Parking @ Commonwealth Games

[Gr33ngr33ngr4ss]

Hey - anyone driven & parked near Alexander Stadium in the last few days?

Is parking possible?

Any tips?

Thank you

@EspeciallyDeIighted

I have sent you a PM

Thanks @sashh and @BertiesShoes

The security queues were fast moving, I think it took about 10 min to get through? There are 4/5 big security tents so it means lots of people can get through relatively quickly. It was also well organised, I felt.

Is there any restrictions on bag sizes etc?

Or taking drink in?

Had a quick look on the website but couldn't find anything 😬

well at the hockey they did have a max bag size - had the dimensions up on the wall - but basically a regular sized rucksack is fine and the bag checkers (army) seemed fairly relaxed. They looked inside all bags. No issue bringing in drinks/snacks (I would do this as everything is very expensive). There was water fountains which was a nice touch.

We came from South West and parked at Selly Oak then got the train to New Street and that worked fine. We were going to smithfields so walked from New Street but our friends did the same and got a shuttle bus from New Street to Alexander stadium and it was fine.

Security was smooth at both venues and had no problem taking drinks, snacks etc in. We were asked to drink our opened drinks at security but unopened ones were fine. As some one said there are stations to fill water bottles up etc which had been great.

Yes

Look at the 'restricted items'

You can take in a sealed bottle of water, or an empty reusable bottle.

You can take in food but they basically say enough for you and 'no branded items' I think this is so if you are eating no one is getting free advertising.

There are lots of free water stations and at the NEC there was at least one drink vending machine.

If you are travelling from the North then Wolverhampton has a huge, open 24 hours, car park at the station.

www.sabaparking.co.uk/car-park/wolverhampton-station-car-park

Virtually all trains south from Wolves stop at Birmingham New St, if you get a fast train it's 15 mins and one stop.

To get to Birmingham international it tends to be slower trains so 30 - 45 mins.

There is parking at Birmingham Airport but that isn't a cheap option.

To get to Central Birmingham from Wolves you can also use the tram, Either from the city centre, or from Priestfield station, that has quite a bit of parking.

Personally I prefer the tram, it has level access and is much more open than the train although it takes about 30 mins to New St. We used the train because the tram doesn't go to the NEC.

If you are driving down the M6 and want to use the tram get off at J10 and head to Bilston.

Pressed too soon link to prohibited and restricted items. The website leaves a lot to be desired.

www.birmingham2022.com/visit/prohibited-items#:~:text=Prohibited%20items%20include%3A&text=Offensive%20weapons%2C%20knives%2C%20martial%20arts,not%20permitted%20at%20any%20venue.

We went to the rugby 7s. A small backpack is fine. It has to fit under your seaat basically.

You are able to take in food and drink and a refilable bottle as Severn Trent have water fill up stations.

Most venues open 1.5-2 hours before hand and they ask that you are in your seat half an hour before the start.

@sashh
To be clear if coming from the north you'd recommend parking at wolverhampton, getting train from there to new street then the shuttle bus? are the shuttle buses quick and plentiful?

My other thought at the moment is to park at Tame bridge parkway (did this the other day) and then get the train to perry bar.

Thanks very much, will take water

Which venue are you going to?

I'm making it as suggestion, if you have already attended and were happy with that then stick tot he familiar route.

Also what time are you travelling, you mentioned the evening, trains from Brum North run fairly late, late enough for a night out in Brum, maybe 1.30 or 2 am?

@sashh
thanks for that we are heading to the Alexander stadium sat night

I think it would be about 50:50, just looking at the map, BUT I think the shuttle busses run until after the events so if it goes on longer than timetabled then the shuttle busses run later.

I think there are probably more trains between New st and Wolverhampton.
I think it's best to have look at the time tables for the trains.

let us know how you get on.

Hi all thought I would update. Athletics evening was great with a really good atmosphere and some super competing, but the Jaguar Land Rover P&R was a bit of a trial. They showed us to the top floor and there was no lift which was a massive issue for DD who has some mobility issues atm. We could have parked outside on the flat if we had flagged it up (and would have if we had known there was no lift!) so I would advise that if anyone in your party might struggle with stairs.

Then it was a good 10-min walk to the bus which was a bit rubbish for a P&R. The bus then for some reason took 45 mins to go all round the houses and get to the stadium (six miles away). Then (obvs) there is a fair walk to the stadium itself (maybe another 5-10 mins) and of course after the event a longish wait (about 30 mins) at the end for a bus. Bus back went a much quicker route tho!
In total it took us more than two hours to get there and a similar time to get home and we live less than 40 miles away, so that wasn’t great. The gymnastics last Friday (at the Arena) was an hour’s journey door-to-door which was a lot better (parking in a central car park booked online, similar price to P&R).

We are at the stadium again tomorrow but are looking into either a) parking somewhere a 15-min walk away (we had to walk that far anyway with the P&R) or b) parking near a station and getting a free train in then walking 15 mins (but I fear that the trains may be rammed). This is even tho I have booked and paid for the P&R again.

One the plus side, the security at the stadium was super quick, once we actually got there we walked straight in. I would deffo advise taking food as it was £££ (predictably) and also going to the loo before you go in as there were no loos in the stadium itself (we were in the cheap seats on the temp structure to be fair). Also no rubbish bins (?for security reasons?) so I wished I had taken a plastic bag for our rubbish, rather than walking down all the stairs again. You may be on the home straight tho where this would not be an issue
It was a great evening, so please don’t let what is intended as helpful advice put anyone off! Also apols for essay.

There were toilets inside the stadium. We went to some inside the (home?) stand. The one with the flat roof.

We got the P&R on Tuesday morning from Bescot Stadium and it all went very smoothly for us (except we had to get there for 7.15!)

Hope you have a lovely time OP.

We were in the cheap seats (really high up in the bend, no roof) and you had to walk all the way down the stairs to get to anything (bins, food, loos). I am ready to believe that better seats came with better facilities. I just wanted to flag it as I wouldn’t have wanted to really need the loo at any stage.

So we went on Weds and the bus queues at the end were absolutely insane. DH parked on a street and ended up walking 10 mins to the venue, somewhere on the other side of the locks, Regina Drive area, so I'd just drive near there and see what you find.

We went on Wednesday. I parked at the mailbox with a prepaid space then we got train to Perry Barr and then took the shuttle from Perry Barr station to the venue. It's meant to be accessible only Shuttles but they were half empty and plentiful so they let us on. Otherwise would have been the 51 bus or walk. On the way back we left a bit early and got the shuttle back to Brum. No queues but like I say we dipped out early. Theres Accessible shuttles direct to stadium from new street too and so if your running late see if there are spaces on them maybe. Food and drink is extortionate, 3 quid for pop 16 quid for burger and chips so take stuff in!!!

That sounds normal for the athletics stadiums I've been to, you always have to come down the stairs to ground level to get to toilets and food. A large football stadium like Wembley, or Wimbledon Centre Court, have toilets on different levels of seating, because they are more of a solid building with space for toilets on each level of the stands.

We went on Wednesday morning and evening to the athletics. We used Just Park and parked in someones drive just a few streets from the stadium, was very easy but we did book it in January so not sure if anything still available. We found the security really quick and the whole thing well organised. Have fun all who go.

The same for a lot of big sporting venues. As you say it's only ones like Wembley etc that are different.