Jane's Midlife Journey

With its 11,300 capacity stadium on the outskirts of a town with half a million inhabitants, AFC Bournemouth may be considered to be punching well above its weight in the English Premier League alongside footballing giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool. To put it into perspective, AFC Bournemouth has an annual wage bill of £54 million compared to Manchester City’s eye watering £202 million. Or put another way, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland earn almost as much between the two of them as Bournemouth’s entire squad put together. Nevertheless, AFC Bournemouth have found themselves in the Premier League for eight of the past ten years.

How to get to the Vitality Stadium

AFC Bournemouth play at the Vitality Stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, which is 2 miles north west of central Bournemouth. The stadium is easily accessed by car as it right next to the main road into Bournemouth (A338). Having said that, the roads around the ground become very congested on match days. I would recommend leaving your car at home (or parking nearby and walking the rest of the way to the stadium).

By bus

Buses No 1a/1b/1c and m2 stop at The Sovereign Centre (a 13 minute walk to the stadium). Buses No X3 and 22 stops at Queens Park Hotel (a 5 minute walk). Note: While these buses stop the closest to the stadium, they run far less frequently than some of the other services, so may not necessarily be the best option.

Pokesdown Station is an 18 minute walk from the stadium (head down Clarence Park Road and you can do most of this walk through the park).

I’d recommend arriving in plenty of time; the queue for security and then to pass through the turnstiles can take a while, particularly for women, as women can only join one particular queue to be frisked by a female security guard, whereas men can choose any queue they want. Also, partly because every now and again, someone gets stuck in the turnstiles because their ticket won’t scan for whatever reason. Oh, and of course for a pre-match beverage from one of the bars around the stadium.

Parking

There is car parking in Kings Park. The car park adjacent to the stadium costs £4.40 for 4 hours. Further details can be found here. It does fill up quickly (there are 500 spaces), so arrive early. Note: It can take some considerable time to get out of the car park after the game.  Supporters can also use nearby Avonborne College for Boys for Saturday games. This is free and has the advantage of being away from the congestion around Kings Park, whilst only a short walk to the stadium (around 12 minutes). Alternative parking can be found at the Sovereign Shopping Centre in Boscombe, costing £4 for 4 hours (around a 13 minute walk to the stadium).

Food & Drink

There are several bars and food concessions around the stadium. Prior to the match, additional concessions are also available in the forecourt. Plus a range of hospitality packages for those with plenty of money.

Toilets

The stadium is divided into blocks, each containing a foyer which houses food and drink concessions, toilets and TV screens. I’ve been to far worse toilets at a football match!

Other Facilities

There is a Superstore selling a large range of AFC Bournemouth merchandise just outside the ground. You name it, you can probably purchase it with an AFC Bournemouth logo.

In addition, there is merchandise from some of the owner’s other clubs, such as the lurid gold uniform of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Times/Dates

Fixtures for all AFC Bournemouth matches can be found here.

Matches

The advantage of such a small stadium is that you feel so close to the action. Unlike other football stadiums I’ve been to, you’re much nearer to the pitch and the players, thus making it a much more intimate experience. The recent purchase by American billionaire Bill Foley shows in the pre match build up, which is becoming more Americanised, with inspirational quotes being played over the traditional chant of ‘Red Army‘.

Premier League

To be honest, as the Vitality Stadium is so small, tickets to watch a Premier League game are like actual gold dust. Any available tickets are sold according to a point scheme, with each home game attended (in the past two years) amassing one point. Prices vary according to the seat and the opposition. League match tickets cost between £32 and £56 for an adult.

Cup Matches

Cup Match tickets can be easier to obtain, although season ticket holders usually get first refusal before tickets go on general sale. These are also allocated according to a (different) point scheme. Ticket costs vary according to the competition and the seat. I attended the less popular Carabao Cup (formerly the League Cup, but now renamed after some sort of water buffalo?!). For a mere £15, I bought a ticket for the third round match against Everton.

AFC Bournemouth Ladies

AFC Bournemouth also has a Ladies’ Team. They haven’t quite reached the same heights as their male counterparts. However, for the past two years, the ladies have played two matches, including their final home match of the season at The Vitality Stadium. Tickets cost just £7. We recently went to see the ladies taking on Bristol Rovers. The match drew a crowd of over 7,000 supporters and saw Bournemouth secure the league championship and promotion.

Friendlies

Pre season Friendlies are an opportunity to see the summer’s new signings in action. In 2023-24 pre season, we went to watch a home match versus top Italian side, Atalanta BC. With a new owner and a new manager – Andoni Iraola was appointed in June 2023 – all the players were keen to impress in a bid to secure their place in the first league match of the season.

More recently, we went to watch Bournemouth herald the start of the 2024-25 season taking on Iraola’s former team, top flight Spanish team, Rayo Vallecano.

Vitality Stadium for Children

Young AFC Bournemouth fans can join the Junior Cherries. Membership costs £9 a year with benefits including ticket ballots, an opportunity to meet players, discount in the shop and a match day meal deal. Plus Membership costs £15 a year and offers priority ticket ballots and an opportunity to be a mascot (not the dancing bear kind). Junior match tickets cost between £5 and £17 according to the seat and the competition.

• Updated: March 2025

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.