Edgeley Park
Encyclopedia
Edgeley Park is an association football and rugby union
stadium in Stockport
, England. The stadium was initially built for the rugby league
club Stockport in 1901, but by 1902, the rugby club was defunct and in the same year, Stockport County Football Club, who were looking for a bigger ground, moved into Edgeley Park and converted it into a football stadium. Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium, holding around 10,900 spectators. Home to Stockport County for 109 years, the stadium is now shared with Sale Sharks
, a rugby union club.
The stadium is built on Hardcastle Road, in the Edgeley
area of Stockport
.
club Stockport, before Stockport County moved there in 1902, after needing to find a bigger stadium to play in following their entrance into the Football League two years earlier. Stockport County have undertaken an entire redevelopment of the ground since moving into the ground, most notably the building of the Cheadle End, which opened in 1995.
The Main Stand of the ground, which, at the time, was made of wood, famously burned down in a fire in 1935, destroying all of Stockport County's previous records; therefore, apart from having to rebuild a significant section of the ground, the club had to undertake a massive task to piece together information about previous results, playing squads, etc.
Following the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985, work began to remove all wooden structures and standing terraces from the stadium, which drastically reduced capacity, but increased safety and ensured that the ground complies to Football League regulations. This work was eventually completed by 2001.
The stadium's name is often simply abbreviated to 'EP' by fans.
The Main Stand seats 2,020, of which 405 are executive seats, and contains players' changing rooms and some club offices, as well as toilets, boardroom, and several bars for half-time refreshments. The team dugouts are situated at the front of the Main Stand.
The original Cheadle End, built in 1923, was a small covered terrace of largely timber construction, with room for around 3,000 people. It was made all-seater in 1967, and its capacity cut to 1,100. This stand was demolished in 1985, after the Bradford City stadium fire, and replaced by seven steps of shallow uncovered terracing which held only a small number of supporters. However, for the 10 years that it existed, this terrace was extremely popular with County fans because of its traditional feel. Netting was controversially placed in front of the terrace during the late 1980s; after the disaster at Hillsborough Stadium
in 1989 the netting was removed.
In 1995, Stockport chairman Brendan Elwood built a brand-new, state-of-the-art stand to replace the small terrace. The new Cheadle End is a two-tiered stand, holding 5,044 supporters, making it almost as large in terms of capacity as the other 3 stands collectively. The stand is all-seater, as is the rest of the stadium nowadays, and was opened in 1995 with a friendly game against Manchester City. The letters SCFC are visible in the seating, where white seats are used instead of blue, to symbolise Stockport County Football Club.
The stand holds the Insider Suite, a conference and banqueting facility, as well as the ticket office, toilets, refreshments facilities and the club shops; the club shop is relatively large, and was used by Stockport County until 2005. However, when the Sale Sharks
owner Brian Kennedy sold Stockport County at that time, they vacated the club shop - the County club shop is now located in separate premises around the corner.
.
The first structure on this side of the ground was a small, covered enclosure with a capacity of 1,400. This was replaced in 1927 with a much larger terraced stand, which in 1965, in a FA Cup
match against Liverpool
, held 16,000 people. In 1978 the terracing at the rear of the stand was levelled and its capacity halved; eventually, in late 1993, the Pop Side was made all-seater.
It currently holds 2,411 and is occasionally given to larger away supports, if seats are not required by home supporters. There are toilets and refreshment facilities on a small outdoor concourse behind the stand, which backs onto a small reservoir. As with the Main Stand opposite, the roof is supported towards the front by several steel columns; their thickness and location are partly explained by the fact that when the current roof was built, in 1956, it had to be erected in front of an existing roof, which covered only the rear part of the then much deeper and higher terrace.
club, is situated behind this end of the stadium.
In the late 1990s, after the recent major development at the Cheadle End of the ground, County chairman Brendan Elwood announced plans to rebuild the Railway End. The plan would have involved purchasing The Bungalow behind it, on which a hotel would have been built by Britannia Building Society
, which would have overlooked the ground. However, like other Millennium-related projects, these plans never came to fruition.
visited Edgeley Park to play Stockport County in the 5th round of the FA Cup
in 1950.
The floodlight system was first used with an opening friendly match against Fortuna '54 Geleen
of Holland on 16 October 1956, whose side included four members of the Dutch national team that had defeated Belgium the previous week.
The ground once held two matches by the England international football team on the same day. On the 14 January 1958 the England squad were due to play training matches at nearby Maine Road
, home of Manchester City FC but the pitch was frozen. Edgeley Park's pitch was deemed playable so it was decided to hold the matches in Stockport instead.
The first game saw England draw 2-2 with a Manchester City XI, and the second saw the England senior side defeat the England U23 side 1-0.
Edgeley Park was the venue for the final of the 1978 World Lacrosse Championship
.
Chester City
played a home Rumbelows Cup
tie against Manchester City at Edgeley Park on 8 October 1991, owing to safety concerns regarding their temporary Moss Rose
home.
Edgeley Park was (until County's relegation in May 2011) the closest league football ground to the River Mersey
- it is actually closer than Liverpool
's Anfield
, Everton
's Goodison Park
or Tranmere Rovers' Prenton Park
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
stadium in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, England. The stadium was initially built for the rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club Stockport in 1901, but by 1902, the rugby club was defunct and in the same year, Stockport County Football Club, who were looking for a bigger ground, moved into Edgeley Park and converted it into a football stadium. Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium, holding around 10,900 spectators. Home to Stockport County for 109 years, the stadium is now shared with Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
, a rugby union club.
The stadium is built on Hardcastle Road, in the Edgeley
Edgeley
Edgeley is a residential area within the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The suburb is characterised largely by Victorian close-packed terraced housing and council estates with some larger properties around Alexandra Park. Edgeley includes Edgeley Park, home of Stockport County F.C...
area of Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
.
History
The stadium was built in 1901 for the rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club Stockport, before Stockport County moved there in 1902, after needing to find a bigger stadium to play in following their entrance into the Football League two years earlier. Stockport County have undertaken an entire redevelopment of the ground since moving into the ground, most notably the building of the Cheadle End, which opened in 1995.
The Main Stand of the ground, which, at the time, was made of wood, famously burned down in a fire in 1935, destroying all of Stockport County's previous records; therefore, apart from having to rebuild a significant section of the ground, the club had to undertake a massive task to piece together information about previous results, playing squads, etc.
Following the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985, work began to remove all wooden structures and standing terraces from the stadium, which drastically reduced capacity, but increased safety and ensured that the ground complies to Football League regulations. This work was eventually completed by 2001.
The stadium's name is often simply abbreviated to 'EP' by fans.
Main Stand
The first major development at Edgeley Park was the construction of the original Main Stand on the north (Hardcastle Road) side of the ground. Initially holding around 500 seats, this was a relatively low timber structure and it was totally destroyed by a fire in 1935. It was replaced a year later by the current stand, constructed of brick and steel, a building seen by many as a traditional, old-fashioned stand, typical of Association Football stadia in Northern England. The roof of the Main Stand at Edgeley Park is supported towards the front by three steel columns, which slightly impede the view of supporters from certain seats. Unusually, rather than running the length of the pitch, as would normally be expected in Association Football stadia nowadays, the Main Stand is only about 70 metres long, straddling the half way line, with the gaps at each end containing other club-related buildings.The Main Stand seats 2,020, of which 405 are executive seats, and contains players' changing rooms and some club offices, as well as toilets, boardroom, and several bars for half-time refreshments. The team dugouts are situated at the front of the Main Stand.
Cheadle End
The Cheadle End, located behind the goal at the west end of the ground, is by far the largest and most modern stand in the stadium. It is one of the larger Kop stands outside the Premier League.The original Cheadle End, built in 1923, was a small covered terrace of largely timber construction, with room for around 3,000 people. It was made all-seater in 1967, and its capacity cut to 1,100. This stand was demolished in 1985, after the Bradford City stadium fire, and replaced by seven steps of shallow uncovered terracing which held only a small number of supporters. However, for the 10 years that it existed, this terrace was extremely popular with County fans because of its traditional feel. Netting was controversially placed in front of the terrace during the late 1980s; after the disaster at Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
in 1989 the netting was removed.
In 1995, Stockport chairman Brendan Elwood built a brand-new, state-of-the-art stand to replace the small terrace. The new Cheadle End is a two-tiered stand, holding 5,044 supporters, making it almost as large in terms of capacity as the other 3 stands collectively. The stand is all-seater, as is the rest of the stadium nowadays, and was opened in 1995 with a friendly game against Manchester City. The letters SCFC are visible in the seating, where white seats are used instead of blue, to symbolise Stockport County Football Club.
The stand holds the Insider Suite, a conference and banqueting facility, as well as the ticket office, toilets, refreshments facilities and the club shops; the club shop is relatively large, and was used by Stockport County until 2005. However, when the Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
owner Brian Kennedy sold Stockport County at that time, they vacated the club shop - the County club shop is now located in separate premises around the corner.
Popular Side
On the opposite side of the ground to the Main Stand, running the full length of the pitch, is the Popular Stand. It is also often referred to as the Pop Side, or the Vernon Stand due to the former sponsorship of the stand by the Vernon Building SocietyVernon Building Society
The Vernon Building Society is a UK building society based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.-External links:***...
.
The first structure on this side of the ground was a small, covered enclosure with a capacity of 1,400. This was replaced in 1927 with a much larger terraced stand, which in 1965, in a 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 against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, held 16,000 people. In 1978 the terracing at the rear of the stand was levelled and its capacity halved; eventually, in late 1993, the Pop Side was made all-seater.
It currently holds 2,411 and is occasionally given to larger away supports, if seats are not required by home supporters. There are toilets and refreshment facilities on a small outdoor concourse behind the stand, which backs onto a small reservoir. As with the Main Stand opposite, the roof is supported towards the front by several steel columns; their thickness and location are partly explained by the fact that when the current roof was built, in 1956, it had to be erected in front of an existing roof, which covered only the rear part of the then much deeper and higher terrace.
Railway End
The Railway End, at the east end of the stadium, is a former uncovered terrace that at one time could hold up to 6,000. In 2001, it was the last part of Edgeley Park to be converted to seating, thus making the ground all-seated, and it is now generally used to house away supporters. Still open to the elements, and with a capacity of around 1,366, the Railway End is currently the smallest of all stands in the ground. The stadium scoreboard, notorious for never having functioned properly since it was installed in the late 1980s, is located at the rear of the Railway End. The Bungalow, a Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
club, is situated behind this end of the stadium.
In the late 1990s, after the recent major development at the Cheadle End of the ground, County chairman Brendan Elwood announced plans to rebuild the Railway End. The plan would have involved purchasing The Bungalow behind it, on which a hotel would have been built by Britannia Building Society
Britannia Building Society
The Britannia is a financial services institution and trading name of the Co-operative Bank Plc in the United Kingdom.Before the merger with the Co-operative, Britannia was a mutual building society, with headquarters in Leek, Staffordshire...
, which would have overlooked the ground. However, like other Millennium-related projects, these plans never came to fruition.
Information
The record attendance is 27,833, when LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
visited Edgeley Park to play Stockport County in the 5th round of the 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...
in 1950.
The floodlight system was first used with an opening friendly match against Fortuna '54 Geleen
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Trendwork Arena and features in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. The club was a merger of former clubs 'Fortuna 54' and 'Sittardia' to merge as the Fortuna Sittard Combinatie on July 1,...
of Holland on 16 October 1956, whose side included four members of the Dutch national team that had defeated Belgium the previous week.
The ground once held two matches by the England international football team on the same day. On the 14 January 1958 the England squad were due to play training matches at nearby Maine Road
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
, home of Manchester City FC but the pitch was frozen. Edgeley Park's pitch was deemed playable so it was decided to hold the matches in Stockport instead.
The first game saw England draw 2-2 with a Manchester City XI, and the second saw the England senior side defeat the England U23 side 1-0.
Edgeley Park was the venue for the final of the 1978 World Lacrosse Championship
World Lacrosse Championship
The World Lacrosse Championship is the world championship for international men's field lacrosse. From its inception in 1967 through the 2006 event, it was sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation...
.
Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
played a home Rumbelows Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
tie against Manchester City at Edgeley Park on 8 October 1991, owing to safety concerns regarding their temporary Moss Rose
Moss Rose
Moss Rose is a multi-purpose stadium in Macclesfield, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Macclesfield Town F.C....
home.
Edgeley Park was (until County's relegation in May 2011) the closest league football ground to the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
- it is actually closer than Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
's Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
, Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
's Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
or Tranmere Rovers' Prenton Park
Prenton Park
Prenton Park is an association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C. The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report...
.