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Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. It has a physical capacity of 8,840, containing 1,006 seats. It is currently the home of Bath City F.C., who have played there since 1932. From 1986 to 1996, Bristol Rovers F.C. played at the ground following their departure from Eastville in Bristol. In 2020, the ground also became the home stadium for Bristol City Women.
The stadium has four stands; the Bath End, the Grandstand, The Popular Side, and the Bristol End. The ground once had a capacity up to 20,000, with the record attendance of 18,020 was set between Bath City and Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup third round in 1960. Though the site opened in 1909, the stadium was not constructed until 1932, with The Grandstand being the first of the four stands to be constructed. The stadium is 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the city centre.
The two Pub within the stadium are named after former players: Charlies' (Charlie Fleming), and Randall's (Paul Randall). Twerton Park has undergone several expansions throughout its history, though the decades in which it saw the most Construction were the 1930s, 1940s, 1960s and the 1980s—including the addition of the family stand, west of The Grandstand.
Chairman Reg Coles officially ordered the new steel structure with a galvanized roof and glazed ends. The club supporters decided to temporarily spruce up an outbuilding from an orchard nearby to be used as dressing rooms and the club room, with six weeks to go before the first official game at the stadium there was no stand, no dressing rooms and no entrances. A few weeks later, plans were drawn up and footings dug, with the foundations weighing fifty tons and costing the club £100 each. By the end of May, the supporters had laid a substantial area of Football pitch. From 31 May – 2 “1932, the “Great Supporters Carnival” took place on the site. During which, the Twerton community laid out flags and bunting the length of Twerton High Street to “celebrate the return of football”. There was the usual funfair; a boxing exhibition, games for children and adults – Fancy dress, skittles, guess the weight of the pig. In addition, a motor-cycle gymkhana. The first ever game at Twerton Park was played against Bristol Rovers Reserves in the Southern League on the 27 August 1932, in front of a crowd of 2,936, in which Bath won 2–0.
On 23 April 1937, 11,000 spectators watched the Coronation Cup final between Arsenal and Portsmouth, with Arsenal winning the match 2–0. 500 cars were said to be parked within the car park just outside of the ground. The mayor at the time stated that "there are no more welcome visitors to the city of Bath than the teams of Portsmouth and Arsenal." In April 1941, the city was targeted with Bath Blitz Twerton was badly hit, with half The Popular Side being destroyed, and much of the congregated fence blown away, as well as structural damage to the grandstand, the season was voided, with much of the city "razed to the ground." In 1942, The Bath End, was still yet to have any sought of backdrop, with wingers reporting they had the illusion of "dropping of the ends of the earth" with the steep hill behind it when playing on that side, and so chairman Mr Mortimer said it would be the first to be terraced. Work was frantic at Twerton Park to ready it for what was a predicted 20,000 gate versus Aston Villa. Extra terracing was cut on the banks. The gates were opened at 12:30 and over 50 police were present, as 17,000 made their way to the ground, Bath City's record league attendance. In the summer of 1946 the stadium was in discussion to be converted to an arena for Greyhound racing, with the Bath Chronicle reporting that "they might be forced to sell unless greater support was shown." Chairman at the time, Arthur Mortimer, stated that he was “against dog racing, though there may be no alternative." That year, the stadium was in plans for redevelopment. Mortimer stated that he desired to provide Bath with a stadium equal to, if not superior to any in the West Country.
With the stadium in heavy discussion for expansion, to a capacity of 40,000, in aim to become; "a stadium worthy of the city". It was planned first to move the playing field a few yards to the west to enable a bank at the Bath End, and to extend the Popular Side, with the addition of further concrete terracing. The dressing room and facilities within the stadium were also being discussed for improvement. The greyhound racing proposal was later rejected in August 1946 as it had recently been decided that no dog racing was allowed for any league club, the management committee felt their efforts towards gaining entry into the English Football League would be vetoed. The chairman stated: "We feel that our geographical position alone entitles us to a higher place in the sun, with Bath and the surrounding districts, we can call upon 100,000 to support league football in the town. During the 1946–47 season, work went on to improve Twerton, and rubble from around the city was "dropped at the ground" ready as hardcore for the terraces and to build up the banking. A refreshment hut was also approved by the Bath surveying commission.Miller, Kerry (2003) p. 107. In 1948, work had continued on the stadium, the bank at the front of the Grandstand was concreted, a portion of the Popular Side closer to what is now the Bristol End, was to be cleared and moved to form a new bank, concurrently the pitch was moved westwards, to allow greater space for spectators at the Bath End and space for terracing to be built.
At the end of May 1950, the government announced the end of petrol rationing, giving indirect access to greater amounts of Lumber and building materials. The club consequently made plans to put right some parts of the stadium which had been damaged in the war, such as repairing some of the damaged stand on The Popular Side. In 1956, the supporters club began work on fencing the south and west sides of the stadium, with concrete posts holding 500 yards of chain link, and an evergreen hedge to make it unclimbable. A pair of wide gates were erected with two ticket entrances for pedestrians, as the ground began to "take a tidier look. For the 1956–57 season crowds were averaging 3,500-4,000. 1961, Bath City were to play Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup third round. Work began to remove 1,500 tons of earth from the Bristol End, for the construction of a temporary stand to hold an extra 2,000 people. It was a calculated gamble by chairman Arthur Mortimer who was aware that the cost would almost held the profit margins but he was adamant that as many Bathonian's as possible should see the game. More of The Popular Side terracing was concreted, the press had "boosted the game to such as degree" that many predicted 15,000, in fact 18,020 roared Bath City on.Miller, Kerry (2003) p. 141. Attendances on average during the 1940s and 1950s were some of the highest recorded in Bath City's history. Notable large home attendances during this period included; 17,000 in 1944 vs Aston Villa 14,000 vs Southend United in the 1952–53 season and 11,700 at Twerton Park against rivals Yeovil Town in 1957. The record attendance of 18,020 was recorded in 1960 versus Brighton & Hove Albion.
In 1988, Twerton was getting used to big crowds for Bristol Rovers, with 8,400 crammed in versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 1989, Rovers announced the building of a new 230 seater stand, to the west of the main stand. Former Chairman; Gilbert Walshaw and Arthur Mortimer's long dream of League football appeared to have moved a step closer. That season, Bristol Rovers won the Football League Third Division, clinching the title on 2 May 1990 with a 3–0 victory over fierce rivals Bristol City, beating the Robins to the title by 2 points. Several hours after the game, at midnight, the Grandstand was heavily damaged by Bristol City Hooliganism. It was a stunning blow for all at both clubs, the video monitoring box was destroyed along with the press box, seating and social rooms inside.Miller, Kerry (2003) p. 213. Nine Bristol City supporters were later convicted of arson. The cost to rebuild the Main Stand was £800,000 A temporary stand was put up, though the grandstand was fully refurbished in June.Miller, Kerry (2003) p. 216. Rovers notably played Liverpool in the FA cup on 5 February 1992, in front of a crowd of over 9,000.
In 2021, Bath City fan, gave an interview with The Athletic; stating: "I made my debut for Bath in the late 1970s period and the first thing that strikes me now is that the stadium looks barely any different.” Talks have been held in the past between Bath Rugby and Bath City about sharing a ground, as the former team wish to move away from their home ground Recreation Ground, although nothing has amounted from this. Following the resignation of Chairman Manda Rigby, she claimed that the club needed to move away from Twerton Park to "sustain their finances".
Physical Capacity (8,840) of each stand
| The Grandstand | Home Fans | 1,805 (seated & standing) |
| The Popular Side | Home Fans | 3,500 (standing) |
| The Bath End | Home Fans | 800 (standing) |
| Family Stand | Home and away fans | 235 (seated) |
| The Bristol End | Home and away fans | 2,500 (standing) |
Reduced Capacity (4,070) of each stand
| The Grandstand | Home Fans | 1,000 (seated & standing) |
| The Popular Side | Home Fans | 1,035 (standing) |
| The Bath End | Home Fans | 300 (standing) |
| Family Stand | Home and away fans | 235 (seated) |
| The Bristol End | Home and away fans | 1,500 (standing) |
Blue seats line the majority of the stand though premium black seats are located down the middle. It is single tiered. As the ground's main stand, it houses nearly all of the ground's more established facilities, including Randall's bar, club offices, the club shop, and the two sets of player dressing rooms, as well as other multi purpose rooms. In 1990 the Grandstand was heavily damaged by Bristol City Hooliganism, as a result the stand required refurbishment, which cost £800,000 Entrance to all stands within the stadium is controlled by traditional directly outside of the Grandstand on either end. The club's official bar is just outside of the grandstand next to the main car park. It was named "Charlies" in honour of Bath's record goal scorer Charlie Fleming.
Nick Blofeld, Bath City's Chairman stated, “Following Bath City's change to community ownership earlier this year, we are delighted to confirm our intention to undertake a partial redevelopment of the ground and an upgrade of the facilities. We believe that Bath City should be an integral part of the community in Twerton, and it is the Board's desire to secure the long term, sustainable future of the football club at Twerton Park. We also aim to improve the existing club facilities and make them more appropriate for the wider community, so that the club can become more of a local hub.”
On the evening of Tuesday 21 November 2017, approximately 70 people attended an event at Twerton Park to provide initial feedback on the subject of the redevelopment. Bath City stated that the attendees were generally positive on the idea and the impact it could have on the area. Most saw the redevelopment as an opportunity to invest in the area and "create a new community hub and give the club a new lease of life." On the 4 March 2019, Bath City released a CGI animation of the proposed future development.
On 2 March 2020, sixteen Twerton-based businesses and community organisations joined in collaboration to write an open letter to The Bath Chronicle. In the letter, they expressed their support for the club's redevelopment plans and shared the hope that Bath City's application would receive approval from the Bath and North East Somerset council planners. Although over 800 people backed the new proposals, councillors of BANES voiced concerns about living conditions - with some rooms compared to "prison cells" - and the potential negative impacts of such a high student influx in a residential area.
Other council members shared concerns about the student accommodation raised by planning officers, stating the scale of the seven-storey block was “excessive, visually intrusive and over-dominant”. They further added; “due to the poor outlook, quantity and quality of amenity spaces, room sizes and layouts”, would create a poor quality and “oppressive living environment” for future occupiers of the accommodation. Twerton councillor Sarah Moore had objected to the plans, saying she considered them to be “overdevelopment with insufficient space to provide adequate housing facilities for the numbers and types of properties proposed”. Thus, on 10 March 2020, the plans were rejected.
Follow A4 signs around southern perimeter of the city for 3 miles. After passing Bathwick Tyres on the left, in 100 yards at traffic lights turn left, signposted Twerton, through a railway arch with an 11 ft 6in height restriction. Twerton Park is 200 yards on the left after a row of shops. On foot, the stadium is approximately 1.9 miles (3.2 km) from Bath Spa railway station, roughly a 40 minute walk westwards. The stadium is 3 km or 1.8 miles from the city centre.
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