Carrow Road
Encyclopedia
Carrow Road is a football stadium
in Norwich
, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club
. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station
and the River Wensum
.
Carrow Road, named for the road on which it is located, was purpose-built by Norwich City in 1935; construction took just 82 days. Previously, the club played at Newmarket Road
and the appropriately-named The Nest
(Norwich City's nickname is "The Canaries").
The stadium has been extensively worked on several times during its history, notably following a devastating fire that destroyed the old City (now "Geoffrey Watling City") Stand in 1984. Having once accommodated standing supporters, since 1992 the ground has been all-seater
. The ground's modern capacity is 27,033, the most recent works being the addition of approximately 1,000 new seats in the summer of 2010. The stadium's all-seater record attendance is 26,801 which occurred in the Premier League match versus Arsenal
on 19 November 2011, but in the days of standing terraces, it saw crowds as large as 43,984 when they played Leicester City
in an FA Cup
match in 1963. The Carrow Road site also includes a club superstore, catering facilities and a Holiday Inn
hotel.
Norwich City F.C. played at Newmarket Road
from 1902 to 1908, with a record attendance of 10,366 in a match against Sheffield Wednesday
in a second round FA Cup
match in 1908. Following a dispute over the conditions of renting Newmarket Road, the club moved to a new home in 1908, a converted disused chalk pit in Rosary Road, Norwich. The new ground became known as "The Nest
".
By the 1930s, the ground capacity was proving insufficient for the growing crowds: The Nest's largest crowd was 25,037 in the 1934–35 FA Cup. The physical limitations of the site of The Nest meant that expansion was not possible, and there were safety problems with the existing structures. The club began looking for alternative accommodation in 1926, but the final straw was "the collapse of part of the pitch [which] ... sank up to 30 feet in one corner when the old chalk workings gave way". An attempt to patch up the problem with railway sleepers and soil failed to impress the Football Association, who wrote to the club on 15 May 1935, "saying The Nest was no longer suitable for large crowds and measures must be taken".
The club's dilemma was acute: the FA no longer approved of large crowds at The Nest, but the new season was just weeks away. About half a mile south of The Nest, they found a new site, the home of the Boulton Paul
Sports Ground in Carrow Road, which, on 1 June 1935, the club purchased on a 20 year lease, from its owners J & J Colman
.
. However, the name "Carrow" originally refers to the former Carrow Abbey that once stood on the riverside. Construction began swiftly: tenders were issued on the day the site was purchased and just ten days later, on 11 June, work began.
Initial materials were sourced by demolishing the former "Chicken Run" section of The Nest, with the rubble dumped as a bank at the river end of the new ground. Thereafter, work proceeded extremely quickly and by "17 August most of the stands and terraces had been completed". Finally, after just 82 days, "on 31 August Carrow Road football ground was opened for the Second Division match v West Ham United
."
Norwich won the game 4–3; the attendance was 29,779, which set a new record crowd for Norwich home games, and the first competitive goal at the ground was scored by Norwich's Doug Lochhead.
The original stadium was described as:
An aerial photograph
from August 1935 shows three sides of open terracing and a covered stand, with a Colman's Mustard
advertisement painted on its roof, visible only from the air. The club's association with Colman's has continued into the modern era; in 1997 the club signed a shirt sponsorship deal with the company. The mustard manufacturer's original factory was located adjacent to the stadium in Carrow Road, and the ground was opened by Russell Colman, the President of the club. Inglis describes the early Carrow Road as comprising "a Main Stand, a covered end terrace and two large open banks". The covered terrace was paid for by Captain Evelyn Barclay, the vice-president of Norwich City; it was constructed in time for the opening of the 1937–38 season, and while the original construction is long-gone, the end retains the name of its benefactor.
At this time, the ground's capacity was 38,000, with 10,000 of "the more vociferous of the home and away supporters", in the new Barclay end. The new ground received a royal seal of approval: on 29 October 1938, King George VI
watched the home game versus Millwall
, the first time a ruling monarch had watched a Second Division match.
, and the South Stand (now the Jarrold) was covered "soon after".
In the wake of the Ibrox stadium disaster in 1971, safety licences were required by clubs which resulted in the capacity being drastically reduced to around 20,000.
A two-tier terrace was built at the River End and soon after seats began to replace the terraces. By 1979 the stadium had a capacity of 28,392 with seats for 12,675. A fire in 1984 partially destroyed one of the stands which eventually led to its complete demolition and replacement by 1987 of a new City Stand, which chairman Robert Chase described as "Coming to a football match within the City Stand is very much like going to the theatre – the only difference being that our stage is covered with grass".
in 1989 and the subsequent outcome of the Taylor Report
in 1990, the stadium was converted to all-seater with three of the corners being filled, the corner between the Barclay and the Jarrold stands being a hotel. Today, Carrow Road is an all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 27,000,.
The South Stand was replaced in 2003 when a new 8,000 seat South stand, subsequently renamed the Jarrold Stand was built in its place. The club installed new electronic screen/scoreboards at either end of the stadium during the off-season, 2007. Located behind the goals, they are full colour, with scope for still and moving images and were first utilised in the 5–2 Carling Cup victory over Barnet
in August 2007.
In the summer of 2010, work was undertaken to increase the ground's capacity from 26,018 to 27,000. This was achieved by adding a new back row to the Barclay Stand, new front rows to the other three stands, as well as rearranging exit aisles in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand upper tier to make room for new seats.
Electronic advertising hoardings were added to the perimeter of the pitch in time for the 2011-12 Premier League.
The current stadium consists of four stands; the Barclay (the north-eastern stand), the Norwich and Peterborough Stand (the south-western stand), the Geoffrey Watling City Stand (the north-western stand) and the most recent addition, the Jarrold Stand (the south-eastern stand).
Still known as the "River End" among fans, this part of the ground is the closest to the River Wensum
. An old stand was demolished in April 1979 and a two-tiered replacement, costing £1.7m, was completed in December 1979.
The stand was renamed the Norwich & Peterborough Stand in the 1990s, due to a sponsorship deal with the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
. The stand had an extra 160 seats installed in the summer of 2010.
". Floodlights are supported on both corners of the The Barclay and the Norwich & Peterborough stands, which are the ends behind the goals.
The single-tiered Geoffrey Watling City Stand was built following a severe fire in its ageing predecessor on 25 October 1984, and to meet the required safety standards demanded of English football following the Hillsborough disaster
in 1989. The fire was apparently caused by an employee of the club leaving a three-bar electric fire switched on overnight. The City Stand (as it was named at the time) cost £1.7 million to build and was used for the first time on 30 August 1986 when City hosted Southampton. It was formally opened by the Duchess of Kent on 14 February 1987. The stand was renamed in honour of Norwich City president Geoffrey Watling
, who died in 2004. The stand is the smallest of the four in terms of capacity, but includes the Directors' Box, Press Area, and various other hospitality suites.
The Jarrold Stand is on the former site of the South Stand, which was named in honour of Sir Arthur South
.
The Jarrold Stand was partially opened for the game against Sheffield United
on 31 January 2004, and fully opened for the next home match against West Ham United
on 21 February 2004. This was a landmark for the stadium, as it represented the final stand of the original ground to be replaced.
The Jarrold Stand is sponsored by Jarrolds
, a local department store. The original four-year sponsorship deal has now been extended through to 2013. The stand is a cantilever, single-tiered, all-seated stand, that can hold up to 8,184 supporters. The Jarrold Stand is "unusual in having not one, but three separate television gantries suspended beneath its largely perspex roof."
In 2005, further work was undertaken on the stand and it reopened in 2006; the stand now extends around the Norwich and Peterborough Stand corner of the ground.
The corner infill between the Jarrold and Norwich & Peterborough stands is called the Aviva Community Stand, which was originally built in 2005 and named after sponsors Norwich Union
(now Aviva
). It seats up to 1,708 fans and also provides extensive facilities for disabled supporters.
The club had two options on how to fill the corner between The Barclay and the Jarrold Stand. The obvious choice, filling it with seats (like the other corner infills) was rejected, due to possible segregation problems that might arise (such a stand would enclose the away supporters with home fans on each side).
It was therefore decided to complete the ground's corners with a hotel. It was hoped that the potentially a hotel offered greater revenue opportunities compared to ticket sales. A contract was signed with the Holiday Inn
hotel chain in 2005, and construction commenced in 2006. The hotel opened in 2007 and allows customers with pitch-facing rooms to watch matches. These rooms are, however, subject to ground regulations on match days.
, which is part of Norwich City Football Club PLC. Delia Smith
took control of the catering at the club in 1999. Delia "became a supporter of Norwich City in 1969 when she met her husband, writer and editor Michael Wynn Jones"; she became a director in 1996. The service is described: "All menus are made up from Delia
's own published recipes (6,000 in all) and as we are situated in an agricultural area we take pride in using the finest ingredients and local seasonal produce."
Catering facilities include: Yellows, a "New York-style diner
" located in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand; Delia's Restaurant and Bar, a restaurant with "sleek, contemporary lines ... [that] would not be out of place in many a top London venue." located in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand; and The Gunn Club, a catering facility behind The Barclay named after Bryan Gunn
.
Additionally available is the Golden Goal scratchcard costing £1. If one of your times (mins:secs) matches any goal, you win a prize, with consolation prizes for being up to 4 seconds out.
In January 2011, with the side placed fourth in the Championship, Chairman Alan Bowkett
announced an interest in expanding "capacity by up to 8,000 seats", because "the ground, which can currently hold over 26,000 spectators, is regularly close to capacity." Bowkett said:
, but the England Under-21 team
has played at the stadium on four occasions. The first was in 1983 in a European Under-21 Championship
qualifying match against Denmark
, which England won 4–1. The team played another qualifying match in the same tournament at the stadium in 1997, beating Greece 4–2. This game saw Michael Owen
's only ever appearance for the England Under-21 side, before his subsequent rise to fame in the senior national team. As part of their preparations for the 2007 finals of the European Championship tournament, the England Under-21s played Slovakia
in a friendly match
at the ground in June 2007. England won 5–0 in front of a crowd of 20,193 people. Most recently, the ground played host to the first leg of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs
against Romania
, a game the home side won 2–1 in front of a then record all-seated attendance for the stadium of 25,749.
Games involving the England Under-19 team
and the full England women's team
have also been played at the stadium. The women's team have played there on two occasions; the first a 1–0 defeat to Nigeria
in 2002, in front of 8,000 fans, and the second a 1–0 victory over Iceland in 2006. The latter game's attendance of 9,616 was the largest crowd that had watched a friendly game involving the women's team.
, supported by Lulu
, appeared at the venue in 2005, performing what was at the time the largest concert ever to have been staged in Norwich. George Michael
gave a performance there on 12 June 2007, supported by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
. The John and Michael concerts both attracted crowds of over 20,000 people. Andrew Cullen, the director of sales and marketing for the Carrow Road ground, told BBC Radio Norfolk
prior to the George Michael performance that he hoped such concerts would become an annual summer event for the venue, if big enough star names could be attracted.
Welsh singer Tom Jones
was due to perform at Carrow Road in June 2010, but the event was cancelled due to seating expansion works at the stadium. Rod Stewart
performed a concert at the stadium in June 2011.
.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station
Norwich railway station
Norwich is a railway station serving the city of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Ely, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.-History:At one...
and the River Wensum
River Wensum
The River Wensum is a chalk fed river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two rivers. The complete river is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation ....
.
Carrow Road, named for the road on which it is located, was purpose-built by Norwich City in 1935; construction took just 82 days. Previously, the club played at Newmarket Road
Newmarket Road (football ground)
Newmarket Road was the home ground for Norwich City, before they moved to The Nest.Today, the club plays at Carrow Road.-History:Norwich City F.C. played at Newmarket Road from the club's founding in 1902 to 1908, with a record attendance of 10,366 in a match against Sheffield Wednesday in a second...
and the appropriately-named The Nest
The Nest (football ground)
The Nest was the former home ground of Norwich City F.C., used for 27 years between 1908 and 1935.The first competitive match at the stadium was a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on September 12 1908, with the final match being a 2-2 draw with Swansea on May 4 1935...
(Norwich City's nickname is "The Canaries").
The stadium has been extensively worked on several times during its history, notably following a devastating fire that destroyed the old City (now "Geoffrey Watling City") Stand in 1984. Having once accommodated standing supporters, since 1992 the ground has been all-seater
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
. The ground's modern capacity is 27,033, the most recent works being the addition of approximately 1,000 new seats in the summer of 2010. The stadium's all-seater record attendance is 26,801 which occurred in the Premier League match versus Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
on 19 November 2011, but in the days of standing terraces, it saw crowds as large as 43,984 when they played Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match in 1963. The Carrow Road site also includes a club superstore, catering facilities and a Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
hotel.
Background
Newmarket Road (football ground)
Newmarket Road was the home ground for Norwich City, before they moved to The Nest.Today, the club plays at Carrow Road.-History:Norwich City F.C. played at Newmarket Road from the club's founding in 1902 to 1908, with a record attendance of 10,366 in a match against Sheffield Wednesday in a second...
from 1902 to 1908, with a record attendance of 10,366 in a match against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
in a second round FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match in 1908. Following a dispute over the conditions of renting Newmarket Road, the club moved to a new home in 1908, a converted disused chalk pit in Rosary Road, Norwich. The new ground became known as "The Nest
The Nest (football ground)
The Nest was the former home ground of Norwich City F.C., used for 27 years between 1908 and 1935.The first competitive match at the stadium was a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on September 12 1908, with the final match being a 2-2 draw with Swansea on May 4 1935...
".
By the 1930s, the ground capacity was proving insufficient for the growing crowds: The Nest's largest crowd was 25,037 in the 1934–35 FA Cup. The physical limitations of the site of The Nest meant that expansion was not possible, and there were safety problems with the existing structures. The club began looking for alternative accommodation in 1926, but the final straw was "the collapse of part of the pitch [which] ... sank up to 30 feet in one corner when the old chalk workings gave way". An attempt to patch up the problem with railway sleepers and soil failed to impress the Football Association, who wrote to the club on 15 May 1935, "saying The Nest was no longer suitable for large crowds and measures must be taken".
The club's dilemma was acute: the FA no longer approved of large crowds at The Nest, but the new season was just weeks away. About half a mile south of The Nest, they found a new site, the home of the Boulton Paul
Boulton Paul Aircraft
Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was created in 1934, although its origins lay in 1914, and lasted until 1961...
Sports Ground in Carrow Road, which, on 1 June 1935, the club purchased on a 20 year lease, from its owners J & J Colman
Colman's
Colman's is a UK manufacturer of mustard and various other sauces, based at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Presently an operational division of the multinational Unilever company, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited range of products, almost all varieties of...
.
Initial construction
The new stadium took its name from the street, which encloses the ground on three sides, the fourth being the River WensumRiver Wensum
The River Wensum is a chalk fed river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two rivers. The complete river is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation ....
. However, the name "Carrow" originally refers to the former Carrow Abbey that once stood on the riverside. Construction began swiftly: tenders were issued on the day the site was purchased and just ten days later, on 11 June, work began.
Initial materials were sourced by demolishing the former "Chicken Run" section of The Nest, with the rubble dumped as a bank at the river end of the new ground. Thereafter, work proceeded extremely quickly and by "17 August most of the stands and terraces had been completed". Finally, after just 82 days, "on 31 August Carrow Road football ground was opened for the Second Division match v West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
."
Norwich won the game 4–3; the attendance was 29,779, which set a new record crowd for Norwich home games, and the first competitive goal at the ground was scored by Norwich's Doug Lochhead.
The original stadium was described as:
the largest construction job in the city since the building of Norwich Castle... "miraculously" built in just 82 days... it was referred to [by club officials] as 'The eighth wonder of the worldSeven Wonders of the Ancient WorldThe Seven Wonders of the World refers to remarkable constructions of classical antiquity listed by various authors in guidebooks popular among the ancient Hellenic tourists, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC...
'
An aerial photograph
Aerial photography
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and photographs may be taken by a photographer, triggered remotely or...
from August 1935 shows three sides of open terracing and a covered stand, with a Colman's Mustard
Colman's
Colman's is a UK manufacturer of mustard and various other sauces, based at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Presently an operational division of the multinational Unilever company, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited range of products, almost all varieties of...
advertisement painted on its roof, visible only from the air. The club's association with Colman's has continued into the modern era; in 1997 the club signed a shirt sponsorship deal with the company. The mustard manufacturer's original factory was located adjacent to the stadium in Carrow Road, and the ground was opened by Russell Colman, the President of the club. Inglis describes the early Carrow Road as comprising "a Main Stand, a covered end terrace and two large open banks". The covered terrace was paid for by Captain Evelyn Barclay, the vice-president of Norwich City; it was constructed in time for the opening of the 1937–38 season, and while the original construction is long-gone, the end retains the name of its benefactor.
At this time, the ground's capacity was 38,000, with 10,000 of "the more vociferous of the home and away supporters", in the new Barclay end. The new ground received a royal seal of approval: on 29 October 1938, King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
watched the home game versus Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
, the first time a ruling monarch had watched a Second Division match.
Ground developments
Floodlights were erected at the ground in 1956 and the £9,000 cost nearly sent the club into bankruptcy. However, Norwich's success in the 1959 FA Cup secured the financial status of the club and provided sufficient funds for a cover to be built over the South Stand. In 1963, the record was set for attendance for Carrow Road: a crowd of 43,984 watched a sixth round FA Cup match against Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
, and the South Stand (now the Jarrold) was covered "soon after".
In the wake of the Ibrox stadium disaster in 1971, safety licences were required by clubs which resulted in the capacity being drastically reduced to around 20,000.
Conversion to all-seater
After the Hillsborough disasterHillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in 1989 and the subsequent outcome of the Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
in 1990, the stadium was converted to all-seater with three of the corners being filled, the corner between the Barclay and the Jarrold stands being a hotel. Today, Carrow Road is an all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 27,000,.
The South Stand was replaced in 2003 when a new 8,000 seat South stand, subsequently renamed the Jarrold Stand was built in its place. The club installed new electronic screen/scoreboards at either end of the stadium during the off-season, 2007. Located behind the goals, they are full colour, with scope for still and moving images and were first utilised in the 5–2 Carling Cup victory over Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
in August 2007.
In the summer of 2010, work was undertaken to increase the ground's capacity from 26,018 to 27,000. This was achieved by adding a new back row to the Barclay Stand, new front rows to the other three stands, as well as rearranging exit aisles in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand upper tier to make room for new seats.
Electronic advertising hoardings were added to the perimeter of the pitch in time for the 2011-12 Premier League.
Stands
Norwich & Peterborough Stand
River Wensum
The River Wensum is a chalk fed river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two rivers. The complete river is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation ....
. An old stand was demolished in April 1979 and a two-tiered replacement, costing £1.7m, was completed in December 1979.
The stand was renamed the Norwich & Peterborough Stand in the 1990s, due to a sponsorship deal with the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society is a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. At the time of merger, it was the ninth largest building society in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £4.9 billion...
. The stand had an extra 160 seats installed in the summer of 2010.
The Barclay
The Barclay is named after Captain Evelyn Barclay, a former vice-president of the club, who donated the cost of roofing the original stand. This was built in 1937, but demolished in 1992, when a new two-tier structure, modelled on the River End (now the Norwich & Peterborough Stand) was built at a cost of £2.8m (offset by a £2m grant from the Football Trust). The purpose of the rebuilding was "to allow for the implementation of an all-seater stadium as per Lord Chief Justice Taylor's reportTaylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
". Floodlights are supported on both corners of the The Barclay and the Norwich & Peterborough stands, which are the ends behind the goals.
Geoffrey Watling City Stand
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in 1989. The fire was apparently caused by an employee of the club leaving a three-bar electric fire switched on overnight. The City Stand (as it was named at the time) cost £1.7 million to build and was used for the first time on 30 August 1986 when City hosted Southampton. It was formally opened by the Duchess of Kent on 14 February 1987. The stand was renamed in honour of Norwich City president Geoffrey Watling
Geoffrey Watling
Geoffrey Watling was a president and chairman of Norwich City . A charity in his name was founded in 1993.A stand at Norwich's stadium, Carrow Road is named after Watling...
, who died in 2004. The stand is the smallest of the four in terms of capacity, but includes the Directors' Box, Press Area, and various other hospitality suites.
Thorpe Corner
Where The Barclay extends around to meet the Geoffrey Watling City Stand, is the Thorpe Corner infill, "affectionately dubbed 'The Snakepit' by supporters", a term that is even sometimes used in official club reports.Jarrold Stand
Arthur South
Sir Arthur South was a prominent Norfolk politician and administrator in the 1970s.Having been Norwich City Council's youngest councillor, South was Lord Mayor of Norwich and led the Council for 18 years....
.
The Jarrold Stand was partially opened for the game against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
on 31 January 2004, and fully opened for the next home match against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on 21 February 2004. This was a landmark for the stadium, as it represented the final stand of the original ground to be replaced.
The Jarrold Stand is sponsored by Jarrolds
Jarrolds
Jarrolds is a large, family run department store in Norwich, England. It is situated at the corner of Exchange Street and London Street. The business was founded in 1770 in Woodbridge in Suffolk, moving to Norwich in 1823. The current building was designed by George John Skipper between 1903-5...
, a local department store. The original four-year sponsorship deal has now been extended through to 2013. The stand is a cantilever, single-tiered, all-seated stand, that can hold up to 8,184 supporters. The Jarrold Stand is "unusual in having not one, but three separate television gantries suspended beneath its largely perspex roof."
In 2005, further work was undertaken on the stand and it reopened in 2006; the stand now extends around the Norwich and Peterborough Stand corner of the ground.
Visiting supporter accommodation
Accommodation for visiting supporters is provided in the end of the Jarrold Stand closest to The Barclay. The Essential Football Fan describes the away end as follows:"As you would expect from a new stand, the facilities and view of the playing action are good. The normal allocation in this area is 2,500 fans although this can be increased further for cup games. If you are located at the very back of the stand then you can enjoy some fine views of the city."
Aviva Community Stand
Norwich Union
Norwich Union was the name given to insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It is the biggest life insurance provider in the United Kingdom, and has a strong position in motor insurance...
(now Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
). It seats up to 1,708 fans and also provides extensive facilities for disabled supporters.
Holiday Inn Hotel
It was therefore decided to complete the ground's corners with a hotel. It was hoped that the potentially a hotel offered greater revenue opportunities compared to ticket sales. A contract was signed with the Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
hotel chain in 2005, and construction commenced in 2006. The hotel opened in 2007 and allows customers with pitch-facing rooms to watch matches. These rooms are, however, subject to ground regulations on match days.
Catering
Catering at Carrow Road is provided by Delia's Canary CateringDelia's Canary Catering
Delia's Canary Catering is a catering company and a subsidiary body of Norwich City F.C..Created by Delia Smith, the company was created "as a means of increasing revenue into the club on both match and non-match days. Extensive refurbishment of the stands had to be carried out to accommodate new...
, which is part of Norwich City Football Club PLC. Delia Smith
Delia Smith
Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold....
took control of the catering at the club in 1999. Delia "became a supporter of Norwich City in 1969 when she met her husband, writer and editor Michael Wynn Jones"; she became a director in 1996. The service is described: "All menus are made up from Delia
Delia Smith
Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold....
's own published recipes (6,000 in all) and as we are situated in an agricultural area we take pride in using the finest ingredients and local seasonal produce."
Catering facilities include: Yellows, a "New York-style diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
" located in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand; Delia's Restaurant and Bar, a restaurant with "sleek, contemporary lines ... [that] would not be out of place in many a top London venue." located in the Norwich & Peterborough Stand; and The Gunn Club, a catering facility behind The Barclay named after Bryan Gunn
Bryan Gunn
Bryan James Gunn is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which he came to be most closely associated...
.
Other merchandising
The 100-page matchday programme for Norwich City matches, titled "OTBC", currently costs £3.50. However on some occasions, such as cup games or pre-season friendlies, a condensed version is sold for a reduced price.Additionally available is the Golden Goal scratchcard costing £1. If one of your times (mins:secs) matches any goal, you win a prize, with consolation prizes for being up to 4 seconds out.
Future plans for construction
The club have, in the past, stated that they have plans to increase the capacity of the stadium should the club win promotion back to the Premier League, with the increase in funds that entails financing the expansion. Specifically, these plans include building a second tier on the Jarrold Stand or the Geoffrey Watling City Stand. The club have stated that the Geoffrey Watling stand has foundations designed to support a second tier, and that the roof can be removed and replaced after a second tier is added.In January 2011, with the side placed fourth in the Championship, Chairman Alan Bowkett
Alan Bowkett
Alan Bowkett is the former Chairman of British company Redrow and the current Chairman of Norwich City football club, Norwich, England.He was previously Chief Executive of Boulton and Paul.On appointment to his role at Norwich City, he said:...
announced an interest in expanding "capacity by up to 8,000 seats", because "the ground, which can currently hold over 26,000 spectators, is regularly close to capacity." Bowkett said:
"The trade off is between capacity and price. I've had some conversations with people saying 'it's getting a bit expensive Alan' and I know it is. I think the obvious route is the Geoffrey Watling stand, whether you put another layer on it or take it down and re-build, I don't know. Probably the sensible thing to do is bite the bullet, take it down and build a new stand, but it means 18 to 24 months without revenue and the people in that stand tend to be the people who have been the supporters for many generations."
Other uses
International football
Carrow Road has never hosted a match involving the England national football teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, but the England Under-21 team
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
has played at the stadium on four occasions. The first was in 1983 in a European Under-21 Championship
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
qualifying match against Denmark
Denmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
, which England won 4–1. The team played another qualifying match in the same tournament at the stadium in 1997, beating Greece 4–2. This game saw Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
's only ever appearance for the England Under-21 side, before his subsequent rise to fame in the senior national team. As part of their preparations for the 2007 finals of the European Championship tournament, the England Under-21s played Slovakia
Slovakia national under-21 football team
The Slovakia national under-21 football team, controlled by the Slovak Football Association, is Slovakia's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Slovakia national football team.-European Under-21 Championship record:...
in a friendly match
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
at the ground in June 2007. England won 5–0 in front of a crowd of 20,193 people. Most recently, the ground played host to the first leg of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs
2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs
The play-off first legs were played on 8 October 2010, while the second legs were played on 12 October 2010. Winners of play-off round and host nation Denmark will participate in the championship next year.-Matches:...
against Romania
Romania national under-21 football team
The Romania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years....
, a game the home side won 2–1 in front of a then record all-seated attendance for the stadium of 25,749.
Games involving the England Under-19 team
England national under-19 football team
-Other matches:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Denmark.- Recent call-ups :The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad and remain eligible.-Past squads:...
and the full England women's team
England women's national football team
The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...
have also been played at the stadium. The women's team have played there on two occasions; the first a 1–0 defeat to Nigeria
Nigeria women's national football team
The Nigeria national women's football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation...
in 2002, in front of 8,000 fans, and the second a 1–0 victory over Iceland in 2006. The latter game's attendance of 9,616 was the largest crowd that had watched a friendly game involving the women's team.
Music
The stadium has also occasionally hosted music concerts. Status Quo played a concert there in 1997. Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, supported by Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
, appeared at the venue in 2005, performing what was at the time the largest concert ever to have been staged in Norwich. George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
gave a performance there on 12 June 2007, supported by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
. The John and Michael concerts both attracted crowds of over 20,000 people. Andrew Cullen, the director of sales and marketing for the Carrow Road ground, told BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Norfolk, broadcasting since 11 September 1980. It broadcasts from the studios of BBC East in The Forum, Norwich on 95.1 FM , 104.4 FM , 95.6 FM , 855 kHz AM/MW , 873 kHz AM/MW BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC Local...
prior to the George Michael performance that he hoped such concerts would become an annual summer event for the venue, if big enough star names could be attracted.
Welsh singer Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
was due to perform at Carrow Road in June 2010, but the event was cancelled due to seating expansion works at the stadium. Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
performed a concert at the stadium in June 2011.
Rodeo
On 7 August 1943 the football ground was used for a rodeo show by members of the United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
.
Summary of ground records
- Highest attendance: 43,984, Norwich City 0–2 Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
, FA Cup Sixth Round, 30 March 1963 - Highest attendance (all-seater): 26,801, Norwich City 1–2 ArsenalArsenal F.C.Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Premier League, 19 November 2011 - Highest attendance (first home game of season, all-seater): 26,272, Norwich City 1–1 Stoke CityStoke City F.C.Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
, Premier League, 21 August 2011 - Biggest margin of victory: 8, Norwich City 8–0 WalsallWalsall F.C.Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, Football League Third Division SouthFootball League Third Division SouthThe Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
, 29 December 1951 - 8, Norwich City 8–0 Sutton UnitedSutton United F.C.Sutton United Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Conference South. They are based in Sutton, London, and play their home games at the Borough Sports Ground in Gander Green Lane....
, FA Cup Fourth Round, 28 January 1989 - Biggest margin of defeat: 6, Norwich City 1–7 Colchester UnitedColchester United F.C.Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
, Football League OneFootball League OneFootball League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
, 8 August 2009 - Goals in a game: 9 (several occurrences)
Average attendances since 2000
- 2010–11: 25,386 (Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
) - 2009–10: 24,755 (Football League OneFootball League OneFootball League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
) - 2008–09: 24,542 (Football League Championship)
- 2007–08: 24,527 (Football League Championship)
- 2006–07: 24,544 (Football League Championship)
- 2005–06: 24,833 (Football League Championship)
- 2004–05: 24,350 (Premier League)
- 2003–04: 18,866 (Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
) (Jarrold Stand rebuilding for first half of the season) - 2002–03: 20,352 (Football League First Division)
- 2001–02: 18,670 (Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
) - 2000–01: