Victoria Park, Hartlepool
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| Victoria Park | |
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| Other Names: | Victoria Ground, The Vic |
| Location: | Hartlepool, England |
| Capacity: | 7,691 |
| Opened: | 1886 |
| Surface: | Grass Pitch |
| Groundsman: | David Brown |
| Safety Officer: | Maurice Russell |
| Tenants | |
| (1908 - present) | Hartlepool United F.C. |
| (1886-1908 and 1998-99) | West Hartlepool Rugby Club |
Victoria Park is a 7,691 capacity football ground in Hartlepool, Northern England and it is the home of Hartlepool United. The four sides of the ground are known as the Town End Terrace, The Camerons Brewery Stand, The Cyril Knowles Stand and the Rink End. The Town End Terrace is a standing area behind the south goal, it is usually the most vocal area of the ground. The Camerons Brewery Stand (formerly the Millhouse Stand) is an all seating stand with a terraced paddock and it is located at the east side of the ground. The Cyril Knowles Stand is a modern all seater stand that is located on the west of the ground. The Rink End is the newest of the stands and it is located at the North End of the ground. The Rink End houses 961 away fans, although teams with large away followins are sometimes given a small section of the Mill House stand.
The land in which Victoria Park resides was originally used as a limestone quarry, which was owned by the North-Eastern Railway Company. However in 1886 the land was bought by West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club for the development of a new rugby ground. The ground was then named the Victoria Ground in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. However in 1908 West Hartlepool Rugby Club went bust leaving ‘The Victoria Ground’ vacant. Shortly afterwards, the ground was registered under the name of “The Hartlepools United Football Athletic Company Limited”, a football team representing both the town of West Hartlepool and the original settlement of Old Hartlepool. This football team developed into Hartlepool United. From 1908- 1910 Hartlepools United shared their ground with the amateurs of West Hartlepool until the club broke up leaving Hartlepools United as the sole occupiers of the ground. In 1916 during the first world war the ground was bombed by a German Zeppelin, which destroyed the main stand. A temporally stand was built and after the war Hartlepool tried to claim compensation from the German government in order to replace it. However these attempts failed and the replacement stand was eventually replaced by the Millhouse Stand in the 1980s. In 1998 West Hartlepool Ruby Club were allowed to once again share the ground until 2001. However this only lasts until 1999. In 1996 the ground underwent improvements and was renamed to Victoria Park. Among the improvements include improvements to the conditions of the stands and pitch. In 2003, groundsman Dave Brown was crowned “Division Three Groundsman of the Year” and the condition of the pitch has continuously been nominated for top groundsman honours.[1]. In 2006, Hartlepool nade a bid to buy the lease of the land that the ground is located on [2]. However, Hartlepool Borough council rejected this proposal claiming that accepting the offer would be premature in light of recent development in the area around Victoria Park [3].
The ground is located on Clarence Road, which is a stones throw from the Town Centre. This allows visitors access to a large range of pubs. However, the most popular pub for visiting fans is The Corner Flag which is located on the Victoria Park’s premises between the Cameron’s Brewery Stand and the Rink End. The newly opened The Victoria Suite is also located at the ground but this is for members only. Hartlepool have gained a lot of plaudits from opposition fans for their meat pies that are sold on the grounds premises. The ground’s location also makes parking easier as it is near several large car parks such as the Jacksons Landing Shopping Centre and other retail parks. The ground is also easy to access for those coming by train as it is only 1/2 mile from the station.
Over the years The Vic has been relatively free from crowd trouble. However when the match has been against local rivals such as Darlington and Carlisle United, there has been some of trouble in the past. One of the biggest incidents of crowd trouble came in 2000 during Hartlepool’s play-off match against Darlington. In this match Darlington manager Dave Hodgson was struck with a coin and Marco Gabbiadini was punched by a fan after the match [4]. There’s have also been some Health and Safety issues regarding fans refusing to sit in the seating areas. This has forced the club to employ strict ground regulations[5].
Victoria Park has hosted some good games over the years. In 1957 it attracted its record attendance of 17,264 for 3rd Round F.A Cup Game against Manchester United which Hartlepool got beat 4-3 [6]. This attedance is no longer possible to achieve as the ground is now with the exception of the Town End and bottom half of the Camerons Brewery Stand an all seater. Manchester United later returned later to Victoria Park for a heavily attended friendly and lost 6-2. The highest attendance since the 1990s was 7,448 against Sheffield Wednesday in 2003.
[edit] External links
- Google Maps: Victoria Park, TS24 8BZ
- Internet Ground Guide: Victoria Park
- Hartlepool United: Victoria Park
| Football League Two venues, 2006-2007 |
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| Adams Park | Bescot Stadium | Blundell Park | County Ground The Darlington Arena | Edgar Street | Edgeley Park | Field Mill Fraser Eagle Stadium | Gay Meadow | Gigg Lane | London Road Meadow Lane | Memorial Stadium | Moss Rose | National Hockey Stadium Plainmoor | Racecourse Ground | Saunders Honda Stadium | Sincil Bank Spotland Stadium | Underhill Stadium | Victoria Park | York Street |
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