The Hive Stadium

The Hive Stadium is a 5,176 (official) capacity stadium in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow on the former site of the Prince Edward Playing Fields, the new home for Football League Two football club Barnet and Championship rugby league club London Broncos. The stadium is also home to London Bees of the FA WSL, the ladies' team of Barnet F.C..

The record attendance at the stadium is 5,233 supporters (57 above official capacity, as terrace capacity restriction was relaxed for this game), for Barnet F.C.'s home game against Gateshead on 25 April 2015, when Barnet won promotion to League Two with a 2-0 win.

Background

Chairman Anthony Kleanthous had sought to move the club from Underhill since the 1990s due to the poor facilities at the ground. Attempts to move either to Barnet Copthall or to the greenbelt site directly to the south of Underhill were both unsuccessful, with John Prescott over-ruling a move to Copthall in 2001 after planning permission was granted.^[2]

Construction of the stadium, at the Prince Edward Playing Fields in Edgware, began in 2003 as a new home for Wealdstone F.C.. In 2004, Wealdstone's investment partners in the project went into liquidation, bringing construction work at the site to a halt. Harrow London Borough Council put the site up for tender in 2006, and Barnet F.C. won the right to occupy the site as a result of this.^[3]

Barnet F.C. moved into the stadium in summer 2013 due to disagreement with Barnet London Borough Council with regards to the lease of the land surrounding their home since 1907, Underhill Stadium,^[4] as well as the limited facilities at Underhill restricting the club's income. The awarding of the Barnet Copthall site to Saracens F.C., effectively ending Barnet F.C.'s hopes of ever moving to the site, accelerated the move to the Hive further.^[5] The club intend the use of the stadium at the Hive to be a temporary arrangement, with the long term aim to build a 10,000 capacity stadium in the London Borough of Barnet.^[6] There is a restriction on the lease of the Hive that prevents its use for football league matches and Barnet F.C. have been granted a 10 year change to this condition which came into effect in June 2015 as part of the club's requirements for promotion.

The Hive

Image of the Hive Stadium, home of Barnet F.C., viewed from the Jubilee line

A new training ground and centre of excellence for Barnet F.C., named the Hive, was opened at the site by Trevor Brooking and Fabio Capello in 2009. In the years following this, other facilities at the 44 acre site, including a banqueting suite, bar and lounge as well as a gym open to the public and also used by the club's players, were opened.

The club officially announced their intention to depart Underhill in December 2011, and confirmed that the 2012/13 season would be the last at the ground. In February 2013, the Football League ratified Barnet's move to the new stadium at the Hive.

London Broncos Rugby League

On 13 December 2013, it was confirmed that London Broncos would move to the Hive for 2014 and 2015. In round 2 of the 2014 Super League season Broncos played their first match at the Hive, against Salford.

The record crowd for the Broncos in 2014 was against Super League giants Wigan where 2,013 were in attendance at the Hive.^[7]

The Broncos left The Hive at the end of the 2015 season, due largely to the extortionate rent and unfair agreement demanded by Barnet. They moved to the Trailfinders Sports Ground in Ealing for 2016.

Future

Barnet have been seeking to increase the capacity of their home stadium to accommodate more fans and generate more revenue along with the increase revenue from hospitality and other areas associated with the upgrading of sports facilities. The long standing feud with the local council^[8] led to the preferred Barnet Copthall site being given away to Saracens F.C., and effectively ending Barnet F.C.'s hopes of ever moving to the site.^[9] The club still wants to play within its traditional Barnet area, however this is unlikely in the near future. The new stadium is largely demountable but there is no indication that the development will be moved elsewhere in future. On 15 July 2015 planning permission for a new 1,930 capacity north stand was approved, once built the capacity will be 6,480, however it will remain restricted to 5,176 until an application to increase it is made.

International matches

On 25 March 2015, the Hive hosted its first international fixture as England Under 20s drew 1-1 with Mexico under 20s.

Transport

Canons Park (400m) and Queensbury (600m) are the nearest tube stations to the Hive. Both are on the Jubilee line. Journey times take approximately 25 minutes to Baker Street and 35 minutes to London Bridge.

Edgware underground at the end of the Northern Line is around 25 minutes walk away.

Bus routes 79, 186 and 340 all serve the stadium.

See also

• Ground developments to football stadiums in the English football league system

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Hive Stadium.