Home Park
Encyclopedia
Home Park is an all-seater
football stadium
in the Central Park
area of Plymouth
, England
, and is the home of Football League Two
club Plymouth Argyle
. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901. After undergoing considerable development in the 1920s and 1930s the ground suffered heavy damage during the Second World War
. It was re-opened in time for the resumption of the Football League in 1945 and underwent further improvements in the 1950s, including the installation of floodlights
and a new Grandstand
, designed by architect
Archibald Leitch
. The ground remained relatively unchanged until 2001 when construction of three new all-seater stands commenced. The work was completed in February 2002, and after further work the stadium became all-seated in the summer of 2007.
The stadium's record attendance was recorded in 1936, when 43,596 spectators were in attendance to watch the club play a Second Division
match against Aston Villa
, while the record average attendance for a single season, 23,290, came in the 1946–47 season
. The stadium was selected as part of England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid
by the FA
in December 2009. The ground has played host to England
youth internationals in the past, and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup match between Saint-Étienne
and Manchester United
in 1977. Aside from football-related uses, Home Park has played host to rugby
and athletics in the past and now puts on live music during the summer, with Elton John
, George Michael
and Rod Stewart
among the acts who have performed at the ground.
track surrounded by allotments
and farmland. The new owners staged their first event, an athletics meeting, on Whit Monday
in 1901, however, leaseholder Clarence Spooner was keen for it to stage football. Following a series of successful trial matches involving Argyle Football Club, which attracted healthy crowds, Spooner made the decision to focus on establishing the first professional football club in Devon
. The club, formed in 1886, changed its name to Plymouth Argyle in 1903 and became professional that same year. Home Park played host to its first competitive match, against Northampton Town
, on 5 September 1903 in front of a crowd of 4,438. At the time the ground had one wooden grandstand which could accommodate 2,000 people, while the other three sides of the ground were surrounded by slag heap
banking
with a waist-high fence. When Argyle joined the Football League in 1920 several improvements were required to meet safety requirements.
The wooden Grandstand was demolished and replaced by a much larger and more modern structure at a cost of £12,000, while concrete terracing with crush barriers were added around the other three sides of the ground. A pitched-roof was erected along the main entrance at the Devonport End of the ground to provide cover for supporters using that terrace. The new Grandstand incorporated players changing rooms and club offices. Many of these facilities were built with funds provided by the official supporters club. By the 1930s the ground was regularly hosting crowds in excess of 20,000 and on 10 October 1936 the record attendance was set. A crowd of 43,596 were in attendance to watch the club play out a 2–2 draw with Aston Villa in the Football League Second Division
. The ground continued to host Second Division football until the outbreak of war in 1939.
was hit hard during the Second World War
due to its strength as a military base, with HMNB Devonport
being the largest naval base in Western Europe. So, with the ground being in such close proximity to the city centre and Plymouth Sound
, it was unlikely that it would escape unharmed. The Football League was abandoned three games into the 1939–40 season
, but Home Park continued to host matches until the summer of 1940 in the hastily organised South West Regional League. A series of bombing raids on the city took place in April 1941, known as the Plymouth Blitz
, by the Luftwaffe
. As expected Home Park did not escape. The Grandstand was all but destroyed after sustaining multiple hits and the pitch was littered with impact craters, which left the club facing a major rebuilding operation after hostilities had abated in 1945.
were used as changing rooms, buses and trams were used as offices, and railway sleepers were used for terracing. The Football League was still split in to North and South
divisions, having been created four years earlier in order for the League to continue whilst limiting the amount of movement that was required by competing teams during the war. The 1945–46 season
was to be its only full campaign. Records from this time tend not to be included in official records. Plymouth Argyle's first official match back at the ground for six years was played on 31 August 1946. 25,659 spectators were in attendance to watch a 3–1 victory against West Ham United
in the Second Division.
A new two-tiered Grandstand was built in 1952, designed by Archibald Leitch
, with floodlights
installed in October of the following year. Running the length of the pitch, it had standing room in the first tier, known as the Mayflower Terrace, and wooden seating in the second tier. When a roof was erected on the Lyndhurst side of the ground in 1964, three quarters of the ground were under cover, with all but the second tier of the Grandstand being standing room. In the 1969–70 season
seats were added at the back of the Mayflower Terrace, which took the seating capacity to 4,100 and the overall capacity to 40,000. In the late 1970s the pitched roof at the Devonport End of the ground had to be removed for safety reasons. However, it was replaced in 1984 by a non-pitched structure to leave just the Barn Park End uncovered once more.
The ground remained relatively unchanged throughout the 1990s, aside from the Lyndhurst Stand being made all-seater. However, its future seemed unclear when the club outlined plans to move to a new site in Central Park
in 1996. The Plymouth Tradium, designed by Alfred McAlpine
, would seat 25,000, and also incorporate community sports and leisure facilities. In the end nothing came of it and the club would instead focus on redeveloping Home Park, with many parts of the old ground showing their age by the arrival of the twenty-first century.
A new plan, based on wholesale redevelopment of the existing ground, was announced in 2000 which at the time would cost an estimated £9m. The stadium would be built in two phases, with the first phase seeing the complete redevelopment of the Devonport End, Lyndhurst Stand, and Barn Park End. The second phase involved the Mayflower Grandstand which would be replaced by a new three-tiered structure to complete an 18,500 capacity all-seater bowl. The green light came in June 2001 when the club and Plymouth City Council agreed a new long-term lease for the ground. The building firm Barr Construction
moved onto the site two months later.
During the first six months of the 2001–2002 season
supporters watched the club's matches from one touchline before the first phase was completed in February 2002. One of the biggest attendances since the redevelopment was set on 20 April 2002, as 18,517 spectators watched Plymouth Argyle recorded a 2–0 win against Cheltenham Town
in the Third Division
. A feat which was bettered in 2004, and then in 2007. Home Park attracted its highest average league attendance for over forty years during the 2004–05 season
in the Championship
, formerly known as the First Division. Despite this, a start date for the second phase of redevelopment would not materialise. The former chairman of Plymouth Argyle, Paul Stapleton
, declared that not completing the project was the biggest disappointment of his tenure.
in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup
. That summer the ground became all-seated
as the club was forced to convert the Mayflower Terrace into seating by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
. In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster
in 1989 regulations were brought in, recommended by the Taylor report
, that all stadiums in the top two divisions of English football
must be all-seated unless there are exceptional circumstances. The club had been given three years grace after winning promotion
back to the Football League Championship
in 2004.
Three major summer initiatives were announced by the club just over a week later, which were carried out over the next month. The Mayflower Terrace was replaced by temporary, unreserved seating with a capacity of 3,500. A new state-of-the-art public address system was installed, and the last of ground's inconic floodlight
towers were dismantled after 54 years of service, with a new system put in its place.Home Park Greens on Screen. Retrieved 21 January 2010. The capacity of the ground was therefore reduced by roughly two thousand to 19,500 following these changes.
The Home Park pitch
is surrounded by four covered all-seater
stands, officially known as the Mayflower Grandstand to the south, Devonport End to the west, Lyndhurst Stand to the north, and Barn Park End to the east. Each stand has one tier with the exception of the Mayflower Grandstand which has two, an upper tier and a lower tier, known as the Mayflower Terrace, which was converted from terracing
in 2007.
The Mayflower Grandstand is the club's main stand, which can hold roughly 7,000 spectators. It is the oldest part of the ground, having been built in 1952. It houses the club's main offices, the boardroom, team changing rooms, press rooms and also accommodates executive boxes, which can host functions and are available to supporters during matchdays. To the rear of the stand is the Club Shop, selling official merchandise, and the Pyramid Suite, a top class hospitality area which can cater for up to 170 people. There are two structures overlooking the pitch on each side of the stand. To the east is a building which contains a hospitality area (the Chisholm Lounge), and a press area, and to the west is a disabled enclosure. There have been plans to replace this stand for a number of years.
The other three stands are very similar in design and linked together, having been built in 2001. The Devonport End is the traditional end where the more vocal of the club's supporters gather. It can hold approximately 3,500 spectators. It is also where the Family Section can be located. The Lyndhurst Stand is the largest of the three, holding approximately 6,000 spectators, including the corners. The Barn Park End is where the away supporters are housed. Similar to the Devonport End, it also holds approximately 3,500 spectators. The standard allocation given to visiting clubs is 1,300 but this can be increased if demand requires it. All three boast good views and standard facilities for a football stadium, including concourse
s, merchandise stands and food and drink outlets. The dugouts and players tunnel are situated at the front and centre of the Mayflower Stand, whilst the television gantry is situated further back at the front of the second tier. The pitch at the ground measures approximately 100 metres (109.3 yards) long by 66 metres (72.1 yards) wide, with a few metres of run-off space on each side. The ground also has two pitch covers, rain and frost, to protect the pitch during inclement weather during the winter months.
would be submitting an application to The Football Association
to be a host venue for England
's 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid
. The eye-catching plans were released to the public on 14 December 2009, two days before the FA would announce which candidates they had selected for the bid. The plans, designed by Populous, include developing the stadium into a 46,000 capacity all-seater
area, with a 5,000-seat indoor facility
and hotel built into the complex, at a cost of at least £50m. The build would be done in three stages. The First Phase, a new Mayflower Stand, will become a reality regardless of the bid, increasing the capacity to 27,000. The Second Phase, an additional 8,000 seats, and the Third Phase, an additional 11,000 seats, would be completed by the 2014–15 season
should Plymouth's application and England's bid
be successful, giving the stadium a capacity of 46,000 all-seated by this stage.
The city presented its bid at Wembley Stadium
in November 2009 with numerous businesses and sports clubs from Devon
and Cornwall
fully behind it. A selection of those included the city's rugby union
and basketball
clubs, Plymouth Albion, and Plymouth Raiders
, and local football clubs Exeter City
, and Torquay United
. Plymouth was selected as a part of England
's 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid
, alongside 11 other cities on 16 December 2009. Plymouth Argyle director Paul Stapleton
described himself as being overwhelmed, going on to say that getting over the first hurdle "gives our supporters belief that we can achieve things", while the bids chairman, Douglas Fletcher, described the bid as one "for the people of Devon
and Cornwall
". A day later the club revealed that the stadium could possibly be renamed for sponsorship reasons as a part of funding for the project which shall begin in the summer of 2010.
The first stage of the build will take place at the end of the 2009–10 season when the pitch will be replaced by a more durable surface. The Mayflower Grandstand will be demolished in the spring of 2011, and building work will commence alongside the Plymouth Life Centre, a multi-purpose sports and leisure facility, boasting amongst other things an Olympic standard swimming pool. Should England's bid
be successful and Plymouth selected by FIFA
then work will begin on expanding the stadium further once the Mayflower Stand is complete. This will be done by adding a second-tier to the Devonport End, Lyndhurst Stand, and Barn Park End in order to reach the 46,000 mark. Once complete it will provide a world-class sports and entertainment facility for Devon
and Cornwall
to use throughout the year. It will enable Plymouth Argyle
to host more live music
events, and the hotel will accommodate visiting supporters, officials, athletes, and tourists. Plymouth Albion will be able to use the stadium for home matches, should the club reach the Guinness Premiership, the top-level of Rugby union in England
, and the Plymouth Raiders
will make the 5,000-seat arena their home in their bid to bring Euroleague
basketball to the region.
at various levels. The England Amateur
team played a match against their Welsh
counterparts in 1914. Home Park also hosted three England Under-23 matches in the 1960s and 1970s. A 6–1 win against Belgium
in 1962, a 4–1 win against Bulgaria in 1970 and a 0–0 draw with Poland
in 1973. The ground hosted a unique match in 1966 between representative sides of the Football League and Irish Football League. A crowd of 35,458 were in attendance as the Football League, featuring seven members of the 1966 FIFA World Cup winning squad, were 12–0 victors. Home Park has also been used for purposes other than football. Before Argyle moved in, the site was used for rugby union
matches, and it hosted an athletics meeting in the early 20th century.
On 5 October 1977, Home Park hosted Manchester United's
European Cup Winners' Cup
first round second leg tie against AS Saint-Etienne
of France
. United won the game 2-0 (3-1 on aggreggate).Despite being based nearly 300 miles away at Old Trafford
in Manchester
, United had played their "home" tie at Home Park as UEFA
had ordered them to play at least 120 miles from Old Trafford due to hooliganism
incidents at the first leg in France, for which they had initially been expelled from the competition completely and only readmitted on appeal.
Plymouth Argyle
were limited in what they could do with the stadium throughout the 1900s because of a long-standing lease
agreement with the City Council. That changed in 2006 when the club purchased the freehold of the ground for £2.7m. Soon after, the club announced it would begin hosting live music
in the summer months, starting in 2007, and the first act to perform there was Elton John
. Other major acts have followed, including George Michael
, Meat Loaf
, Westlife
, and Rod Stewart
. The stadium also hosts an annual free-admittance carol service in December to celebrate Christmas
, in association with the Plymouth branch of Christian
organisation Faith and Football.
match between Plymouth Argyle
and Aston Villa
on 10 October 1936. This was before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium, allowing many more people to fit into the stadium. Home Park's record attendance as an all-seater stadium currently stands at 17,511, set at a Football League Championship
match between Plymouth Argyle and Watford
on 22 March 2008. Home Park's record attendance for a non-competitive match is 37,639, for a mid-season friendly between Plymouth Argyle and Santos on 14 March 1973. The lowest recorded attendance for a competitive match at Home Park was 944, set on 10 December 1996, for a Football League Trophy
first round tie between Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth
. The highest average attendance at Home Park over a League season is 23,290, set in the 1946–47 season
. The lowest average attendance at Home Park came in the 1982–83 season
, when an average of 4,537 spectators watched each match.
dotted around the area. The club also runs a special service on the day of a match, with the co-operation of Citybus, which provides free transport throughout the city to the stadium for any supporter that has a valid matchday ticket. The stadium is on Outland Road, which links to the A38 motorway and direct access to Cornwall
and the north of England. On foot, the stadium is approximately 1.6 miles (2.5 km) from Plymouth railway station
and 1.8 miles (2.8 km) from the city centre.
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
football stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in the Central Park
Central Park, Plymouth
Plymouth's Central Park is a large centralised park situated to the north of Plymouth city centre in south west Devon, England, stretching north from the train station to Pounds House, Peverell and west from Ford Park Cemetery to the A386 .Central Park is trust land, which explains why it has not...
area of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, 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...
, and is the home of Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901. After undergoing considerable development in the 1920s and 1930s the ground suffered heavy damage during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was re-opened in time for the resumption of the Football League in 1945 and underwent further improvements in the 1950s, including the installation of floodlights
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
and a new 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...
, designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Archibald Leitch
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
. The ground remained relatively unchanged until 2001 when construction of three new all-seater stands commenced. The work was completed in February 2002, and after further work the stadium became all-seated in the summer of 2007.
The stadium's record attendance was recorded in 1936, when 43,596 spectators were in attendance to watch the club play a Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
match against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, while the record average attendance for a single season, 23,290, came in the 1946–47 season
1946-47 in English football
The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...
. The stadium was selected as part of England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid
English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both...
by the FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
in December 2009. The ground has played host to England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
youth internationals in the past, and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup match between Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in 1977. Aside from football-related uses, Home Park has played host to rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and athletics in the past and now puts on live music during the summer, with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
among the acts who have performed at the ground.
Construction and early years
Home Park was originally used by the now defunct Devonport Albion rugby team from 1893 to 1898. Following a dispute with the ground's owners over rent, Albion left and the ground was not used for three years. In 1901 the Argyle Athletic Club obtained a lease on the ground, then an oval-shaped bowl and cinderCinder
A cinder is a pyroclastic material. Cinders are extrusive igneous rocks. Cinders are similar to pumice, which has so many cavities and is such low-density that it can float on water...
track surrounded by allotments
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
and farmland. The new owners staged their first event, an athletics meeting, on Whit Monday
Whit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
in 1901, however, leaseholder Clarence Spooner was keen for it to stage football. Following a series of successful trial matches involving Argyle Football Club, which attracted healthy crowds, Spooner made the decision to focus on establishing the first professional football club in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. The club, formed in 1886, changed its name to Plymouth Argyle in 1903 and became professional that same year. Home Park played host to its first competitive match, against Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
, on 5 September 1903 in front of a crowd of 4,438. At the time the ground had one wooden grandstand which could accommodate 2,000 people, while the other three sides of the ground were surrounded by slag heap
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
banking
Bank (geography)
A geographic bank has four definitions and applications:# Limnology: The shoreline of a pond, swamp, estuary, reservoir, or lake. The grade can vary from vertical to a shallow slope....
with a waist-high fence. When Argyle joined the Football League in 1920 several improvements were required to meet safety requirements.
The wooden Grandstand was demolished and replaced by a much larger and more modern structure at a cost of £12,000, while concrete terracing with crush barriers were added around the other three sides of the ground. A pitched-roof was erected along the main entrance at the Devonport End of the ground to provide cover for supporters using that terrace. The new Grandstand incorporated players changing rooms and club offices. Many of these facilities were built with funds provided by the official supporters club. By the 1930s the ground was regularly hosting crowds in excess of 20,000 and on 10 October 1936 the record attendance was set. A crowd of 43,596 were in attendance to watch the club play out a 2–2 draw with Aston Villa in the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. The ground continued to host Second Division football until the outbreak of war in 1939.
Wartime bombing
The city of PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
was hit hard during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
due to its strength as a military base, with HMNB Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
being the largest naval base in Western Europe. So, with the ground being in such close proximity to the city centre and Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a bay at Plymouth in England.Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point on Devon, a distance of about 3 nautical miles . Its northern limit is Plymouth Hoe giving a north-south distance of nearly 3 nautical miles...
, it was unlikely that it would escape unharmed. The Football League was abandoned three games into the 1939–40 season
1939-40 in English football
The 1939–1940 season was the 65th season of competitive football in England. It was suspended in September after the outbreak of World War II.-Overview:...
, but Home Park continued to host matches until the summer of 1940 in the hastily organised South West Regional League. A series of bombing raids on the city took place in April 1941, known as the Plymouth Blitz
Plymouth Blitz
The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz....
, by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. As expected Home Park did not escape. The Grandstand was all but destroyed after sustaining multiple hits and the pitch was littered with impact craters, which left the club facing a major rebuilding operation after hostilities had abated in 1945.
Resurgam
In order to be ready for the resumption of a regionalised Football League in 1945 several drastic measures were required. Disused army hutsNissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
were used as changing rooms, buses and trams were used as offices, and railway sleepers were used for terracing. The Football League was still split in to North and South
Football League North and South
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created for the League to continue while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The Leagues started in 1941; however, the leagues only had one full season, in 1945-46...
divisions, having been created four years earlier in order for the League to continue whilst limiting the amount of movement that was required by competing teams during the war. The 1945–46 season
1945-46 in English football
The 1945–1946 season was the 66th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:1945–1946 was the first football season since the 1939–1940 season was cut short due to World War II. The FA Cup was the main competition to be played this season along with the Football League North and Football...
was to be its only full campaign. Records from this time tend not to be included in official records. Plymouth Argyle's first official match back at the ground for six years was played on 31 August 1946. 25,659 spectators were in attendance to watch a 3–1 victory against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
in the Second Division.
A new two-tiered Grandstand was built in 1952, designed by Archibald Leitch
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
, with floodlights
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
installed in October of the following year. Running the length of the pitch, it had standing room in the first tier, known as the Mayflower Terrace, and wooden seating in the second tier. When a roof was erected on the Lyndhurst side of the ground in 1964, three quarters of the ground were under cover, with all but the second tier of the Grandstand being standing room. In the 1969–70 season
1969-70 in English football
The 1969–70 season was the 90th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Everton won their seventh title, finishing nine points clear of Leeds United with Chelsea in third and newly promoted Derby County in fourth...
seats were added at the back of the Mayflower Terrace, which took the seating capacity to 4,100 and the overall capacity to 40,000. In the late 1970s the pitched roof at the Devonport End of the ground had to be removed for safety reasons. However, it was replaced in 1984 by a non-pitched structure to leave just the Barn Park End uncovered once more.
The ground remained relatively unchanged throughout the 1990s, aside from the Lyndhurst Stand being made all-seater. However, its future seemed unclear when the club outlined plans to move to a new site in Central Park
Central Park, Plymouth
Plymouth's Central Park is a large centralised park situated to the north of Plymouth city centre in south west Devon, England, stretching north from the train station to Pounds House, Peverell and west from Ford Park Cemetery to the A386 .Central Park is trust land, which explains why it has not...
in 1996. The Plymouth Tradium, designed by Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in London. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll...
, would seat 25,000, and also incorporate community sports and leisure facilities. In the end nothing came of it and the club would instead focus on redeveloping Home Park, with many parts of the old ground showing their age by the arrival of the twenty-first century.
2001 redevelopment
Barr Construction Ltd
Barr Construction is a major Scottish contracting organisation operating throughout the United Kingdom.- History :The Company began life at the end of the nineteenth century as a joinery firm known as W & J Barr & Sons and gradually expanded into civil engineering projects...
moved onto the site two months later.
During the first six months of the 2001–2002 season
2001-02 in English football
The 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
supporters watched the club's matches from one touchline before the first phase was completed in February 2002. One of the biggest attendances since the redevelopment was set on 20 April 2002, as 18,517 spectators watched Plymouth Argyle recorded a 2–0 win against Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
in the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
. A feat which was bettered in 2004, and then in 2007. Home Park attracted its highest average league attendance for over forty years during the 2004–05 season
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, formerly known as the First Division. Despite this, a start date for the second phase of redevelopment would not materialise. The former chairman of Plymouth Argyle, Paul Stapleton
Paul Stapleton
Paul Stapleton is the vice-chairman of Plymouth Argyle and senior partner in the Plymouth based accountancy practice Parkhurst Hill. He was previously the chairman at Plymouth from August 2001 to July 2009, and has been a director of the club since 1998...
, declared that not completing the project was the biggest disappointment of his tenure.
Conversion to all-seater
The club purchased the freehold of the ground from Plymouth City Council to become sole owners in December 2006 for £2.7m. It was hoped that work on a new Grandstand would begin the following year. It hosted its biggest crowd since the redevelopment in March 2007 when 20,652 were in attendance to watch Argyle play WatfordWatford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
in the quarter-finals of 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...
. That summer the ground became all-seated
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
as the club was forced to convert the Mayflower Terrace into seating by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
. In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in 1989 regulations were brought in, recommended by the Taylor report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
, that all stadiums in the top two divisions of English football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
must be all-seated unless there are exceptional circumstances. The club had been given three years grace after winning promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
back to the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
in 2004.
Three major summer initiatives were announced by the club just over a week later, which were carried out over the next month. The Mayflower Terrace was replaced by temporary, unreserved seating with a capacity of 3,500. A new state-of-the-art public address system was installed, and the last of ground's inconic floodlight
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
towers were dismantled after 54 years of service, with a new system put in its place.Home Park Greens on Screen. Retrieved 21 January 2010. The capacity of the ground was therefore reduced by roughly two thousand to 19,500 following these changes.
Structure and facilities
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
is surrounded by four covered all-seater
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
stands, officially known as the Mayflower Grandstand to the south, Devonport End to the west, Lyndhurst Stand to the north, and Barn Park End to the east. Each stand has one tier with the exception of the Mayflower Grandstand which has two, an upper tier and a lower tier, known as the Mayflower Terrace, which was converted from terracing
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
in 2007.
The Mayflower Grandstand is the club's main stand, which can hold roughly 7,000 spectators. It is the oldest part of the ground, having been built in 1952. It houses the club's main offices, the boardroom, team changing rooms, press rooms and also accommodates executive boxes, which can host functions and are available to supporters during matchdays. To the rear of the stand is the Club Shop, selling official merchandise, and the Pyramid Suite, a top class hospitality area which can cater for up to 170 people. There are two structures overlooking the pitch on each side of the stand. To the east is a building which contains a hospitality area (the Chisholm Lounge), and a press area, and to the west is a disabled enclosure. There have been plans to replace this stand for a number of years.
The other three stands are very similar in design and linked together, having been built in 2001. The Devonport End is the traditional end where the more vocal of the club's supporters gather. It can hold approximately 3,500 spectators. It is also where the Family Section can be located. The Lyndhurst Stand is the largest of the three, holding approximately 6,000 spectators, including the corners. The Barn Park End is where the away supporters are housed. Similar to the Devonport End, it also holds approximately 3,500 spectators. The standard allocation given to visiting clubs is 1,300 but this can be increased if demand requires it. All three boast good views and standard facilities for a football stadium, including concourse
Concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
s, merchandise stands and food and drink outlets. The dugouts and players tunnel are situated at the front and centre of the Mayflower Stand, whilst the television gantry is situated further back at the front of the second tier. The pitch at the ground measures approximately 100 metres (109.3 yards) long by 66 metres (72.1 yards) wide, with a few metres of run-off space on each side. The ground also has two pitch covers, rain and frost, to protect the pitch during inclement weather during the winter months.
Future
The club has continued to harbour ambitions to redevelop the stadium further since the 2001 build, with the next stage pointing to a redevelopment of the Mayflower Grandstand, and that ambition came a step nearer in August 2009 when the club announced plans for wholesale development of the stadium and regeneration throughout the area. The club declared that the city of PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
would be submitting an application to The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
to be a host venue for 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...
's 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid
English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both...
. The eye-catching plans were released to the public on 14 December 2009, two days before the FA would announce which candidates they had selected for the bid. The plans, designed by Populous, include developing the stadium into a 46,000 capacity all-seater
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
area, with a 5,000-seat indoor facility
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
and hotel built into the complex, at a cost of at least £50m. The build would be done in three stages. The First Phase, a new Mayflower Stand, will become a reality regardless of the bid, increasing the capacity to 27,000. The Second Phase, an additional 8,000 seats, and the Third Phase, an additional 11,000 seats, would be completed by the 2014–15 season
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
should Plymouth's application and England's bid
English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both...
be successful, giving the stadium a capacity of 46,000 all-seated by this stage.
The city presented its bid at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in November 2009 with numerous businesses and sports clubs from Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
fully behind it. A selection of those included the city's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
clubs, Plymouth Albion, and Plymouth Raiders
Plymouth Raiders
The Plymouth Raiders, officially called UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders for sponsorship reasons, is South-west England's leading basketball team. Based in the city of Plymouth, they play their home games at the Pavilions arena and have competed in the top-tier British Basketball League since 2004...
, and local football clubs Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
, and Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
. Plymouth was selected as a part of 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...
's 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid
English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both...
, alongside 11 other cities on 16 December 2009. Plymouth Argyle director Paul Stapleton
Paul Stapleton
Paul Stapleton is the vice-chairman of Plymouth Argyle and senior partner in the Plymouth based accountancy practice Parkhurst Hill. He was previously the chairman at Plymouth from August 2001 to July 2009, and has been a director of the club since 1998...
described himself as being overwhelmed, going on to say that getting over the first hurdle "gives our supporters belief that we can achieve things", while the bids chairman, Douglas Fletcher, described the bid as one "for the people of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
". A day later the club revealed that the stadium could possibly be renamed for sponsorship reasons as a part of funding for the project which shall begin in the summer of 2010.
The first stage of the build will take place at the end of the 2009–10 season when the pitch will be replaced by a more durable surface. The Mayflower Grandstand will be demolished in the spring of 2011, and building work will commence alongside the Plymouth Life Centre, a multi-purpose sports and leisure facility, boasting amongst other things an Olympic standard swimming pool. Should England's bid
English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both...
be successful and Plymouth selected by FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
then work will begin on expanding the stadium further once the Mayflower Stand is complete. This will be done by adding a second-tier to the Devonport End, Lyndhurst Stand, and Barn Park End in order to reach the 46,000 mark. Once complete it will provide a world-class sports and entertainment facility for Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
to use throughout the year. It will enable Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
to host more live music
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
events, and the hotel will accommodate visiting supporters, officials, athletes, and tourists. Plymouth Albion will be able to use the stadium for home matches, should the club reach the Guinness Premiership, the top-level of Rugby union in England
Rugby union in England
Rugby union is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports in England. A popular myth is that Rugby was created in England in 1823, when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a football match at Rugby School. In 1871 the RFU was formed by 21 clubs and the...
, and the Plymouth Raiders
Plymouth Raiders
The Plymouth Raiders, officially called UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders for sponsorship reasons, is South-west England's leading basketball team. Based in the city of Plymouth, they play their home games at the Pavilions arena and have competed in the top-tier British Basketball League since 2004...
will make the 5,000-seat arena their home in their bid to bring Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
basketball to the region.
Other uses
The stadium has also hosted matches involving the England national teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
at various levels. The England Amateur
England national amateur football team
The England national amateur football team was the amateur representative team for England at football. It was formed in 1906, due to the growth of the professional game which meant that amateur players could no longer easily find places in the main England national team.-First match and unbeaten...
team played a match against their Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
counterparts in 1914. Home Park also hosted three England Under-23 matches in the 1960s and 1970s. A 6–1 win against Belgium
Belgium national under-21 football team
The Belgium national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
in 1962, a 4–1 win against Bulgaria in 1970 and a 0–0 draw with Poland
Poland national under-23 football team
The Poland national under-23 football team or Poland Olympic football team is the national under-23 football team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Football Association.- Olympic Record :...
in 1973. The ground hosted a unique match in 1966 between representative sides of the Football League and Irish Football League. A crowd of 35,458 were in attendance as the Football League, featuring seven members of the 1966 FIFA World Cup winning squad, were 12–0 victors. Home Park has also been used for purposes other than football. Before Argyle moved in, the site was used for rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
matches, and it hosted an athletics meeting in the early 20th century.
On 5 October 1977, Home Park hosted Manchester United's
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
European Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
first round second leg tie against AS Saint-Etienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. United won the game 2-0 (3-1 on aggreggate).Despite being based nearly 300 miles away at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United had played their "home" tie at Home Park as UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
had ordered them to play at least 120 miles from Old Trafford due to hooliganism
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
incidents at the first leg in France, for which they had initially been expelled from the competition completely and only readmitted on appeal.
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
were limited in what they could do with the stadium throughout the 1900s because of a long-standing lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
agreement with the City Council. That changed in 2006 when the club purchased the freehold of the ground for £2.7m. Soon after, the club announced it would begin hosting live music
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in the summer months, starting in 2007, and the first act to perform there was Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. Other major acts have followed, including George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, 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...
, and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
. The stadium also hosts an annual free-admittance carol service in December to celebrate Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, in association with the Plymouth branch of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organisation Faith and Football.
Records
The highest attendance recorded at Home Park is 43,596 for a Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
match between Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
and Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
on 10 October 1936. This was before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium, allowing many more people to fit into the stadium. Home Park's record attendance as an all-seater stadium currently stands at 17,511, set at a Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
match between Plymouth Argyle and Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
on 22 March 2008. Home Park's record attendance for a non-competitive match is 37,639, for a mid-season friendly between Plymouth Argyle and Santos on 14 March 1973. The lowest recorded attendance for a competitive match at Home Park was 944, set on 10 December 1996, for a Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
first round tie between Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
. The highest average attendance at Home Park over a League season is 23,290, set in the 1946–47 season
1946-47 in English football
The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...
. The lowest average attendance at Home Park came in the 1982–83 season
1982-83 in English football
The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His...
, when an average of 4,537 spectators watched each match.
Transport
Adjacent to the Devonport End of the stadium is a large car park which is free during matchdays on a first come, first served basis. There are numerous Park & Ride services provided by Plymouth CitybusPlymouth Citybus
Plymouth Citybus is one of the principal bus operators serving the City of Plymouth, England, and the surrounding area. Plymouth Citybus's route network serves almost exclusively the boroughs and inner-city areas of Plymouth, with the majority of rural services handled by First Devon and...
dotted around the area. The club also runs a special service on the day of a match, with the co-operation of Citybus, which provides free transport throughout the city to the stadium for any supporter that has a valid matchday ticket. The stadium is on Outland Road, which links to the A38 motorway and direct access to Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and the north of England. On foot, the stadium is approximately 1.6 miles (2.5 km) from Plymouth railway station
Plymouth railway station
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
and 1.8 miles (2.8 km) from the city centre.