Priestfield Stadium
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| Priestfield | |
| Full name | Priestfield Stadium |
| Built | 1892-1893 |
| Opened | 1893 |
| Capacity | 11,582 |
| Home of | Gillingham F.C. |
| Pitch size | 114 x 75 yards |
Priestfield Stadium, to be known formally as The krbs Priestfield Stadium from 1 June 2007, is the home stadium of English association football club Gillingham. It is located in Gillingham, Kent.
The ground has hosted not only Gillingham matches, but also England youth team matches (including an U17 tournament involving England, Russia, Italy and Portugal in 2004), and in April 2006 hosted the England women's national team World Cup Qualifier against Austria, achieving a gate of 8,068 (a higher attendance than Gillingham's average home gate for the 2005-06 season).
During the 1997/98 and 1998/99 seasons Brighton & Hove Albion played their home matches at Priestfield, as they had entered a ground-share agreement with Gillingham as a result of the sale of their Goldstone Ground.
Due to the redevelopment of the ground, the stadium now has a capacity of 11,582.
On October 10th 2004 Priestfield was voted the worst football ground in England by a poll in the Guardian newspaper. [1]
Contents |
[edit] The ground
The pitch is surrounded by four all-seater stands - the Medway Stand, the Rainham End, the Gordon Road Stand and the Brian Moore Stand. All are covered with the exception of the Brian Moore stand, which has no roof.
The Medway Stand, opened in 2000 at a cost of around £9 million, is the largest and northernmost of the four and has two-tiers with executive boxes between the top and bottom tier. It replaced the old Main Stand and part of the terracing at each end. The Main Stand had stood since 1915 and was demolished in 1999. Due to serious delays with the building of the new stand, the club was forced to spend one season first with that side of the ground completely empty, then later with building work ongoing. Even when the stand was opened to fans, most of the facilities had not been finished.
The Rainham End, which is located behind the goal at the east end of the pitch, opened in 1999. It replaced the old barrel-roofed Rainham End terrace, which was traditionally where the club's more fervent and vocal supporters stood.
The Gordon Road Stand was opened in 1997 and is opposite the Medway Stand. Built at a cost of £2.2 million, it replaced the old stand which had not been licenced for use since the Popplewell Inquiry into the Bradford fire, and which had at one time been the oldest stand in use in the Football League. A covered terrace, known as the Stanley Stand, and an open terrace towards the west end of the ground, were also demolished and their space incorporated into the current stand.
Opposite the Rainham End is the Brian Moore Stand, named after the late football commentator and Gillingham supporter Brian Moore. This stand is currently a temporary one, and was erected in 2003 to replace the old Gillingham End terracing (also known as the Town End). It accomodates both home and away fans, with the facility to vary the proportion of space offered to each, and the buffer zone between them, depending on the anticipated number of visiting fans. The Gillingham End was peculiar in that it had a pronounced slope, with one end of the terracing being higher up than the other end. This was due to the slope of the pitch when the terracing was built - in 1955 the pitch was levelled out but the gradient of the Town End left unchanged. It was hoped that work would begin on a permanent Brian Moore Stand, but due to talks of relocating the club to a new ground and the club's current financial problems, this has been put on hold.
The redevelopment of Priestfield has made it barely recognisable from 1995 when current owner Paul Scally took over. Added to the new stands were several new developments. The Medway Stand contains a club shop, ticket office, social club/bar (called the Blues Rock Cafe), business suite, changing rooms and club offices. Added to the new stands is a banqueting and conference centre, which is located behind the Rainham End and connected to the Medway Stand, thus allowing views from the banqueting suite onto the pitch.
In 1963/64 season floodlights were installed in the stadium at a cost of £14,000.
During the 1980s a large clock was installed at one end of the Rainham End and named The Lord Sondes Clock in honour of Henry Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes, a former director of the club. This was taken down as part of the renovation of the stadium during the 1990s and its present whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Ground facts
- Year opened: 1893
- Pitch size: 114 x 75 yards
- Record overall attendance: 23,002 v Queens Park Rangers - FA Cup 3rd Round - 10th Jan 1948
- Record league attendance: 20,128 v Millwall - Football League Division 3 (South) - 2nd Sept 1950
- Record (modern all-seated) attendance: 11,418 v West Ham United - Football League First Division - 20th Sept 2003
[edit] Recent average attendances
- 2004-05: 8,528 (Football League Championship)
- 2003-04: 8,517 (First Division)
- 2002-03: 8,078 (First Division)
[edit] Contact details
[edit] Address
- Redfern Avenue
- Gillingham
- Kent
- ME7 4DD
[edit] Contact numbers
- Phone: 01634 300000
- Fax: 01634 850986
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
| Football League One venues, 2006-2007 |
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| Alexandra Stadium | Ashton Gate | Bloomfield Road | Boundary Park Brunton Park | City Ground | Fitness First Stadium | Galpharm Stadium Glanford Park | Griffin Park | Huish Park | Keepmoat Stadium Liberty Stadium | Matchroom Stadium | Millmoor | New Den Stadium Prenton Park | Priestfield Stadium | Recreation Ground | Sixfields Stadium Vale Park | Valley Parade | Whaddon Road | Withdean Stadium |
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