The Weston Homes Community Stadium has won plenty of plaudits over the past year, and people from around the local area continue to be impressed by the club's award winning facility.

And whilst the stadium has shone in the last twelve months, the club have been working hard over the summer to provide an even better matchday experience in the coming season.

For one visiting supporter, that has already paid dividends.

Whilst a regular at Layer Road, Sam Deeprose came to his first game at the 10,000 all-seater facility against Aston Villa and was hugely impressed.

He told the official website: "The stadium was really impressive. It looked good and was very new and clean, very different to the times i had gone to watch Colchester play at Layer Road.

"The public transport was a very easy and efficient way to get there and I liked the fact that there were more than one collection and drop off points for the supporters when they wanted to go home. 

"I liked the fact that the stadium had many turnstiles to get into the ground. This was a problem at Layer Road and it took less than a few minutes to get into the stadium and to find your seat. The seats were comfy and gave a great view of the new pitch.

"Unlike at Layer Road when you used to have to stand I think everybody could see the match perfectly from their seats."

With all that in mind, Sam believes that it won't be too long before he's back in the South Stand and enjoying watching the U's in action.

The season kicks off next weekend with the match at Norwich City, but it won't be too long until the U's are in action at home with three games in a week at the start of August.

"A new stadium in Colchester had been talked about for a long time and i was a bit worried about what it would be like but i was very impressed and would like to go again," he added. 

"The atmosphere was good at the Villa game. The crowd were up for the game and everybody seemed to respect the good football being played by both teams."

It's not too late to get yourself a season ticket for the new campaign. Click HERE to find out more details about how you could be watching for less than £10 a game!