City Ground
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| The City Ground | |
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| Full name | The City Ground |
| Nickname | Trentside |
| Built | 1898 |
| Opened | 1898 |
| Capacity | 30,602 |
| Home of | Nottingham Forest Football Club |
| Pitch size | 115 x 78 yards |
The City Ground is a football stadium in Nottingham, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest football club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602.
The stadium was one of the venues for Euro 96, and is only three hundreds yard away from Meadow Lane, home of Forest's rivals Notts County; the two grounds are the closest in England.
It is the largest stadium in League One by over 5,000 seats, and the 8th largest outside of the Premiership.
[edit] Brief history
Nottingham Forest moved to their new ground on September 3, 1898. In order to raise the £3,000 required to finance the move the club asked members, supporters and businessmen to subscribe to “New Ground Scheme” bearer bonds which cost £5 each. Over £2,000 was raised this way.
The new ground was called the City Ground. It was only a few hundred yards from the old Town Ground at the opposite end of Trent Bridge, which had been named after the Town Arms pub. Nottingham was granted its Charter as a City in 1897 and it was called the City Ground to commemorate this, in spite of the ground being just outside the city. The ground was wide open on three sides with no protection from the weather. But the pitch was one of the finest in the country. This was due to the presence on the committee of J. W. Bardill, a nurseryman whose family firm still exists in Nottingham and whose company was given the task of preparing the pitch.
In 1935 the club had the opportunity to buy the ground from Nottingham Corporation for £7,000 but it was not proceeded with.
On October 12, 1957 a new East Stand opened at the City Ground costing £40,000 and having benches to sit up to 2,500 fans. The visitors for the opening were Manchester United’s “Busby Babes”. A new record attendance of 47,804 saw United win 2-1 and the ball, signed by both teams, is still in the Trophy Room.
The Main Stand was largely rebuilt in 1965. But on August 24, 1968 fire broke out in the Main Stand during a First Division game against Leeds United. The stand was subsequently burned to the ground but thankfully, despite a crowd of 31,126, there were no casualties. The fire started, probably in the dressing room area, just before half-time and as much of it was built of wood, it spread rapidly and the whole stand went up in flames. As a result Forest played six ‘home’ matches at nearby Meadow Lane and did not win one of them. Sadly many of the club’s records, trophies, memorabilia etc. were lost in the fire. The Stand was rebuilt with a capacity of 5,708.
The Brian Clough Stand was built in 1980 at a cost of £2m – largely from proceeds of the unforgettable era in which Forest brought the European Cup back to Nottingham in 1979 and 1980. Under Clough’s reign Forest had taken the English domestic game and the European scene by storm and money raised from those outstanding successes was invested in a stand that had a capacity of 10,000. The Stand also incorporated 36 executive boxes and large dining area which was to be the focus of the club’s corporate hospitality arrangements.
More major development took part in 1992-93 with the rebuilding of the Bridgford Stand. Work started in April, 1992 and when completed the Stand had a capacity of 7,710, the lower tier of 5,131 being allocated to away supporters. The unusual shape of the roof was a planning requirement to allow sunlight to reach houses in nearby Colwick Road. The Stand includes accommodation for 70 wheelchair supporters. It also houses a Management Suite, which includes the public address systems, computerised electronic scoreboard controls and, of course, the police matchday operation.
The Trent End was the most recent stand to be rebuilt – in time for Euro ’96 – the European Championships. The new stand, such a prominent landmark by the River Trent, had a capacity of 7,338 to take the ground’s capacity to 30,602.
Although Forest fans are known to be demanding of their team, both in terms of playing style and passion,there is always a very good atmosphere at the City Ground, where most of the singing comes from the Capital One Corner and the A-Block of the Main Stand, the two closest areas to the away fans; but the Trent End can make a lot of noise too. Despite being in the third tier of English football, the current average attendance of over 20,000 is more than four Premiership clubs and would be among the top 10 the Championship.
On July 6, 2005, the stadium hosted its first music concert when R.E.M. performed there.
[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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