Marston Road (Stafford)

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1 Ground History
2 External links

[edit] Ground History

Stafford Rangers have played at Marston Road for over 110 years - that's why it's falling down. The first competitive game at the ground was on Saturday 5th September 1896. Over the years the ground has seen a few notable developments, including the installation of floodlights in 1969, the building of a new main stand in 1975 and the extending of the Social Club in 1997. During the 2005/06 season, the floodlights were replaced and the seating capacity of the stand was increased to over 500 seats. The stadium's original name was The Albion Ground. [1]

[edit] Main Stand Side

530 seats in a single stand which sits on the half way line, containing press/directors facilities (interestingly the blue seats now in place were actually bought from Leicester City's doomed Main Stand due to ground improvements required for National Conference football). Either side of the stand lies shallow terracing.

[edit] Lotus Side

Small terrace stand that runs the length of the pitch with old wooden roof supports that according to some date back to before the 1st World War [citation needed].

[edit] The Shed End

The traditional gathering point for the more vocal parts of rangers support. The Shed End is said to have equal ability to "suck a goal in" as other supporter strong-holds such as Manchester United's Stretford End. The Shed End has been knocked down and the new 2000 seater stand erected by 4th April 2007 when it is tested by the Conference Safety Officers.

[edit] Social Club End

Area of the ground at which the Social Club sits. In 1997 the Social Club was extended and a result there is limited capacity on this side of the ground. A new terrace has been erected here in time for the safety tests on the 4th April

[edit] The Future

Because of the land-locked nature of Marston Road it's widely accepted that for the club to progress then they must move away from their home of over 100 years. At present there are no official plans to do this and the club are instead upgrading the ground to meet league requirements.

Stafford Rangers have played at historic Marston Road for over 110 years. The first competitive game at the ground was on Saturday 5th September 1896, a North Staffordshire League fixture against Dresden United Reserves. Players changed in an upstairs club room at the Albion Hotel before crossing the road to what was referred to as the Albion Ground in those days. During 1920 the ground was purchased when Rangers became a limited company and soon banking appeared around the pitch and four huts were bought from Cannock Chase War Training Group. The first Supporters' Club built a stand on the Lotus site which is quite possibly the structure in use today, and work also commenced on dressing rooms, offices and turnstiles ready for the 1921 season. Two years later the club hit financial difficulties and the ground was mortgaged for £500 but worse followed for in 1929 fire destroyed part of it.

During the war Marston Road fell into disrepair but was renovated by Supporters Club members ready for use at the start of the 1946/47 season. It remained more or less unchanged until an upturn in playing fortunes during the late sixties saw the launch of a floodlighting fund. £6,000 was raised and on Monday 5th September 1969 a crowd of 3,045 watched the official opener against Port Vale. The seventies saw the ground develop to its current status with a new seated stand to replace the ramshackle old stand which stood along the Marston Road side. Considerable delays were experienced following planning permission for the 450-seater and the old stand was still in place when Rotherham United's visit in the FA Cup 3rd Round on January 4th 1975 brought in the record gate of 8,536. The stand was used for the last time the following month and volunteer work helped create the new one in time for the start of the following season.

The next significant work at Marston Road was the building of the new dressing room block and office complex which was officially opened in December 1977 following a match with Stoke City. New terrace steps were constructed at the Social Club end of the ground during the 1988 close season. When the new Board of Directors took over in 1997, work was carried out to tidy up the ground and the Social Club was extended.

During the 2005/06 season, the floodlights were replaced and the seating capacity of the stand was increased to over 500 seats.