Boundary Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Boundary Park | |
|---|---|
| Ice Station Zebra | |
 Rochdale Road stand |
|
| Full name | Boundary Park Stadium |
| Location | Greater Manchester, England |
| Built | 1904 |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Owner | |
| Tenants | Oldham Athletic F.C. & Oldham Roughyeds |
| Capacity | 13,624 |
| Field dimensions | 106 x 72 yards (66 m) |
Boundary Park is the main sports stadium of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, located partly within Chadderton, and partly within Royton, hence the name Boundary Park.
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. have played their home games here since the stadium was opened. Oldham Roughyeds R.L.F.C. left their traditional home, Watersheddings, in 1997 and moved to Boundary Park. Other than a hiatus during the 2002 season when they played at Hurst Cross in Ashton-under-Lyne, they have played there ever since.
The Rochdale Road stand, behind one of the goals, is the away end.
Contents |
[edit] Capacity
The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 13,624. It became an all-seater venue during the 1994-95 season - the season after Oldham Athletic's relegation from the top flight of English football. In the early days, the stadium could nearly hold 50,000 people. The highest crowd ever recorded at Boundary Park is 47,671, for an FA Cup tie between Oldham and Sheffield Wednesday.
[edit] Records
Boundary Park is anecdotally known as being the coldest ground in the football league which earns it the nickname Ice Station Zebra.[1] It is also the second-highest in the football league after The Hawthorns, the home of West Bromwich Albion.
[edit] Development
There were plans in the late 1990s for relocation to a new stadium on adjoining waste ground, but these were scrapped.
On 15 February 2006, the club unveiled plans for the redevelopment of their current ground. The plans would see every stand other than the Rochdale Road end being redeveloped. When completed it would be a 16,000 seater stadium, estimated to cost £80 million, and with a working name of the Oldham Arena.[2][3] However, by the time of the completion of the redevelopment the stadium is likely to bear a sponsor's name.
On the 14 November 2007 Oldham Athletic received planning permission for the North Broadway stand, whilst the Oldham Borough Council rejected the further development of the Stadia. On 12 December 2007, this was overturned at another Council meeting and the entire ground was given permission to be developed. Facilities would include conferencing, a hotel and there is an option of a casino.[4]
Demolition of the Broadway Stand started on 8 May 2008 with with the work planned to be completed before the start of the new season. The building of the new 'Main Stand' is due to commence in December 2008 and is expected to take 16 months.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "If you think it’s been cold in Oldham this week, then try visiting John at work!, Jamie Whitehouse, Oldham Advertiser, 3 March 2005
- ^ "Latics’ new £80m goal", Carl Marsden, Oldham Advertiser, 15 February 2006
- ^ "Oldham Arena", The Stadium Guide, retrieved 14 May 2008
- ^ "Oldham Arena", Oldham Athletic official site, 14 January 2008
- ^ "Latics ready to make a stand in summer", Carl Marsden, Oldham Advertiser, 5 March 2008
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Football League One venues, 2008–09
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||
