Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood
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| Highbury Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Highbury | |
| Full name | Highbury Stadium |
| Location | Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX |
| Built | 1934 |
| Opened | 1934 |
| Owner | |
| Tenants | Fleetwood Town F.C. Blackpool F.C Reserves |
| Capacity | 3,497 |
| Field dimensions | 115 x 71 yards (Google Earth) |
Highbury Stadium is a football stadium in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England with Wyre Borough Council as the Landlords. It is is the home ground of Fleetwood Town. It is also used for home matches by the Reserve team of Blackpool. The stadium has a capacity of 3,497 people.
Contents |
[edit] History
The ground was opened in 1934, at the culmination of the most successful three year period in the club's history, having completed a hat-trick of Lancashire Combination Cup wins. Until then the club had played on a ground next to the North Euston Hotel. It is situated on the south-west corner of the Memorial Park, just behind Highbury Avenue, for which it is named.
An unusual feature of the stadium is one stand, known as the Scratching Shed which is set back from the pitch by a large gap which is the only remnant from when for a short period from 1948 to 1952,the stadium was used for speedway with Fleetwood Flyers riding in the Second Division of the National Speedway league.[1][2] Fleetwood Flyers started the 1948 season as Wigan Warriors but moved to Fleetwood after racing a few away fixtures billed as Wigan. The Flyers raced in the National League Division Two from 1948 to 1951 without enjoying any great success. In 1952 the venue staged a number of open events with the team re-named the Fleetwood Knights.[3]
[edit] Ground redevelopment
In February 2007 the new Percy Ronson Stand was opened. A £200,000-plus development the stand is all terracing, and holds 1,243. This was the first new stand at the Highbury Stadium since 1939. The stand, at the south side of the ground runs about two-thirds the width of the pitch.[4][5]
On 31 July, 2007, Fleetwood Town announced the "Stadium Development Plan"[4] which includes -
- The demolition of the Scratching Shed, to be replaced by a new west terrace similar to the Percy Ronson Stand, and also positioned close to the pitch.[4]
- Demolition of the current terrace at the north end of the ground with another terrace similar to the Percy Ronson Stand. However this stand would run virtually the full width of the pitch unlike the Percy Ronson Stand.[4]
- Demolition of the current social club at the east side of the ground, and development of a new 1,000 all-seater stand incorporating new changing rooms, four executive boxes, dining facilities, a supporters bar, a first floor cafeteria, an IT suite, ground floor community room, new club offices and a club shop.[4]
The total cost of this three-staged final phase of the ground development is expected to be over £2M.[4]
The plan was finalized in December 2007, with construction being planned in two phases.[6]
- Phase One: This involves the first two items of the above plan - the demolition of the Scratching Shed, and the construction of the north and west terraces (tentatively named the Park End Stand and the West Stand), together with temporary seating in the West Stand, car parking, and new Football League standard floodlights.[7]
- Phase Two: This involves the third item in the above plan, the construction of the new Main Stand on the east side of the ground with social and changing facilities. The current main stand, a small construction set back from the pitch on the west side of the ground next to the Scratching Shed, will remain until the completion of Phase 2, as it holds the changing rooms.
Planning permission for Phase One was granted by Wyre Borough Council on 4 March, 2008,[8] and construction is intended to begin in May 2008, with the anticipation that it will be complete by the beginning of the 2008-09 season. Phase Two should begin during the close season in 2009.
Building work began on 28 April 2008 with clearing work behind the Park End Stand and continued with the demolition of the Scratching Shed, removal of the existing floodlights and clearance work on the main stand, the front of which has been demolished.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Fleetwood Town's stand hit by hold-up", Blackpool Gazette, 2006-10-03. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ "Motorbiking ace dies at 90", Blackpool Gazette, 2003-08-08. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ The Speedway Researcher, Fleetwood. The Speedway Researcher. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ a b c d e f Stadium Development Plan. Fleetwood Town F.C. (2007-07-31). Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ Young, Mike. "A Stand-out day", Blackpool Gazette, 2007-02-09. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
- ^ Highbury Stadium Redevelopment. Fleetwood Town F.C. (2007-12-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b Highbury Redevelopment. Fleetwood Town F.C. (2008-04-28). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ News Archive - March 2007-08. Fleetwood Town F.C. (2008-03-09). Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
