Marston Road (Stafford)
Encyclopedia
Marston Road is a football ground in Stafford
, England
. It is the home ground of Stafford Rangers F.C.
, a semi-professional team who play in the Conference North
league.
Reserves. Players changed in an upstairs club room at the Albion Hotel before crossing the road to what was then referred to as the Albion Ground. During 1920 the ground was purchased when Rangers became a limited company, and soon banking appeared around the pitch and four huts were bought from Cannock Chase
War Training Group. The first Supporters' Club built a stand on the Lotus site which is quite possibly the structure in use today, and work also commenced on dressing rooms, offices and turnstiles ready for the 1921 season. Two years later the club hit financial difficulties and the ground was mortgaged
for £500, but worse followed, for in 1929 fire destroyed part of it.
During the war Marston Road fell into disrepair but was renovated by Supporters Club members ready for use at the start of the 1946/47 season. It remained more or less unchanged until an upturn in playing fortunes during the late sixties saw the launch of a floodlight
ing fund. £6,000 was raised and on Monday 5 September 1969 a crowd of 3,045 watched the official opener against Port Vale. The seventies saw the ground develop to its current status with a new seated stand to replace the ramshackle old stand which stood along the Marston Road side. Considerable delays were experienced following planning permission for the 450-seater and the old stand was still in place when Rotherham United's visit in the FA Cup
3rd Round on 4 January 1975 brought in the record gate of 8,536. The stand was used for the last time the following month and volunteer work helped create the new one in time for the start of the following season.
The next significant work at Marston Road was the building of the new dressing room block and office complex which was officially opened in December 1977 following a match with Stoke City. New terrace steps were constructed at the Social Club end of the ground during the 1988 close season. When the new Board of Directors took over in 1997, work was carried out to tidy up the ground and the Social Club was extended. During the 2005/06 season, the floodlights were replaced and the seating capacity
of the stand was increased to over 500 seats.
and Aston Villa's Holte End. The Shed End was knocked down, and a new 2000-seat stand erected by 4 April 2007, when it was tested by the Conference Safety Officers. In May 2009 the 2000 seated temporary Shed End stand was taken away, with crowds set to average just over 525 in the second season back in the Blue Square North, it was no longer necessary. The stand heavy cost the club, and they were forced to establish a '250 Club' to keep the club alive, where fans loaned the club £200, and the loan was used to pay off the debt to the seating company, which could have led to administration. For the first half of the 2009-2010 season the Shed End was just a terraced end, and in early 2010 crush barriers were tested, and a row were installed to increase the capacity of the End, however, the Shed End still has no roof, which means the electric atmosphere is currently not created. The cost to cover the whole end was suggested to be approximately £180,000.
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
, 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 the home ground of Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
, a semi-professional team who play in the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
league.
Ground history
Stafford Rangers have played at Marston Road for over 110 years. The first competitive game at the ground was on Saturday 5 September 1896, a North Staffordshire League fixture against Dresden UnitedDresden United F.C.
Dresden United Football Club were a football club based in the Dresden area of Stoke-on-Trent who were active at the end of the nineteenth century....
Reserves. Players changed in an upstairs club room at the Albion Hotel before crossing the road to what was then referred to as the Albion Ground. During 1920 the ground was purchased when Rangers became a limited company, and soon banking appeared around the pitch and four huts were bought from Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district....
War Training Group. The first Supporters' Club built a stand on the Lotus site which is quite possibly the structure in use today, and work also commenced on dressing rooms, offices and turnstiles ready for the 1921 season. Two years later the club hit financial difficulties and the ground was mortgaged
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
for £500, but worse followed, for in 1929 fire destroyed part of it.
During the war Marston Road fell into disrepair but was renovated by Supporters Club members ready for use at the start of the 1946/47 season. It remained more or less unchanged until an upturn in playing fortunes during the late sixties saw the launch of a 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....
ing fund. £6,000 was raised and on Monday 5 September 1969 a crowd of 3,045 watched the official opener against Port Vale. The seventies saw the ground develop to its current status with a new seated stand to replace the ramshackle old stand which stood along the Marston Road side. Considerable delays were experienced following planning permission for the 450-seater and the old stand was still in place when Rotherham United's visit in 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...
3rd Round on 4 January 1975 brought in the record gate of 8,536. The stand was used for the last time the following month and volunteer work helped create the new one in time for the start of the following season.
The next significant work at Marston Road was the building of the new dressing room block and office complex which was officially opened in December 1977 following a match with Stoke City. New terrace steps were constructed at the Social Club end of the ground during the 1988 close season. When the new Board of Directors took over in 1997, work was carried out to tidy up the ground and the Social Club was extended. During the 2005/06 season, the floodlights were replaced and the seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of the stand was increased to over 500 seats.
Main Stand Side
530 seats in a single stand which sits on the half way line, containing press/directors facilities. The blue seats now in place were bought from Leicester City's doomed Main Stand, due to ground improvements required for National Conference football. Either side of the stand lies shallow terracing.Lotus Side
Small terrace stand that runs the length of the pitch with old wooden roof supports that according to some date back to before the First World War.The Shed End
The traditional gathering point for the more vocal parts of Rangers' support. The Shed End is said to have equal ability to "suck a goal in" as other supporter strong-holds such as Manchester United's Stretford EndStretford End
The Stretford End, officially named West Stand, is a stand on the west side of Old Trafford, the stadium of Manchester United F.C. It took its name from the town of Stretford, in which the stadium is located, as it is in the direction of the centre of Stretford, looking from the centre of the pitch...
and Aston Villa's Holte End. The Shed End was knocked down, and a new 2000-seat stand erected by 4 April 2007, when it was tested by the Conference Safety Officers. In May 2009 the 2000 seated temporary Shed End stand was taken away, with crowds set to average just over 525 in the second season back in the Blue Square North, it was no longer necessary. The stand heavy cost the club, and they were forced to establish a '250 Club' to keep the club alive, where fans loaned the club £200, and the loan was used to pay off the debt to the seating company, which could have led to administration. For the first half of the 2009-2010 season the Shed End was just a terraced end, and in early 2010 crush barriers were tested, and a row were installed to increase the capacity of the End, however, the Shed End still has no roof, which means the electric atmosphere is currently not created. The cost to cover the whole end was suggested to be approximately £180,000.
Social Club End
Area of the ground in which the Social Club sits. In 1997 the Social Club was extended and a result there is limited capacity on this side of the ground. A new terrace was erected here, in time for the safety tests on 4 April 2007. As with the Shed End, the temporary covered terrace was sent back, and nothing has yet replaced the stand or any plans announced, as the 2009-2010 season has drawn to a close.The future
Because of the land-locked nature of Marston Road, it is widely accepted that for the club to progress then they must move away from their home of over 100 years. At present there are no official plans to do this and the club are instead upgrading the ground to meet league requirements.External links
- Page at Stafford Rangers site