Molineux Stadium
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| Molineux | |
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| Full name | Molineux Stadium |
| Built | 1889 |
| Opened | 1889 |
| Capacity | 28,525 |
| Home of | Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. |
| Pitch size | 116 x 74 yards |
Molineux Stadium is the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., who are currently members of the Football League Championship.
The stadium is located within a mile of Wolverhampton city centre, just outside the ring road, and is a prominent building both because of its size and because many parts of the stands are decorated in gold, to go with the team's colour of gold. It consists of four stands, the Steve Bull stand (formerly the John Ireland stand), the Jack Harris stand, the Stan Cullis stand and the Billy Wright stand.
In front of the Billy Wright stand is a statue of the player, who made 105 appearances for England, 90 of them as captain. In front of the Stan Cullis stand is a statue of the former player, captain and manager who led the team during their most successful era.
The total seated capacity of the ground is approximately 28,525. This was expanded in 2003 by the building of a temporary stand, known as the Graham Hughes stand, providing capacity for another 900 fans. These temporary seats were removed before the beginning of the 2006/07 season. In the days before the Taylor Report, which required British football stadia to provide seating for all those attending, the ground had a capacity of over 60,000; the record attendance for a match at the ground is 61,315 for a game against Liverpool F.C. on 11 February 1939.
On June 24, 2003, Molineux also became Wolverhampton's biggest live concert venue, with Bon Jovi performing in front of 34,000 people.
Molineux has hosted England internationals. The first was a 6-1 win over Ireland on March 7, 1891 (the same day England also beat Wales 4-1 at Sunderland's ground). England again beat Ireland, this time 4-0, on February 14, 1903 and lost to Wales 2-1 on February 5, 1936. The last was a 5-2 defeat of Denmark in a 1958 World Cup qualifier on December 5, 1956. In 2005, Molineux hosted some of the European Youth Championship Qualifying matches, which featured Mark Davies.
The first phase of the current Molineux was completed in 1978 when the John Ireland Stand opened. It cost £10million and was one of the most expensive developments at any football ground on its completion. But the bill for constructing the new stand plunged Wolves deep into debt and they narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 1982. By the time Wolves slid into the Fourth Division in 1986, the John Ireland Stand was the only section of the ground in use. The other three sections were quickly reopened before the end of the decade as Wolves achieved two successive promotions, but they were showing their age.
The North Bank terrace was demolished just after the start of the 1991-92 season, and the following summer the new Stan Cullis Stand was opened in its place. Then came the demolition of the Waterloo Road Stand, with the new Billy Wright Stand taking its place several months later. The final phase of the redevelopment came in 1993, when the new Jack Harris Stand was opened on the site of the South Bank terrace. Molineux, with an all-seated capacity of 28,500, was now one of the largest stadiums in England, although it has since been eclipsed by many other new and revamped stadiums.
In 2003, the John Ireland Stand was renamed the Steve Bull Stand, and at the same time the south-west corner of the ground was filled with 900 temporary seats, known as the Graham Hughes Stand, which brought the Molineux capacity up to 29,400 until their removal prior to the 2006/07 season.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club |
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| The Club | Stadium | Records | Seasons | Players | Managers |
| Football League Championship venues, 2006-2007 |
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| Britannia Stadium | Carrow Road | Deepdale | Elland Road The Hawthorns | Hillsborough | Home Park | Kenilworth Road KC Stadium | Layer Road | Loftus Road | Molineux Stadium Ninian Park | Oakwell Stadium | Portman Road | Pride Park Stadium Ricoh Arena | Roots Hall | Selhurst Park | Stadium of Light St Andrews | St Mary's Stadium | Turf Moor | Walkers Stadium |
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