Ground #411 - Kassam Stadium

Date: 12th August 2025
Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire
Ground: Kassam Stadium

My fourth new ground of 2025 was on Tuesday 12th August at Kassam Stadium in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The game was Oxford United vs. Colchester United in the League Cup 1st Round.

The Kassam Stadium is located on the southern outskirts of the city. some 4.5 miles south of Oxford railway station. It sits close to the Oxford Science Park, with the ground largely surrounded by car parking with a few neighbours in the form of a hotel, a bowling alley and a few restaurants. The venue opened in 2001 with the club leaving it from the previous home of the Manor Ground where they had resided since 1925. 

The Kassam Stadium is well-known for its unusual three-sided layout with the planned 4th stand scrapped after construction cost overruns. The western end behind the goal has a TV screen with the boundary wall fairly close to the pitch to allow the land to be utilised for car parking. The East Stand behind the other goals shows what would have been replicated there. This 2,879 capacity structure is single-tier but the top half of the seating section slopes more steeply than the bottom half.

The main stand is on the southern side of the ground and is the only two-tier stand at the Kassam Stadium. The section between the two tiers of seating is taken up by hospitality boxes. Inside the building is a conference centre, a bar and club offices. There is a police control box at back towards the eastern end and a media section at the back towards western end. The dugouts and players tunnel is on this side and all of these additions mean the stand's capacity of 4,495 is only the second highest at the venue. The highest is the single-tier North Stand which can hold 5,026 supporters and is split between home and away fans.

The game was a League Cup 1st Round tie between Championship side Oxford United and League Two side Colchester United. Oxford started strongly and grabbed an early goal in the 9th minute when Tyler Goodrham let fly from 25 yards and found the top corner. The hosts sought to extend their lead in the 21st minute with Matt Phillips cutting inside from the left wing and curling a shot which had to be palmed round the post by Matt Macey. After the quarter of the game mark, Colchester started to have more say with shots from Arthur Read and JK Gordon saved by Jamie Cumming. The second half saw more long shots - Oxford's best was when Cameron Brannagan saw his effort palmed wide by Matt Macey in the 77th minute. The final minutes were spent camped in Oxford's half but shots from Ronnie Harvey and Tom Flanagan were blocked by Oxford's backline as they held on to reach Round 2.

Result: Oxford United 1-0 Colchester United

Competition: League Cup

Attendance: 3,453