Visiting supporters
Everything you need for a trip to Spotland — where the away end is, how to get here, where to park, where to drink, and a bit of the club's history while you're at it. Written by Dale supporters, for visiting ones.
← Back to the TrustVisiting supporters are housed in the Willbutts Lane Stand, which runs the full length of one side of the pitch.
It's a single-tiered stand given over entirely to away supporters, with no pillars anywhere — so the view is unobstructed wherever you sit, side-on and better than most behind-the-goal away ends. Dale fans regularly point out that the club gives its best stand to visitors.
Typical allocation is around 1,500, seated towards the Pearl Street end of the stand. If you bring a big following the whole stand can be opened up, taking it to roughly 3,500.
The acoustics are good, both home ends sing, and the atmosphere is usually a decent one.
| Stand | Who's in it |
|---|---|
| Willbutts Lane Stand (north) | Away supporters only — the full length of one side of the pitch |
| Sandy Lane End (west) | The home end — the last remaining terrace, now covered |
| Pearl Street Stand (east) | Family stand |
| David Kilpatrick Main Stand (south) | Offices, changing rooms, hospitality |
The ground is shared with Rochdale Hornets rugby league club, and has been the Dale's home since the club's earliest days — originally known as St Clement's Playing Fields.
For most visitors it's M62, junction 20, then follow the signs for Rochdale — it's more or less a straight road to the ground.
Sat nav: Willbutts Lane, Rochdale, OL11 5DS.
The stadium car park is for permit holders only, and several roads around the ground are residents-only and monitored — check the signs.
Two Trust partner venues offer free parking, both within walking distance:
Oulder Hill School is the other usual suggestion — roughly ten minutes away and easy to find on the way in.
Rochdale railway station is the town's main National Rail station, with direct services from Manchester Victoria and Leeds. The station is a fair walk from the ground — most visitors take a taxi, which is a short hop.
Rochdale is also on the Manchester Metrolink, with stops at Rochdale Railway Station and Rochdale Town Centre. Either way you'll want a taxi or bus for the last stretch up to Spotland.
Inside: burgers, hot dogs, pies and chips at fair prices. Outside, there's a fish and chip shop directly opposite the Willbutts Lane away entrance — meat and potato pie and chips is the local order.
Rochdale is a good town for real ale — and several places near the ground welcome away fans.
Some venues ask that colours are covered, and not all admit children — worth a quick check before you set off.
If you've time before kick-off, Toad Lane's Rochdale Pioneers Museum is the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement — a genuinely interesting half hour.
Founded in 1907, still going, still here — and with a cup story most clubs would envy.
The Dale's 1962 final was managed by Tony Collins, the first Black manager to lead a team out in a major English cup final — a genuinely significant moment in the English game, and one Rochdale is rightly proud of.
The club also holds a record of a different kind: the longest continuous stay any club has had in the bottom division of the Football League.
The crest is adapted from the arms of the town: a woolpack encircled by cotton branches, marking Rochdale's wool and cotton milling industries, with the motto Crede Signo — "believe in the sign".
This guide is published by the Dale Supporters Trust, the club's independent, fan-owned supporters' trust. We hold shares in Rochdale AFC and have a supporter director on the club board.
If you're from a trust at your own club and want to talk, we'd be glad to hear from you.
If something here is out of date, or you spot something that would help the next away following, tell us and we'll fix it. We'd rather this guide was right than flattering.
Email the Trust Official club site →