Field Mill
Encyclopedia
- This article is about a stadium; for other uses, see Field mill (disambiguation)Field mill (disambiguation)A field mill may refer to:*Field Mill, a multipurpose stadium in Mansfield, England*A Field mill, a meteorological instrument*A Field mill , a horse-drawn vehicle acting as a grinding mill used for supplying troops with ready-made food in premodern war campaigns...
Field Mill is a multi-use stadium in Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It is currently occupied by its main tenant, Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
.
The stadium has a capacity of around 10,000 when fully open, but due to the Bishop Street Stand being closed and safety restrictions, the ground currently holds less than this (7,300).
History
Football has been played on the Field Mill site since the 1861, making it the second oldest football ground in the country (behind Hallam FC). Mansfield Town first started playing matches there in the 1919–20 season, however for the first two years it was also used as a cricket ground by the Mansfield branch of the National Federation of Discharged and Disabled ex-Servicemen's Societies (DDSS). In 1921, the DDSS's lease on the ground ran out, and the ground was sold by its owner, the Duke of Portland, on the condition that it would only ever be used for sporting purposes.The first grandstand
Grandstand
A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way...
was erected in 1922 along the length of the west side of the ground, with the other three sides mounds formed from ash from nearby coal mines, all completed by 1926. In 1929, using the money from the cup run of the previous year, a covered stand was built on the Bishop Street side, occupying a similar position to the Bishop Street Stand of today. The first terracing was built during the 1930s from railway sleepers, and lasted 20 years.
Shortly after World War Two, concrete terracing and a PA system were introduced. The club bought land to the West side of the ground in the mid-1950s, just before the supporters' club funded the building of the new North Stand, at a cost of £30,000.
In the 1960s a new grandstand was erected on the west side of the ground after being purchased from Hurst Park Racecourse
Hurst Park Racecourse
Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey. It was first laid out in 1890 and sold for residential housing in 1962. The Triumph Hurdle was run here from 1939 until the course closed. The last race to be held here was the Byfleet Stakes, the 4.30 on Wednesday 10...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. The stand itself cost £30,000, although the final amount spent was considerably more than this once the cost of transportation and reconstruction is taken into account. The stand was first used in 1966, but it was not fully completed until 1971.
Between 1984 and 1986, Field Mill was home to a rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team called Mansfield Marksman
Mansfield Marksman
Mansfield Marksman was a rugby league team based at various times in Mansfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Alfreton and ultimately Nottingham.Amateur rugby league continues in Nottingham in the shape of Nottingham Outlaws who play in the Rugby League Conference National Division.-Mansfield Marksman...
.
After plans to relocate to a new all-seater stadium were scrapped, work began in July 1999 to completely modernise Field Mill. The North Stand, Quarry Lane End and West Stand were completely demolished and new stands built in their place, including a two tier stand on the west side of the ground. The redeveloped all-seater stadium was officially opened by John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
on 28 July 2001, six months after work had been completed.
In July 2005, safety officials temporarily restricted Field Mill's capacity to 5,000 when fire safety certificates could not be located. The ground's capacity was again reduced in May 2007, from 9,368 to 4,684, when Nottinghamshire County Council, who enforced the reduction, cited a poor standard of stewarding and a lack of a pro-active approach to safety. In July 2007 the capacity was raised to 6,553 following an inspection from safety officials, but was reduced back to 4,684 in September after visiting Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
supporters were given too many tickets by mistake. Field Mill's capacity was then increased to 5,457, and in January 2008 further increased to 7,300 for the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
tie against Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
after a problem with the turnstiles and other issues were resolved.
In early 2010, the Mansfield Town announced plans to allow the ground to be used to hold concerts and other events to raise non-matchday income. On 22 August 2010, Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
brought their Where We Are Now Tour to the ground. The event was hailed a success despite not selling out and poor weather conditions affecting uncovered fans. No further concerts have been announced and it is unclear if there are any plans to host future music events at Field Mill.
In December 2010, Mansfield Town were evicted from the ground by its landlord Keith Haslam following a dispute over unpaid rent. The club looked for alternative grounds at which to play their home games in the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
, including Alfreton Town's
Alfreton Town F.C.
Alfreton Town F.C. is an English football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire. The club was reformed after a merger between Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfreton United in 1959...
Impact Arena
North Street (stadium)
North Street also known as the Impact Arena is a football stadium in Alfreton, Derbyshire. It is the home of Alfreton Town F.C. who currently play in the Conference National. Capacity is 3,600 with 1,500 seats....
and Ilkeston Town's
Ilkeston Town F.C.
Ilkeston Football Club is an English football club based at the New Manor Ground in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.-History:The club was established in 1894 as Ilkeston Town F.C.....
New Manor Ground. However, their first home game after the eviction was postponed in any event due to the freezing weather.
Stands
West Stand - currently the largest stand made up of an upper and lower tier, and executive seating. The stand has a capacity of 5,417 (2,764 in the upper tier, and 2,509 in the lower tier).Quarry Lane End - situated behind the South goal, housing the home fans, with a capcity of 1,968. The players' tunnel is located in the corner of this stand adjacent to the West Stand.
North Stand - situated behind the opposite goal from the Quarry Lane End, this was traditionally the home terrace although safety issues meant this would swap with the Quarry Lane End and become the away stand. Capacity of 1,910.
Bishop Street Stand - this stand, which runs along the side of the pitch opposite the West Stand, is not in use after being condemned. The dugouts
Technical area
A technical area in association football, is where a manager, other coaching personnel and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a match.The area, where people may stand or sit, includes the dugout, bench and a marked zone adjacent to the pitch....
are in front of this stand which is boarded up to prevent access. There are plans to build a new 2,800 capacity stand including new dressing rooms and television facilities, however no formal steps have been taken to implement such plans.