Bloomfield Road

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Capacity: 9,000
Opened: 1899
Pitch size: 112 x 74 yards

Bloomfield Road is the home of English football club Blackpool Football Club. The venue was used during the 2005 UEFA Women’s Championship after having two stands redeveloped between 2001 and 2002, giving the ground a capacity of 11,295 (all-seated, including the temporary east stand). Currently there are only three stands, since the South Stand had been demolished in 2003 in preparation for the construction of a new stand. When the stadium is complete, the new capacity should be 16,000.

The ground is also used by Blackpool Panthers rugby league side.

The ground was originally known as Gambles Field in 1899 when South Shore F.C. played there in the Lancashire League. When Blackpool F.C. merged with South Shore F.C. later that year, the club moved into South Shore’s ground and changed the name to Bloomfield Road. Up until 1917 there was a small main stand on the west side, and a Spion Kop terrace on the south end, but in 1917 the main stand burned down and was replaced by the West Stand, which was to remain there until 2001.

It was only in 1925 that the South Stand was built to provide better changing rooms and a board room. It was also around this time that the locals raised some money to build the Spion Kop at the north end of the ground. This meant that a small motor shed stand had to be moved into the northwest corner, where it stayed until 1985. The East Stand (or ‘Scratching Sheds’) was covered once the team’s fortunes increased. The board room in the South Stand was also said to contain oak panneling, which was taken off one of Lord Nelson’s old flagships that ran ashore on the famous Blackpool beach during bad weather.

Between the 1930s and 2001, little changed at Bloomfield Road. A roof was put up over the Kop, which was taken down in 1981 after only twenty years, as the council thought it was dangerous and the football club could not afford to repair it. This also caused the removal of seats that had been put into the East Stand. In 2001, the West Stand and the Spion Kop were demolished to make way for the new stands and the pitch was moved slighy north and west to give room for expansion on the south and east sides of the ground in future years.

The record attendance at the ground was 38,098 against Wolves in 1955.

Pricebusters Matthews Stand:

This stand is on the west side of the ground and is the main stand, having the players’ tunnel and executive boxes at the rear. It is named after the Blackpool Football legend Sir Stanley Matthews.

Mortensen North Stand (Kop):

This stand is at the north end of the ground replacing the old Spion Kop (whose roof was pulled down in 1981) and is connected to the West Stand with a corner stand. It is named after another former player, Stan Mortensen.

Temporary East Stand:

This holds approximately 1,800 seats.

South Stand:

Currently there is nothing at this end of the ground after the previous stand was demolished in 2003.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Bloomfield Road wikipedia entry
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