Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

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The National Sports Centre

The National Athletics Stadium with the Crystal Palace Transmitter in the background.

The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics track. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.

It was one of the five National Sports Centres, run on behalf of Sport England, but responsibility has been transferred to the London Development Agency and is managed by Greenwich Leisure Limited.

The athletics stadium has a capacity of 15,500, which can be increased up to 24,000 with temporary seating. It has hosted international athletics meetings and is the home of an annual event on the athletics Grand Prix circuit. The complex also hosts a 50m swimming pool. However both the athletics stadium and the aquatics centre will be superseded as London's main facilities for their sports by the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre which will be constructed in Stratford in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

[edit] Sports

[edit] Football

The current athletics stadium is on the same land as a previous football ground[1], home of the original Crystal Palace football club from 1861. It also hosted the FA Cup final from 1895 to 1914 as well as other sports. In 1905, the owners wanted a professional club to play at the venue, so a new Crystal Palace F.C., was formed. They were forced to leave by the military, in 1915, and now play at nearby Selhurst Park, though the Reserve side did play at the NSC in the 2000-01 season. The largest 'domestic' attendance ever at the stadium was in the 1913 Cup final between Aston Villa and Sunderland, when 121,919 spectators squeezed into the stands. The previous world record had been the 1901 Cup Final, when 114,815 amassed to watch Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United draw 2-2, (Spurs won the replay at Burnden Park).

There were suggestions that current Palace chairman Simon Jordan would look to purchase the National Sports Centre, if he could not purchase Selhurst Park from former chairman Ron Noades, who was leasing the ground to the club, a lease that was set to expire in 2010. In April 2006, the possibility looked more likely, after Noades announced that no offers had been made to buy Selhurst Park, and that he has no interest in selling the stadium to Jordan or anyone else. However the London Development Agency rejected the proposed move[2], leading Jordan to use an investment mechanism that kept his identity secret, and buy the freehold of the ground from Noades. It now seems highly unlikely that Palace will make any move away from Selhurst Park.

The following international matches have been played at Crystal Palace:

• April 3, 1897 - England 1-2 Scotland
• March 30, 1901 - England 2-2 Scotland
• April 1, 1905 - England 1-0 Scotland
• April 3, 1909 - England 2-0 Scotland
• March 4, 1911 - England Amateurs 4-0 Belgium

[edit] Crystal Palace FA Cup Finals 1895-1914

A panoramic view of the Crystal Palace ground during the 1905 FA Cup final, the only such photograph of the stadium known to exist.

Twenty-one teams competed in the twenty FA Cup Finals staged at Crystal Palace, with ten different winners. Four more teams won the FA Cup during this time, after replays at other grounds. Interestingly, all but two of the finalists from that era a century ago are still playing in either the Premier League or the Football League Championship; the exceptions being Bradford City and Bury. Newcastle United appeared in the most finals at the ground, five, bur never lifted the cup there, whilst Aston Villa won all four of their games there.

Results of Finals at Crystal Palace

FA Cup Wins at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace FA Cup Final Appearances

Goals Scored in F.A. Cup Finals at Crystal Palace

Goals Conceded in F.A. Cup Finals at Crystal Palace

[edit] Rugby

England v New Zealand, 1905, as the Original All Blacks beat England at the Crystal Palace before a then record crowd of 45,000

On December 2, 1905, the ground also held the first England Rugby Union international match against New Zealand in England, New Zealand winning 15-0.

It also played host to Fulham Rugby League F.C. in the mid 1980's for a couple of seasons, after they were forced to leave their previous ground of Craven Cottage.

[edit] Cricket

W. G. Grace in the colours of London County, painted by Albert Chevallier Tayler.

London County Cricket Club was a short-lived cricket club founded by the Crystal Palace Company.^[2] In 1898 they invited W. G. Grace to help them form a first-class cricket club. Grace accepted the offer and became the club's secretary, manager and captain. As a result, he severed his connection with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club during the 1899 season. The club played first-class matches from 1900 to 1904.^[3][4] Some of the best players of the time played some matches for the club while continuing to play for their usual teams, among them C. B. Fry, Johnny Douglas and K S Ranjitsinhji. However, the games were little more than exhibition games — and money-making exercises for Dr Grace — and so it quickly lost its first-class status, and with that the ability to attract the top players. It folded in 1908.

[edit] Basketball

The 3,500 capacity indoor Arena at the National Sports Centre is also home to the first team of former BBL team London Towers, who currently compete in the EBL Division 3 (South).

[edit] American Football

The Sports Arena was used by the England Monarchs before the team went defunct. The Monarchs were a very successful team that competed at the top of their league. It's still a mystery why they went defunct. The main stadium pitch is currently used by the London Warriors Youth A.F.C.

[edit] Motor Racing

Crystal Palace race circuit was located in Crystal Palace park, the outline of the track can still be seen on maps providing access to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre that is also located in the park.

The circuit opened in 1927 and the first race, for motorcycles, was on May 21, 1927. The circuit was 1 mile long, and ran on pre-existing paths through the park, including a loop past the lake. The surface had tarmac-covered bends, but the straights only had hard-packed gravel.

Improvements begun in December 1936 increased the circuit to 2 miles, and tarmac-covered the entire length. 20 cars entered the first London Grand Prix on 17 July 1937, a race eventually won by Prince Bira in his ERA R2B Romulus at an average speed of 56.5mph. Later that year, during the International Imperial Trophy meeting also won by Bira, the BBC broadcast the first ever televised motor racing.

With the outbreak of World War II, the park was taken over by the Ministry of Defence, and it would not be until 1953 that race meetings could take place again. The circuit had been reduced in length to 1.39 miles, bypassing the loop past the lake, and pressure from the local residents reduced motor sport in the park to five days a year. A variety of races took place at the circuit including sports cars, Formula 3, the London Trophy for Formula 2, and even non-championship Formula 1 races.

The last International meeting was in May 1972, the final lap record going to Mike Hailwood at an average speed of 103.39 mph. The final meeting was held on September 23, 1972, but club events continued until 1974. Although the circuit no longer exists, it can be driven in the Grand Prix Legends historical motor racing simulation, for which it was recreated in detail. It was later converted to several other racing simulation programs. Adjacent to the Olympic swimming pool exists a small race circuit for go-karts and mainly radio-controlled cars.

The first British Motor Show (then known as the 'London Motor Show', which was one of the first of it's kind in the world), was held at Crystal Palace in 1903. Organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) it subsequently moved to Olympia for the next 32 years.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

Coordinates: 51°25′08.7″N, 0°04′07.7″W