It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for – men’s football returning to Gigg Lane for the first time in four years!
By the time Saturday comes around it will have been 1,547 days since Bury FC’s last competitive fixture at Gigg Lane – a 1-1 draw against Port Vale. Jordan Rossiter scored the last competitive goal that day, but who will score the next? Hopefully we’ll find out this weekend…
This match information pack is designed to offer you all the information you need ahead of what will be a historic afternoon.
In Opposition – Glossop North End
The club was founded in 1886 and joined the North Cheshire League four years later. Glossop spent two seasons each in The Combination and the Midland League, before moving to North Road and being elected into the Football League Second Division in 1898. Having been promoted in the 1898–99 season, they spent one season in the First Division. During this period the club was bankrolled by Sir Samuel Hill-Wood, who was later to become chairman of Arsenal. The club retains some connections with Arsenal. Glossop were relegated in 1900 and spent the next fifteen seasons in the Second Division, before exiting the Football League during World War I.
Post-war, they spent 1920 to 1957 in the Manchester League, being crowned champions in 1927–28. They moved from the Lancashire Combination back to the Manchester League in 1966, and then spent four seasons in the Cheshire County League from 1978 before the North West Counties was formed in 1982 in which Glossop were founder members, they had a 33-year stint in the league before winning the Premier Division title at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. They were beaten finalists in the FA Vase in 2009 and 2015.
In April 2023 GNE were relegated from Step 4 after a period of eight years, ending manager Stuart
Mellish’s two-year stint at the helm. Michael Worthington was appointed as manager in the summer of 2023 as the Hillmen head into their first season back in the NWCFL.
Tickets
Tickets are now on sale for Saturday’s game against Glossop North End!
We are able to operate at full capacity in the South Stand & East Stand (Cemetery End). These two stands alone give us a capacity of well over 5,000.
The Manchester Road End will remain closed. We are awaiting confirmation on what capacity the North (Main) Stand can operate at, but we know it will not be at full capacity, so we have elected to put tickets for the South Stand on sale now rather than delay sales further.
We are at capacity in the 1885 Suite after strong season ticket sales for that space so are unable to offer further hospitality tickets for this game.
For now, we will make the South Stand ticket only, and leave the Cemetery End as the pay-on-the-turnstile option. This makes it far easier to manage numbers for our volunteer turnstile operators.
Season ticket holders may choose any available stand. Should the South Stand look like it will sell out then we will release tickets for the Cemetery End also, by which time we should have more information on the Main Stand numbers.
We know this will be a well-attended game and many supporters will want to guarantee their place by purchasing a ticket in advance. Tickets are strictly unreserved seating ONLY.
Prices: £10 adult, £5 16-18, £3 Under 16s & Free for Under 5s.
Click here to purchase online tickets. Read here on how to access your tickets digitally.
On the Day & In the Ground
Travel: Gigg Lane is accessible by car and is well served by public transport, please see our page on the TfGM website, which advises the best travel routes to the stadium. Directions can be sourced via Google Maps below.
SatNav Postcode: BL9 9HR
WhatThreeWords: ///issues.skins.span
Parking: Our new car-park policy for the upcoming season is now in force.
Due to the limited space within the car park at Gigg Lane, it is reserved for the following:
- Team Playing Staff and Players
- Match and Competition Officials
- Club Staff and volunteers transporting matchday equipment
- Members of the 1885 Suite
- Sponsors
- Blue Badge Holders
If you have a blue badge or mobility issues please email the club secretary at secretary@buryfc.co.uk at least TWO days before the game. Blue Badge holders shall be prioritised for a parking space.
Entrance to the car park is strictly controlled and includes the areas within and in front of the fenced area. Please contact the Club Secretary with any other related queries.
There is on-street parking in the residential areas surrounding Gigg Lane, with supporters reminded to be respectful and considerate of the local residents at all times, as well as being mindful of and adhering to the parking permit measures in place in close proximity to the ground.
Stadium Entry: Gates will open at 2pm.
Our matchday volunteers will be on hand, both outside the turnstiles and inside the ground, to guide supporters to where they need to be. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask those who are there to help the day.
Food / Drink: Our new catering partner, Quirky Catering, will be operating the kiosks this weekend and throughout the season, and are accessible for supporters under the stands. A selection of hot and cold snacks will be available. Alcohol will be sold, and can be consumed anywhere in the stand. Please respect the advice from stewards on managing this process on the day.
Matchday Programme:
The award-winning team in charge of the programmes have come up with a fresh look for 2023-24.
A 60-page commemorative match programme ‘The Shakers‘ will be available and includes words from the Gaffer, a tribute to the late Mandy Freeman as well as your Bury FC stories & messages ahead of what will be a momentous day.
Make sure you don’t miss out on this historic edition – you can grab a copy online by purchasing ahead of the game or head to the sellers in and around the ground ahead of the game. This version will be £5.
Pound for the Ground: Our ‘Pound for the Ground’ half-time raffle tickets will be on sale in and around the ground, £1 per entry. Sellers accept cash or card, with 40% of the total pot going to the winning ticket with results announced over the PA system and on the scoreboard.
Keep #GiggGleaming: With so much work gone into Gigg Lane to get us to this point, we want to keep it that way and a lot of work goes into turning the ground around between games each weekend. We have a team of volunteers lined up to clean the stands following the game.
With this in mind, we urge all supporters to make sure any rubbish is processed in the correct manner, using the available bins where necessary, or if possible please take any rubbish away with you.
#NonLeagueDogs: For now, dogs are NOT permitted in the ground.
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make it to the action at Gigg Lane, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
Live Stream: For this game, we will have no live stream. Keep up-to-date with all our video content via the club’s YouTube Channel. Click to subscribe and never miss highlights and match reaction across the season.
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Join the team from the press box at Gigg Lane. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and score-line updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
Up the Shakers!
