Fans across the country are immensely proud and protective of their clubs heritage and history, but which sides boast the most historic stadiums – at least in terms of the locations, if not the stadium itself, being unchanged since they were first constructed.
Now fair’s fair, few clubs can boast a stadium that is identical to the initial plans for their home ground as upgrades, updates and stadium development – and even full rebuilds – are pretty common place in the game given the years since the original inception of the Football League.
So this is led by the initial date that construction of the stadium was completed on a site, and doesn’t take into account redevelopment work and extensions since then for ease.
But even on that basis, the overall top ten oldest grounds in the country feature sides some fans wouldn’t expect to see.
West Ham United take the crown for newest stadium with their switch over the summer to the former Olympic Stadium, but Manchester United’s Old Trafford built in 1910 doesn’t put them in the overall top 10 list, with Liverpool’s Anfield, with a construction finish date of 1884, sees them in seventh place, sneaking into the top ten by two years only.
With a nod to the Express for the dating here’s the top ten oldest grounds, with league by league details following.
Club
|
Ground
|
Construction Year
|
Mansfield Town
|
Field Mill
|
pre 1961
|
Chelsea
|
Stamford Bridge
|
1877
|
Newport County
|
Rodney Parade
|
1877
|
Blackburn Rovers
|
Ewood Park
|
1882
|
Burnley
|
Turf Moor
|
1883
|
Ipswich Town
|
Portman Road
|
1884
|
Liverpool
|
Anfield
|
1884
|
Bury
|
Gigg Lane
|
1885
|
Bradford City
|
Valley Parade
|
1886
|
Hartlepool United
|
Victoria Park
|
1886
|
The full divisional age breakdown is as below:
Premier League:
Chelsea – Stamford Bridge – 1877
Burnley – Turf Moor – 1883
Liverpool – Anfield – 1884
Everton – Goodison Park – 1892
Tottenham Hotspur – White Hart Lane – 1899
West Bromwich Albion – The Hawthorns – 1900
Bournemouth – Dean Court – 1910
Manchester United – Old Trafford – 1910
Watford – Vicarage Road – 1922
Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park – 1924
Middlesbrough – Riverside Stadium – 1995
Stoke City – Bet365 Stadium – 1997
Sunderland – Stadium of Light – 1997
Southampton – St Mary’s Stadium – 2001
Hull City – KCOM Stadium – 2002
Leicester City – King Power Stadium – 2002
Manchester City – Etihad Stadium – 2003
Swansea City – Liberty Stadium – 2005
Arsenal – Emirates Stadium – 2006
West Ham – London Stadium – 2016
Championship:
Preston North End – Deepdale – 1878
Blackburn Rovers – Ewood Park – 1882
Ipswich Town – Portman Road – 1884
Barnsley – Oakwell – 1887
Wolverhampton Wanderers – Molineux – 1889
Newcastle United – St James’ Park – 1892
Fulham – Craven Cottage – 1896
Aston Villa – Villa Park – 1897
Leeds United – Elland Road – 1897
Nottingham Forest – The City Ground – 1898
Sheffield Wednesday – Hillsborough – 1899
Brentford – Griffin Park – 1904
Bristol City – Ashton Gate – 1904
Queens Park Rangers – Loftus Road – 1904
Birmingham City – St Andrew’s Stadium – 1906
Norwich City – Carrow Road – 1935
Huddersfield Town – John Smith’s Stadium – 1994
Bolton Wanderers – Macron Stadium – 1997
Derby County – Pride Park – 1997
Reading – Madejski Stadium – 1998
Wigan Athletic – DW Stadium – 1999
Burton Albion – Pirelli Stadium – 2005
Cardiff City – Cardiff City Stadium – 2009
Brighton – Amex Stadium – 2011
Rotherham United – New York Stadium – 2012
League One:
Bury – Gigg Lane – 1885
Bradford City – Valley Parade – 1886
Sheffield United – Bramall Lane – 1889
Gillingham – Priestfield Stadium – 1893
Swindon Town – County Ground – 1896
Scunthorpe United – Glanford Park – 1899
Oldham Athletic – Boundary Park – 1904
Peterborough United – London Road – 1913
Charlton Athletic – The Valley – 1919
Rochdale – Spotland Stadium – 1920
Bristol Rovers – Memorial Ground – 1921
Fleetwood Town – Highbury Stadium – 1934
Port Vale – Vale Park – 1950
Southend United – Roots Hall – 1955
Wimbledon – Kingsmeadow – 1989
Walsall – Bescot Stadium – 1990
Millwall – The Den – 1993
Northampton – Sixfields – 1994
Oxford United – Kassam Stadium – 2001
Coventry City – Ricoh Arena – 2005
MK Dons – Stadium: MK – 2007
Shrewsbury Town – Greenhous Meadow – 2007
Chesterfield – Proact Stadium – 2010
League Two:
Mansfield Town – Field Mill – pre 1861
Newport County – Rodney Parade – 1877
Hartlepool United – Victoria Park – 1886
Plymouth Argyle – Home Park – 1893
Portsmouth – Fratton Park – 1898
Blackpool – Bloomfield Road – 1899
Grimsby Town – Blundell Park – 1899
Wycombe Wanderers – Adams Park – 1990
Exeter City – St James’ Park – 1904
Luton Town – Kenilworth Road – 1905
Crewe Alexandra – Gresty Road – 1906
Carlisle United – Brunton Park – 1909
Notts County – Meadow Lane – 1910
Cheltenham Town – Whaddon Road – 1927
Cambridge United – Abbey Stadium – 1932
Leyton Orient – Brisbane Road – 1937
Stevenage – Broadhall Way – 1961
Accrington Stanley – Crown Ground – 1968
Yeovil Town – Huish Park – 1990
Crawley Town – Broadfield Stadium – 1997
Doncaster Rovers – Keepmoat Stadium – 2007
Colchester United – Colchester Community Stadium – 2008
Morecambe – Globe Arena – 2010
Barnet – The Hive – 2013