Boundary Park , is a sports stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Formerly known as sportsdirect.com stadium for promotional purposes. It lies in the northwest extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying in the north and west respectively, giving rise to the name Boundary Park.
Boundary Park was originally known as the Athletic Ground when it opened in 1896 for Oldham's first professional football club, Oldham County F.C.. When County was folded in 1899, Pine Villa F.C. took over the land and changed their name to Oldham Athletic. Oldham Athletic A.F.C. have played their home game here since the stadium opened. Oldham RLFC left their traditional home, Watersheddings, in 1997 and moved to Boundary Park, although they briefly moved to Hurst Cross at Ashton-under-Lyne in 2002, where they played until 2009, when the football clubs decided they no longer want it. as a tenant.
Video Boundary Park
Ikhtisar
The Lookers Stand on the Broadway side was torn down as part of the proposed redevelopment (see below). The Oldham Borough Council confirmed planning approval for the new North Stand in April 2013. It will have capacity for 2,671 spectators, plus a health and fitness suite, support bar and event facilities. Oldham hardcore fans are usually considered to be in Chadderton Road End (Chaddy End); traditional stand, small, one level. Opposite it is Rochdale Road End, where one-third of the stands are awarded to away fans, and the hosts support the rest, except when the opposition has a large following, when the situation is reversed. In this case, the season ticket holders should be reallocated. The main stand has been around since the time when the stadium was built, and is a small two-tier structure. Unused terraces due to conversion to the all-seater can still be seen towards the end of this stand.
Maps Boundary Park
Capacity
The stadium currently has a full capacity of 13,512. It became an all-seater venue during the 1994-95 season - the season after relegation of Oldham Athletic from top-flight English football. In the early days, the stadium could accommodate nearly 50,000 people. The highest ever recorded crowd in the Boundary Park was 47,671, for an FA Cup match between Oldham and Sheffield Wednesday in 1930. The highest attendance for league games was also recorded during the same season against Blackpool, with 45,304 attending for a promotional clash.
"Fantastic in Plastic"
In 1986 the club installed an artificial pitch to generate more income for the club and this coincided with the club's progress in luck under manager Joe Royle. In 1987, the club reached the play-offs and in 1989-90 the club passed what was considered one of the club's biggest seasons, reaching the League Cup Final and FA Cup semi-finals, and the club claimed a major distraction in beating the likes of Arsenal , Southampton, Everton and Aston Villa. Critics felt that pitch gave the club an advantage, but in 1991 Royle responded to this. When Portsmouth manager stated that Oldham could not play away from home, Royle pressed the article into the locker room door and the team responded with a 4-1 win. At the end of the 1990-91 season the club secured promotion into the top flight, the last match on the plastic pitch was probably one of the most impressive games played on the pitch when the Latics, to win the old Second Division, had to beat Sheffield Wednesday and count on losing West Ham. After 60 minutes of the game Sheffield Wednesday went 2-0 up, but Ian Marshall pulled one back, then Paul Bernard equalized with less than ten minutes to play. At this point, West Ham lost. Over time added, Andy Barlow down in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Neil Redfearn stepped up to change it and a mass field invasion followed, as it has been confirmed that West Ham have lost 2-1 at Notts County. In gaining promotion to the top flight, Oldham Athletic was forced to have the plastic field removed due to league rules. They stayed in the top division for three seasons (1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94) before relegation, and after three disappointing seasons in the second tier were relegated again in 1997. They remained in the third division, then called League One, until they are relegated at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Recordings
Boundary Park is anecdotally known as the coldest spot in the Football League, earning the nickname created by Joe Royle, Ice Station Zebra . It is also the third highest stadium, at an altitude of 509 feet (155m) above sea level, of any Premier League or Football League club after Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion, 551 feet (168m) and Vale Park, home of Port Vale, 525 foot (160 m).
Redevelopment
There was a plan in the late 1990s to move to a new 20,000 seat stadium in adjacent sewage land, but this was canceled.
On 15 February 2006, the club announced plans to rebuild their current land. The plan will see every stand other than Rochdale Road End being rebuilt. When it finishes initially it will be a 16,000 seat stadium, estimated to cost Ã, Â £ 80 million, and with the work name "Oldham Arena" .
On 14 November 2007, Oldham Athletic received planning permission for Stand Broadway, while the Oldham Borough Council rejected further development of the stadium due to local objections regarding the height and size of the proposed flat block. On December 12, 2007, after changing the plan, another board meeting gave permission for redevelopment. Facilities will include conferences and hotels plus casino options.
The demolition of the Broadway Stand began on May 8, 2008, with work completed before the start of the new season. The construction of a new booth will start in December 2008 and is expected to take 16 months.
On 5 September 2008, Simon Blitz told the World Soccer Daily podcast that although Oldham still plans to continue the development of Boundary Park and its surroundings, the plan is suspended for the time being due to the financial crisis of 2007 - 2010 and the subsequent decline in the UK property market.
Due to this problem, the club announced in the summer of 2009 that they were considering a move to a new stadium in Failsworth. This caused some controversy among supporters because although Failsworth is officially part of the borough, it has a Manchester postcode. It's also just three miles from the City of Manchester Stadium and just a mile from the new stadium F.C. United of Manchester in Moston, Manchester. If all goes according to plan, the new stadium is anticipated to be ready for the start of the 2011-12 season.
Having been led to believe by the Oldham Council that the Failsworth site is a viable option, the club is very disappointed to hear that the Charity Commission has rejected their application. Oldham Athletic has spent millions of pounds to plan, buy land and legal fees - and declares that 'the confidence in the current board's ability to deliver any proposal for the new stadium is zero.'
On July 28, 2011 the board offered a club worth 5.7 million pounds to help fund the rebuilding of Boundary Park, which would involve rebuilding the Broadway Stand.
The Oldham Council confirmed planning approval for the new North Stand in April 2013, including 2,671 capacity, health and fitness suites, support bars and event facilities. Demolition and preparation work begins in the summer of 2013.
The construction of the new North Stand is still ongoing, although the seating area in the stands is open for use on October 17, 2015 for the home game against Sheffield United. The new North Stand is significantly higher than the booth being replaced even though its supporting capacity is more or less the same. The additional height allows for office space, corporate hospitality, retail opportunities and gymnasiums.
References
External links
- Boundary Park on PitchMap.co.uk
- Boundary Park Info from OldhamAthletic.co.uk
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments