Tranmere Rovers V Ipswich Town Saturday 18 January 2020, Kick Off 15:00

TRANMERE ROVERS V IPSWICH TOWN SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2020, KICK OFF 15:00

Information in this guide is correct as at 9 January 2020. Any updated information on this fixture will be published on the club website (www.itfc.co.uk), twitter (@IpswichTown and @ITFC_Tickets) and facebook (www.facebook.com/officialitfc).

INFORMATION FOR TOWN FANS

We travel to Tranmere Rovers on 18 January 2020 in League One. The following guide has been produced for Town fans making the trip to Prenton Park. This is based on information on the Tranmere Rovers website plus additional information specific to this game.

For any further information, please contact Elizabeth Edwards, Supporter Liaison Officer on [email protected] or (+44) (0) 7968 876504 or on Twitter at @ITFC_SLO.

Tranmere Rovers information for visiting fans

Address: Tramere Rovers Football Club, Prenton Park, Prenton Road, West Birkenhead, CH42 9PY

Website: https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/

Phone number: 03330 144452

Facebook: @TRFCofficial

Twitter: @TranmereRovers

Supporter Liaison Officer and Disability Liaison Officer: Christine Roberts, 0151 609 3302 or [email protected]

The Tranmere away fan guide can be found here: https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/siteassets/news/away-fan-guide.v2-min.pdf

www.footballgroundguide.com provides some information here: https://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/league-one/prenton-park-tranmererovers.html

We have picked out the key information for Town fans below and added other material based on our own experience of visiting Prenton Park and information that is specific to our fans. Specific information for Town fans:

Ticket news

Tickets for the game are £19 for adults, £12 for seniors 65+ and U23s, £6 for U18s and £2 for U12s.

Subject to availability, tickets can be purchased from www.itfcdirect.com (under tickets/away matches) or in Planet Blue on a non-matchday or at the Ticket Office on Constantine Road from 9am prior to the Accrington Stanley home game on 11 January.

Disabled fans requiring tickets should contact ITFC’s Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith on 01473 400556 or by email on [email protected].

Travelling to Tranmere

Supporters Coach

For those travelling from Ipswich the official coaches are leaving Portman Road promptly at 06:45 (please be at Portman Road at least 15 minutes before this) at a cost of £33 for adults (with concession prices for U23s, U19s and 65+ Seniors). Coaches are estimated to arrive back at Portman Road at 23:55.

Subject to availability, tickets can be purchased from www.itfcdirect.com (under tickets/travel) or in Planet Blue on a non-matchday or at the Ticket Office on Constantine Road from 9am prior to the Accrington Stanley home game on 11 January.

Pick-ups at Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket can be arranged for this game. If you want to organise a pick-up please call the Ticket Enquiries Team on 03330 050503 or email [email protected]. The cut-off point to request a pickup is midday on Wednesday 15 January. Your details will then be passed onto the coach company, Suffolk Norse.

Note that all official coaches are non-smoking and the consumption of alcohol on board is strictly forbidden. ITFC recommend that all supporters under 16 are accompanied by an adult.

Car

Note 1: There are long-term roadworks on the A14 (several miles either side of Cambridge) which are resulting in evening and weekend road closures and considerable delays, as it is a very busy road. These are not normally announced until just a day or two in advance. We recommend that you keep an eye on @A14C2H on Twitter – any closures are announced here.

Note 2: A new stretch of the A14 is now open which impacts both the outward and return trip. On the outward trip the junction of the A14 / A428 / M11 on the edge of Cambridge is not well signposted, so take it slowly, and beware of even locals getting confused and doing late lane changes!

On the return trip the new stretch is from the A1 to about 5 miles west of Cambridge, so you must follow road signs and not your Sat Nav. In particular, if you are joining the A14 from the north on the A1, you will now follow the A1 for a few extra miles before reaching the junction for the A14 East.

The Sat Nav postcode for Prenton Park is CH42 9PY. Prenton Park is approximately one mile from Birkenhead town centre and five miles from Liverpool city centre. It is accessed from Liverpool by crossing the River Mersey.

From Ipswich the most direct route, estimated to take around 4-and-a-half to 5 hours in good traffic conditions, is via the A14 / M6 / M6 toll, which is reasonably direct, but runs the risk of hold-ups, especially as there are several sets of long-term road works. From the M6 join the M56. At junction 15 join the M53 (signposted Ellesmere Port/Birkenhead). From here Prenton Park can be accessed via junction 4 (signposted Clatterbridge) – once on the slip road take the 4th exit on the main roundabout. The stadium is signposted from here and is about a five-minute drive. Alternatively, leave the M53 at junction 3 and from the slip road take the 3rd exit at the roundabout (signposted Birkenhead).

As noted above there are major long-term roadworks on the A14 for several miles either side of Cambridge, with a 40mph limit policed by cameras. There is a new stretch open on both the outward and homeward journey. On the outward trip the junction of the A14 / A428 / M11 on the edge of Cambridge is not well signposted, so take it slowly, and follow the road signs. On the return trip the new stretch is from the A1 to about 5 miles west of Cambridge, so you must follow road signs and not your Sat Nav.

We generally recommend allowing at least an hour beyond the AA / Google / SatNav suggested journey time.

Parking

Beware of a residents parking scheme which is in operation on many of the roads surrounding Prenton Park. Before you street park, do check any restriction notices.

There is a large car park at Prenton Park which costs £5 per car. Car park tickets can be purchased in advance from www.trfctickets.co.uk or, subject to availability, on the day.

Disabled Supporters Parking

Supporters with disabilities should book a space in advance by contacting [email protected] or by ringing 03330 144452.

Alternatively, contact ITFC’s Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith on 01473 400556 or by email on [email protected].

Train

Note 1: There is no planned engineering work on the day of the game between Ipswich and London.

Note 2: Whilst there are various cross-country options shown on www.greateranglia.co.uk we have not included these below due to the ongoing issues on the Ipswich to Peterborough line. If you are intending on travelling cross-country do check www.greateranglia.co.uk before travelling, noting that some cancelations are not being announced until the day of travel. Where trains are not running there have been bus replacement services but these will obviously add significant travel time to the journey.

The closest stations to Prenton Park are Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central, both of which are served by Liverpool Lime Street and Chester. From Ipswich take the train to Liverpool Street where you pick up the underground to London Euston. To get from Liverpool Street to Euston on the underground you can take the Circle or Hammersmith & City Line to Euston Square and walk to Euston station. Alternatively, you can take the Central Line to Bank and pick up the Northern Line from Bank to Euston.

From Euston there are regular trains to Liverpool Lime Street. At Liverpool Lime Street you pick up a Merseyrail train to Rock Ferry or Birkenhead Central. Head for the Wirral Line lower level station and board an Ellesmere Port or Chester train to Rock Ferry or Birkenhead Central.

It takes 14 minutes from Lime Street to Rock Ferry. The total journey time from Ipswich to Rock Ferry is between 4 hours 35 minutes and 4 hours 50 minutes depending on connection times. If you choose to travel to Birkenhead Central this is two stops further on from Rock Ferry.

Alternatively, from Euston you can get a train to Chester – this does involve a change at Crewe – and pick up a Merseyrail train to Rock Ferry or Birkenhead Central from Chester. From Chester, board a Liverpool train and get off at Rock Ferry or Birkenhead Central. Chester to Rock Ferry is 28 minutes. The total journey time is 4 hours 45 minutes.

After the game www.greateranglia.co.uk shows trains leaving Rock Ferry at 18:14 and 19:14 which connect to trains at Liverpool Lime Street and then Liverpool Street for Ipswich. For example, the 18:14 connects to the 18:47 from Lime Street to Euston and the 22:30 from Liverpool Street to Ipswich. From Birkenhead Central, trains leave five minutes later than from Rock Ferry – so at 17:19, 18:19 and 19:19.

There are more frequent trains from both Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central to Liverpool Lime Street after the game which you may be able to get to also connect back to London. These leave Rock Ferry at 17:29, 17:37, 17:44, 17:59 and 18:07 and Birkenhead Central five minutes later. Spare time at Lime Street station can be enjoyed in the impressive Wetherspoons, the North Western, within the station itself, or in the Crown, just a few yards from the main pedestrian entrance.

Whatever your travel plans, you should check www.greateranglia.co.uk or your usual train operator website for updated times.

Getting from the railway station to the ground

As noted above the closest railway stations to Prenton Park are Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central.

Rock Ferry is a 25-minute walk to the ground and Birkenhead Central is a 30-minute walk to the ground. Note that the Tranmere website suggests the walking time from Rock Ferry is 15 minutes and from Birkenhead Central is 20 minutes – from experience this is very understated and 25 and 30 minutes are far more realistic.

From Rock Ferry turn right outside the station on to Bedford Road. This becomes Bedford Avenue and then Bedford Drive. Continue on to Mount Road and turn right at the first set of traffic lights onto Borough Road. Prenton Park is along this road on the left. www.footballgroundguide.com provides the following directions from Birkenhead Central: 'On exiting the station cross the road, turn right, then at the roundabout turn Left onto Borough Road (A552 towards) Heswall. Go through four sets of traffic lights passing a Shell Garage on the left hand side. At the 5th roundabout (signposted B5152 Clatterbridge and Tranmere Rovers FC), walk straight through onto Borough Road and the Ground is on the right hand side after passing the Prenton Park Pub.

National Express

National Express offer various services to Birkenhead. This drops off and picks up near to the Conway bus station and Conway Merseyrail station. It is then a 35-minute walk to the ground or you can pick up a bus from Conway Bus Station.

Bus from Liverpool or Birkenhead

There are a number of buses which run from Liverpool and Birkenhead to close to Prenton Park. Details of these can be found in the Tranmere away fan guide at the following link: https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/siteassets/news/away-fan-guide.v2-min.pdf and also at the following link: https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/trfc-tickets/parking-and-travel/

Mersey Ferry

For many Town fans, this game is a chance to travel on one of the most famous, iconic forms of transport, the Mersey Ferry (which older fans may remember as featuring in the opening credits for the TV comedy ‘The Liver Birds’). Arriving at Liverpool Lime Street station, stroll through the shopping centre to the Pier Head, take one of the frequent foot ferries over to Woodside (where there is a German U Boat on display), and then continue to Prenton Park by taking a 41 or 423 bus from Hamilton Square (stop BC) to Highgreen Road, which is just a 7-minute walk from the stadium.

Pubs

Pubs around the stadium are usually away-friendly, and include the Prenton Park Hotel (no real ale, per Whatpub) and the Birch Tree (Greene King), which are very close. There is also a Fanzone at the ground, open to home and away fans with a choice of ales and big screen TV plus various food options. There is also the Sportsmans Arms, on Prenton Road East, where the beers are usually Marstons.

Some fans will want to explore the pub scene in Liverpool, which is really varied and mostly inexpensive. If time is very short, the newish Wetherspoons, the North-West, is part of Lime Street station, and the Crown (next to the station) is often quite local in flavour, and none the worse for that. We would also suggest, if you have a bit more time, the Philharmonic on Hope Street, plus the Baltic Fleet on Wapping (near the Albert Dock). Around the Philharmonic, you will find many interesting and varied pubs and bars. If you like old school back-street-boozers with fabulous real ales, then try the Roscoe Head, on Roscoe Street, just a few minutes away.

For culture vultures, it is worth noting that John Lennon once said that “the price of fame is not being able to go into the Philharmonic for a quiet pint”.

Food outlets

There are a variety of food outlets in the vicinity of the stadium. The Tranmere away fans guide mentions The Riverhill Hotel and Talbot Restaurant which is just over a mile from Prenton Park. The address is Talbot Road, Birkenhead, CH43 2HJ. The hotel and restaurant can be contacted on 0151 654 3773 with more information to be found on www.theriverhill.co.uk. At the ground

Hospitality The Platinum Lounge in the Main Stand welcomes both home and away fans. Three course meals are offered before kick-off with tea and coffee at half time. For further details, or to book, contact 03330 144452 or email [email protected].

Fan Zones The Fan Park welcomes all supporters. You will find this at the front of the Main Stand. There is a bar and additional outlets selling food and drink. A big screen shows live football. Further details can be found at www.tranmererovers.co.uk.

Tickets on the day

It is not yet known if tickets will be available on the day. Information will be published on the club website (www.itfc.co.uk), twitter (@IpswichTown and @ITFC_Tickets) and facebook (www.facebook.com/officialitfc). If they are available then you will be able to pay by cash at the turnstiles.

If you have any ticketing related queries on the day, the Matchday Collection Point is located next to the Club Store in the Main Stand.

Away end

Visiting supporters are housed in the Summit Scaffolding Cowshed Stand which is behind the goal. This is a seated and covered section. Entrance is via turnstiles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 which are located next to the traffic lights on the corner of Borough Road and Prenton Road West.

Note that the away following will include older fans, families, those unable to stand for long periods of time and ambulant disabled fans. Please bear this in mind and respect those who want to sit at this game as we want everyone to enjoy the day safely.

Wheelchair bays are in the Bebington Paddock which can be accessed through the Bebington Paddock turnstile blocks. This area is covered. For any queries/accessibility requirements, please contact ITFC’s Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith on 01473 400556 or by email on [email protected] or Tranmere Rovers on 03330 144452, selecting option one when prompted.

Security

As at all grounds, expect to be searched before entering the ground.

Programmes

The official Matchday Programme is £3. It is available from the Club Store and mobile sellers around the ground.

Food and Drink facilities

Bar facilities are available on the away end concourse, in addition to both hot and cold refreshments. Smoking

Smoking of cigarettes and e-cigarettes anywhere in the stadium is not permitted.

Anti Social Behaviour – Matchday Text Line

Racism or discrimination of any form is not OK, ‘Not Today or Any Day’ and supporters are reminded that instances of discriminatory or prejudiced behaviour will not be tolerated at any EFL game.

If you should hear or see any racist, homophobic or prejudiced behaviour during a match-day, please report this to your nearest steward.

You can also report any discrimination or anti-social behaviour to Kick it Out using the Kick It Out app which is available to download from the App Store or Google Play, or via: Facebook /kickitoutofficial; Twitter @kickitout; email [email protected]; phone 0800 169 9414.