The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingsmeadow The Fans Stadium

Full name	Kingsmeadow
Nickname	The Fans Stadium
Built	1989
Opened	1989
Capacity	4,500 (1,125 Seated)
Home of	AFC Wimbledon, Kingstonian FC
Pitch size	110 x 75 yards

Kingsmeadow (also known as The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow) is a 4,500 capacity football stadium located in the Norbiton area of Kingston upon Thames, London. The stadium is currently used for the home matches of both AFC Wimbledon and Kingstonian FC

1 Ownership
2 Current stands & capacity
3 History
4 External links
5 Photos

[edit] Ownership

It is understood that the freehold of the site is owned by Kingston Council. The leasehold, which safeguards the site for the borough's senior football team, was once owned by Kingstonian FC but is currently held by AFC Wimbledon.

[edit] Current stands & capacity

The Kingsmeadow stadium comprises the following stands:

The Kingston Road End - covered behind-the-goal terrace, usually designated the "Away" end.
The Main Stand - an all seater stand with 1,125 seats, which also includes the stadium's two bars and other facilites.
The John Smiths' Stand - covered shallow terrace, opposite the Main Stand.
The Athletics / "Tempest" end - covered behind-the-goal terrace; took its original name from the Kingston Athletics Centre which sits behind the stand.

The stadium has a capacity of 4,500, though in the past it held 6,299 (modern safety requirements required the capacity to be reduced). Kingsmeadow meets Football Conference standards, though neither Wimbledon nor Kingstonian currently play at this level.

The start of the 2005/06 season saw the Athletics End newly covered, thanks to the sponsorship of AFC Wimbledon's shirt manufacturers Tempest Sports in addition to stadium improvement grants, and the stand was officially relaunched as the "Tempest End", establishing it as the Dons' home end.

[edit] History

The stadium has been the home of Kingstonian since 1989, when they built the entire complex on the site following the sale of their traditional Richmond Road ground. Following relegation from the Conference National, Kingstonian went into financial administration and both club and ground were purchased by Rajesh Khosla and his son Anup, who were not football oriented and alienated a large part of Kingstonian's support.

After one season as tenants of the Khoslas (the rent not going to Kingstonian because the Khoslas had arranged that the stadium was owned in Rajesh's name and the club in Anup's), AFC Wimbledon undertook to buy the leasehold to the ground. The club's owners, The Dons Trust, marketed the ground as The Fans Stadium and launched a share issue to finance the purchase, which was closed the following summer. The club subsequently arranged for a commercial loan to clear the debt to the Khoslas.

Wimbledon kept Kingstonian on as tenants and charge them a lower rent than they themselves had been charged by the Khoslas, with both gate receipts and bar takings at Kingstonian games being retained solely by Kingstonian (which continued to be Khosla-owned until 2005). An annual friendly between the two clubs is also intended to defray the cost of the rent.