking places and a total capacity of 5,140 across two seated stands – the main stand and another seated stand. However, the stadium is yet to be converted into an all-seater so 2,640 places are still in the standing area.
Interestingly enough, during the 2007/08 season, Forest Green Rovers would share The New Lawn with Gloucester City due to severe flooding to their own stadium but have since moved on. In one of their proudest moments, the ground was picked to be a part of the city of Bristol’s 2018 FIFA World Cup bid to act as a training ground facility in December 2009.
But now, The New Lawn is actually famous for its environmental and eco-friendly features and works. In June 2011, they began work on the pitch at the stadium to make it the first organic football pitch in the whole world and then, at the end of that very same year, they also installed 180 solar panels to the EESI stand to help the club generate its own electricity.
A year after, the first solar-powered robotic lawnmower was introduced on a football pitch for the first time in British football – they called it the Etesia robot mower or more commonly known as a ‘mow bot’. In August 2012, they also played a pre-season friendly game against Manchester United in aid of the Sustainability in Sport Foundation, another environmental cause.
Finally, The New Lawn hosted what is believed to be the world’s first-ever vegan football clash on 1 November 2014 in a Conference National game versus Lincoln City.
Tickets to watch Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn
All tickets to watch Forest Green Rovers play at The New Lawn can be found on the club’s official website. There are three types of ticket available: premium seated, seated, and standing. The price won’t go up depending on the game and the most expensive adult ticket costs £25.
There are also season tickets that can be found on the aforementioned website. The adult season ticket in a premium seated category costs £425.
Related links
https://www.fgr.co.uk/ – Official website of Forest Green Rovers
