Valley Parade
Encyclopedia
Valley Parade, also known as the Coral Windows Stadium through sponsorship rights, is an all-seater football stadium
in Bradford
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football
to association football and became Bradford City
. It has been Bradford City's home since, although it is now owned by former chairman Gordon Gibb
's pension fund. It has also been home to Bradford (Park Avenue)
for one season, and Bradford Bulls
rugby league side for two seasons, as well as host to a number of England youth team
fixtures.
Football architect
Archibald Leitch
was commissioned to redevelop the ground when Bradford City were promoted to the First Division in 1908. From then, the stadium underwent few changes until 1985, when it was the scene of a fatal fire on 11 May 1985, when 56 supporters were killed and at least 265 were injured. It underwent a £
2.6 million redevelopment and was re-opened in December 1986. The ground has undergone significant changes in the 1990s and early 2000s and now has a capacity of 25,136. The record attendance of 39,146 was set in 1911 for an FA Cup
tie against Burnley
, making it the oldest surviving attendance record at a Football League
ground in the country.
. When their ground was sold to facilitate the construction of Drummond School, the club required a new home. Consequently, they bought one-third of the Valley Parade site in Manningham
, taking a short-term lease out on the rest of the land in time to play there for the 1886–87 season. The new ground and the road it was built upon both adopted the name of the local area, Valley Parade, a name deriving from the steep hillside below Manningham. The land was previously a quarry
, and formed part of a greater site owned by Midland Railway Company.
The club spent £
1,400 appointing designers to oversee the excavation and levelling of the land, and moved a one-year-old stand from Carlisle Road to the highest part of the new ground. The original ground comprised the relocated stand, a 2,000-capacity stepped enclosure with the players' changing rooms
beneath the stand, the playing area, a cinder athletics track and fencing to limit the total capacity to 18,000. The playing field was made of ballast
, ashes, soil and sods. The ground was officially opened on 27 September 1886 for a game against Wakefield Trinity
which was watched by a capacity crowd, but construction work meant most of Manningham's early games were away fixtures.
Manningham RFC continued playing until 1903, when financial difficulties, caused by relegation at the turn of the century, prompted club officials to change codes from rugby football
to association football. The first association football game to be played at Valley Parade was a promotional fixture on 6 April 1903 between a side of West Yorkshire footballers and Sheffield United
's 1903 FA Cup
winning side. The game had been organised to stimulate interest in the sport in Bradford and attracted 8,000 fans. The new football club, Bradford City
, were elected to The Football League
's Division Two
the following month. Bradford City's first game at Valley Parade came on 5 September 1903 against Gainsborough Trinity
, drawing a crowd of 11,000. As a result of alterations first implemented in 1897, City players originally changed in a shed behind one end of the ground, and visiting teams used the old rugby club dressing rooms at the back of the nearby Belle Vue Hotel. However, after City's 5–1 defeat by Manchester United
on 10 February 1906, United player Bob Bonthron
was attacked as he left the ground. As a result The Football Association
closed the ground for 14 days, ordering City to switch its changing rooms to the nearby Artillery Barracks for the 1906–07
season. Several supporters faced criminal proceedings for the incident.
After Bradford City won the Division Two championship in 1907–08
, the club hurried through a reconstruction programme of the ground to prepare for the club's first season in Division One
. Football architect
Archibald Leitch
was commissioned to design new terracing
in the paddock—a standing area in front of the 5,300-seater main stand which was built in 1908—and build a Spion Kop at the north side of the ground and an 8,000-capacity stand at the Midland Road end opposite the main stand. Further work was performed to lower the railings, erect barriers, move the pitch and add extra turnstile
s. The changing rooms were also moved, with a tunnel leading from the rooms underneath the Kop along the main stand side of the ground. The total project cost £9,958, and raised the capacity to 40,000. The work was not completed until midway through the 1908–09 season
. The first match after work was finished took place on Christmas Day 1908, when 36,000 fans saw City host Bristol City
. The improvements allowed Bradford City to set their record attendance of 39,146 on 11 March 1911 against Burnley
during the club's FA Cup winning run
. It is the longest surviving attendance record at any league ground in the country.
On 17 March 1932, Bradford City paid Midland Railway Company £3,750 for the remaining two-thirds of the site to become outright owners of the ground, which was now 45 years old. The stadium had remained virtually unchanged since 1908, and did so until 1952, when the capacity of the ground was reduced after examinations of the foundations were ordered following the 1946 Burnden Park disaster
. The investigation resulted in the closure of half the Midland Road stand. The stand's steel frame was then sold to Berwick Rangers
for £450 and a smaller replacement stand was built at Valley Parade in 1954. Six years later, the stand had to be demolished for a second time because of continuing foundation problems. It was another six years before all four stands at Valley Parade were able to be opened for the first time. To enable construction of a new stand on the Midland Road side of the ground, the club directors moved the pitch 3 yards (2.7 m) closer to the main stand. The new stand was then the narrowest stand in the league. Further improvements were made to the stand in 1969, ready for the club's FA Cup tie with Division One
side Tottenham Hotspur
on 3 January 1970, which ended in a 2–2 draw in front of 23,000 fans. The cost of the work forced the club to sell Valley Parade to Bradford Corporation for £35,000, but it was bought back by 1979 for the same price.
During the period from 1908 to 1985, the club carried out a number of other lesser work to the rest of the ground. It also included the introduction of floodlights
in English football. Valley Parade's first floodlights cost £3,000 and were lamps mounted on telegraph poles running along each side of the ground. They were originally used against Hull City
on 20 December 1954. The floodlights were replaced in 1960 and again used for the first time against Hull City, but when one fell over in 1962, an FA Cup game with Gateshead
had to go ahead with only three pylons, prompting an FA inquiry. In 1985, football ground writer Simon Inglis
described the view from the main stand, which was still the same as when it was developed in 1908, as "like watching football from the cockpit
of a Sopwith Camel
" because of its antiquated supports and struts.
On 11 May 1985, one of the worst sporting disasters occurred at Valley Parade. Fifty-six people died and at least 265 were injured when the main stand was engulfed by fire. The fire started 40 minutes into the club's final game of the 1984–85
season against Lincoln City
and destroyed the main stand in just nine minutes. For the next season and the first five months of the 1986–87
season, Bradford City played home games at Leeds United's
Elland Road
, Huddersfield Town's
Leeds Road and Bradford Northern's
Odsal Stadium
, while Valley Parade was rebuilt. Huddersfield-based firm J Wimpenny carried out the £2.6 million work, which included funding from insurance pay-outs, Football League
stadium grants, club funds and a £1.46 million Government loan obtained by two Bradford MPs, Geoffrey Lawler
and Max Madden
. A new 5,000 all-seater main stand was built, longer than the structure which had burned down. The Kop was also covered for the first time and increased to a 7,000 capacity. Other minor work was carried out to the ground's other two stands. On 14 December 1986, 582 days after the fire, The Hon Sir Oliver Popplewell
, who had conducted the inquiry into the fire, opened the new stadium before an exhibition match against an England international XI. It was first used for a league game on Boxing Day when City lost 1–0 to Derby County
.
The two stands which were not altered after the fire were both improved during the 1990s. The Bradford end of the ground was made a double-decker, all-seater stand, with a new scoreboard, in 1991. City's promotion to Division One in 1996 meant that chairman Geoffrey Richmond
announced the construction of a 4,500 seater stand on the Midland Road side. It was first used for a Yorkshire derby
against Sheffield United
on Boxing Day 1996, before being officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 27 March 1997. Richmond continued his plans to redevelop the ground as City continued to rise through the league. The roof of the Kop, which was the largest safe-standing terrace in the country at the time, was removed and the capacity reduced during City's 1998–99
promotion season, to prepare for a summer £6.5 million rebuilding programme. The Kop was converted into a two-tier 7,500-seat capacity stand. An additional 2,300-seat capacity corner section was built, which filled in the corner between the main stand and Kop. When opened in December 2000 it took the capacity of Valley Parade to more than 20,000 for the first time since 1970. A suite of offices and a shop were added at the same time. Once the work was completed, a second tier was added to the main stand at the cost of £6.5 million. It was opened in 2001, increasing the main stand's capacity to 11,000, and the ground's capacity to 25,000.
Richmond also planned to increase the main stand's capacity by a further 1,800 seats by building new changing rooms and office blocks, and add a second tier to the Midland Road stand, to increase the ground capacity to more than 35,000. However, the club went into administration
in May 2002, and Richmond was replaced by new co-owners Julian Rhodes
and Gordon Gibb
. The following year, Valley Parade was sold to Gibb's pension fund for £5 million, with the club's offices, shop and car park sold to London-based Development Securities for an additional £2.5 million. Bradford City's annual rent bill in 2011 to Gibb's pension fund is £370,000. The total budget for the year, including other rent payments, rates
, maintenance and utility
bills is £1.25 million.
The ground has been renamed a number of times for sponsorship reasons. Sponsors have included The Pulse radio station
, Bradford & Bingley
and Intersonic. The ground has been named the Coral Windows Stadium since July 2007 in a three-year deal, but is still commonly known throughout football as Valley Parade.
Family Stand and the TL Dallas Stand. All five stands are covered except for a small part of the main stand, and all but the East Stand being two-tiered. Most of the stands are cantilever structures, and because of the ground's location on the hillside, the East Stand overhangs the road.
Many of the stands have more traditional names, but have since been renamed because of sponsorship deals. The Sunwin Stand is the ground's main stand, and is often called the latter by fans. The Carlsberg Stand is also known as The Kop, because it was the former standing area, and its name was derived, like at many stadia across the country, from the Battle of Spion Kop
. The East Stand, which is currently not sponsored after its previous sponsorship deal ended during the 2006–07 season, is also named the Midland Road stand, because of the road on that side of the ground. The TL Dallas Stand is also known as the Bradford end, because it is nearest to the city centre. The family stand has also been called the North West Corner.
The total capacity of Valley Parade is 25,136. The largest stand is the Sunwin Stand, which holds 9,004 supporters, followed by the Carlsberg Stand, which has a capacity of 7,492. The East Stand holds 4,500, and the Pulse Family Stand 2,300. The TL Dallas Stand is the smallest of the five stands with a capacity of 1,800. The stadium includes room for more than 200 disabled supporters and helpers, as well as 134 seats for media representatives. The Sunwin Stand has further room for expansion, and is unusual because it only runs three-quarters of the length of the pitch. The rest of this side is taken up by a brick building, situated in the south west corner of the stadium, which houses the club changing rooms and the security offices. The Sunwin Stand also includes the ground's 17 executive boxes and conference facilities, which have capacity for up to 700 people. A second function room, called the Bantams Bar, in the Carlsberg Stand, has room for another 300 people. There is also more office space, a club store, ticket office and museum in the car park behind the Carlsberg Stand. From early 2010, the area near the store will also include a dental surgery
, which will be run by NHS Bradford and Airedale in partnership with the football club.
Visiting team fans sat in the TL Dallas Stand from 1995 to 2008, but have also been given other parts of the ground for larger matches. In March 2008, the club announced that the TL Dallas Stand would be made available for home fans for the 2008–09 season. The decision came after an overwhelmingly positive text message poll from the club's supporters to use the Bradford End of the ground. Visiting team fans have been accommodated in the end blocks of the East Stand since the start of the 2008–09 season.
game of the 1984–85
season against Lincoln City
. The Bradford side had secured the Division Three title the week before when they defeated Bolton Wanderers
2–0. The league trophy was presented to City's skipper Peter Jackson before the Lincoln game. The score was still 0–0 after 40 minutes of the game, when a small fire was noticed three rows from the back of the ground's main stand. The flames became more visible within minutes, and police started to evacuate people in the stand less than six minutes later. Club chairman Stafford Heginbotham, who was in the main stand, described the effect and his reaction to the disaster: "The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. The smoke was choking. We couldn't breathe. It was to be our day." The game was stopped, and the wooden roof caught fire. The fire spread the length of the stand, and timber and the roof began to fall onto the crowds. Black smoke enveloped the rear passageways, where fans were trying to escape. Ultimately, the fire killed 56 spectators, ranging from 11-year-old children to the 86-year-old former chairman of the club, Sam Firth. At least 265 further supporters were injured. The few existing narrow escape routes led to locked doors in some cases, and the only escape for most spectators was directly onto the field. The match was abandoned and never replayed, with The Football League
ordering the scoreline at the time of abandonment to stand.
Sir Oliver Popplewell
published his inquiry into the fire in 1986, which introduced new safety legislation for sports grounds across the country. Forensic scientist David Woolley believed the cause of the fire was from a discarded cigarette or match, which had dropped through gaps between the seating to a void below the stand where rubbish had built up. A number of police officers and 22 spectators were later awarded bravery awards for their deeds on the day.
The old wooden roof of the stand was due to be replaced the day after the Lincoln match, because it did not meet the safety regulations required for Division Two
, where the team would be playing in the following season. Instead, it took until July 1986 for rebuilding work to begin. The ground was used for reserve team fixtures from September 1985, but only journalists and club officials were present to watch. Bradford City's senior team played home games at other grounds in West Yorkshire for 19 months while Valley Parade was rebuilt. The new ground cost £2.6 million to rebuild, and was reopened in December 1986.
More than £3.5 million was raised for victims of the fire and their families through the Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund. Memorials have been erected at the ground and at Bradford City Hall, the latter of which was provided by Bradford's twin town of Hamm
, in Germany
. The disaster is also marked by an annual remembrance ceremony on 11 May at Bradford City Hall, and an annual Easter-weekend youth tournament, contested between Bradford, Lincoln and other teams from across Europe
.
, so chose Valley Parde to host a game between an English League side and an Irish League side, despite the ground not being up to standard. An estimated 20,000 spectators attended the match on 10 October 1903, which the English League won 2–1. Over the next 20 years the ground hosted a number of other representative games, including an England international
trial, the 1904 FA Amateur Cup
Final and an under-15s schoolboy international between England and Scotland. But it was not until 6 April 1987 that the ground hosted another international when England under-18s
drew 1–1 with Switzerland
. Other under-18 fixtures have been played since, the last of which was between England and Belgium in November 2000. Valley Parade has also hosted England under-21
matches against Denmark
in 1999 and against Italy
in 2002, the latter of which ended in a 1–1 draw in front of 21,000 spectators. Valley Parade's next international came seven years later when Bradford City hosted an under-19s European Championship qualifying game, in which England defeated Slovakia
4–1. The England women's team
have also played at Valley Parade, including their first home match under the auspices of the Football Association in 1994 against Spain
.
Bradford (Park Avenue)
have played 29 games at Valley Parade, including a 2–0 friendly victory over Swiss side AC Lugano
in 1962, and all their home fixtures in 1973–74
, their last season before extinction. Bradford's rugby league
side Bradford Northern played a number of fixtures at Valley Parade between 1920 and 1937, as well as three games in the 1980s and 1990s. Northern became Bradford Bulls with the advent of the Super League
, and played two seasons at Valley Parade in 2001 and 2002 during redevelopment of their home ground at Odsal
.
The record attendance at Valley Parade is 39,146, for Bradford City's FA Cup
fourth round tie against Burnley
on 11 March 1911. The highest league attendance of 37,059, was for a Bradford derby
match between Bradford City and Bradford (Park Avenue)
on 17 September 1927 in Division Three (North)
. The record all-seated attendance record at Valley Parade is 22,057, set against Liverpool
in the Premier League on 1 May 2001. Stuart McCall
's testimonial match
between Bradford City and Rangers
on 28 April 2002 also attracted a crowd of more than 21,000. The lowest attendance for a league home match at Valley Parade is 1,249, on 15 May 1981, for a Division Four
fixture with Hereford United
. The record gate receipts that Bradford City have received are £181,990 for the Premier League game with Manchester United
on 13 January 2001.
Official attendance figures for league games were not kept by The Football League
until 1925. City's official highest average attendance at Valley Parade since then is 18,551 for the 1928–29
promotion
season from Division Three (North), although the club reported an average of 22,585 in 1920–21
. It was not until City were promoted to the Premier League in 1999 that the club again recorded average attendances of higher than 18,000. City recorded an average of 18,030 in 1999–2000
, and 18,511 the following season.
During their two years at Valley Parade, the Bradford Bulls
recorded their highest attendance on 4 March 2001 against St Helens with a crowd of 16,572. The Bulls averaged 11,488 in 2002 for Super League VII
. The highest crowd for a Bradford Northern fixture at Valley Parade was 20,973 on 13 February 1926 for a Challenge Cup
game against Keighley
, which finished 2–2.
, which is 0.6 mile (0.965604 km) away from the ground. Bradford Interchange connects to Leeds railway station for East Coast
and CrossCountry
train services, and provides First Bradford
and Keighley & District
buses to the ground. Forster Square, which provides train services operated by Northern Rail
, also connects to Leeds. The stadium has no parking facilities available to supporters on matchdays. In 2000, as part of the expansion of Valley Parade, the club drew up a green transport plan in a bid to ease traffic congestion around the ground. Proposals included a new train station on the line between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square, and a discounted bus service. No station has ever been built, and a discounted bus route was withdrawn because of low patronage.
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 Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 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 was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football
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...
to association football and became Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
. It has been Bradford City's home since, although it is now owned by former chairman Gordon Gibb
Gordon Gibb
Gordon Gibb is the CEO of Flamingo Land Ltd and former chairman of Bradford City Football Club.-Personal:Gordon Gibb was born in Strathaven in Scotland, moving to Yorkshire when his father, Robert Gibb, a former professional footballer, set up the family run theme park Flamingo Land...
's pension fund. It has also been home to Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
for one season, and Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
rugby league side for two seasons, as well as host to a number of England youth team
England national youth football team
England national youth football team can refer to the following age group teams:* England national under-23 football team* England national under-22 football team* England national under-21 football team* England national under-20 football team...
fixtures.
Football 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:...
was commissioned to redevelop the ground when Bradford City were promoted to the First Division in 1908. From then, the stadium underwent few changes until 1985, when it was the scene of a fatal fire on 11 May 1985, when 56 supporters were killed and at least 265 were injured. It underwent a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2.6 million redevelopment and was re-opened in December 1986. The ground has undergone significant changes in the 1990s and early 2000s and now has a capacity of 25,136. The record attendance of 39,146 was set in 1911 for an 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 Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, making it the oldest surviving attendance record at a Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
ground in the country.
History
Manningham Rugby Football Club, formed in 1876, originally played games at Cardigan Fields, in the Carlisle Road area of BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. When their ground was sold to facilitate the construction of Drummond School, the club required a new home. Consequently, they bought one-third of the Valley Parade site in Manningham
Manningham, Bradford
Manningham is an area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, approximately a mile north of the city centre and is seen as the centre of the city's south Asian population.- Geography :...
, taking a short-term lease out on the rest of the land in time to play there for the 1886–87 season. The new ground and the road it was built upon both adopted the name of the local area, Valley Parade, a name deriving from the steep hillside below Manningham. The land was previously a quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, and formed part of a greater site owned by Midland Railway Company.
The club spent £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,400 appointing designers to oversee the excavation and levelling of the land, and moved a one-year-old stand from Carlisle Road to the highest part of the new ground. The original ground comprised the relocated stand, a 2,000-capacity stepped enclosure with the players' changing rooms
Changeroom
A changing room, locker room, dressing room or changeroom is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes...
beneath the stand, the playing area, a cinder athletics track and fencing to limit the total capacity to 18,000. The playing field was made of ballast
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
, ashes, soil and sods. The ground was officially opened on 27 September 1886 for a game against Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
which was watched by a capacity crowd, but construction work meant most of Manningham's early games were away fixtures.
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...
to association football. The first association football game to be played at Valley Parade was a promotional fixture on 6 April 1903 between a side of West Yorkshire footballers and Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
's 1903 FA Cup
1903 FA Cup Final
The 1903 FA Cup Final was contested by Bury and Derby County at Crystal Palace. Bury won 6–0, with goals from George Ross, Charles Sagar, Joe Leeming , William Wood and John Plant...
winning side. The game had been organised to stimulate interest in the sport in Bradford and attracted 8,000 fans. The new football club, Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
, were elected to The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
's Division Two
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 following month. Bradford City's first game at Valley Parade came on 5 September 1903 against Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club are an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304...
, drawing a crowd of 11,000. As a result of alterations first implemented in 1897, City players originally changed in a shed behind one end of the ground, and visiting teams used the old rugby club dressing rooms at the back of the nearby Belle Vue Hotel. However, after City's 5–1 defeat by 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...
on 10 February 1906, United player Bob Bonthron
Bob Bonthron
Robert Pollock "Bob" Bonthron was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a right back for Manchester United, Sunderland and Birmingham in the Football League....
was attacked as he left the ground. As a result 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...
closed the ground for 14 days, ordering City to switch its changing rooms to the nearby Artillery Barracks for the 1906–07
1906-07 in English football
The 1906–07 season was the 36th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:-First Division:-Second Division:P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = PointsReferences...
season. Several supporters faced criminal proceedings for the incident.
After Bradford City won the Division Two championship in 1907–08
1907-08 in English football
The 1907–08 season was the 37th season of competitive football in England. Manchester United were Football League champions for the first time, while Bradford City won the Second Division and Wolverhampton Wanderers won the FA Cup...
, the club hurried through a reconstruction programme of the ground to prepare for the club's first season in Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. Football 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:...
was commissioned to design new 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 the paddock—a standing area in front of the 5,300-seater main stand which was built in 1908—and build a Spion Kop at the north side of the ground and an 8,000-capacity stand at the Midland Road end opposite the main stand. Further work was performed to lower the railings, erect barriers, move the pitch and add extra turnstile
Turnstile
A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
s. The changing rooms were also moved, with a tunnel leading from the rooms underneath the Kop along the main stand side of the ground. The total project cost £9,958, and raised the capacity to 40,000. The work was not completed until midway through the 1908–09 season
1908-09 in English football
The 1908–09 season was the 38th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Tottenham Hotspur played their first ever season in the Football League, gaining promotion to the First Division in the process...
. The first match after work was finished took place on Christmas Day 1908, when 36,000 fans saw City host Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
. The improvements allowed Bradford City to set their record attendance of 39,146 on 11 March 1911 against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
during the club's FA Cup winning run
1911 FA Cup Final
The 1911 FA Cup Final was the 40th FA Cup final. It was contested by Bradford City and Newcastle United. The first game resulted in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace...
. It is the longest surviving attendance record at any league ground in the country.
Burnden Park disaster
The Burnden Park Disaster was a human crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans...
. The investigation resulted in the closure of half the Midland Road stand. The stand's steel frame was then sold to Berwick Rangers
Berwick Rangers F.C.
Berwick Rangers Football Club are a football team based in the English Border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, although they play in the Scottish Football League Third Division...
for £450 and a smaller replacement stand was built at Valley Parade in 1954. Six years later, the stand had to be demolished for a second time because of continuing foundation problems. It was another six years before all four stands at Valley Parade were able to be opened for the first time. To enable construction of a new stand on the Midland Road side of the ground, the club directors moved the pitch 3 yards (2.7 m) closer to the main stand. The new stand was then the narrowest stand in the league. Further improvements were made to the stand in 1969, ready for the club's FA Cup tie with Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
side Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
on 3 January 1970, which ended in a 2–2 draw in front of 23,000 fans. The cost of the work forced the club to sell Valley Parade to Bradford Corporation for £35,000, but it was bought back by 1979 for the same price.
During the period from 1908 to 1985, the club carried out a number of other lesser work to the rest of the ground. It also included the introduction 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....
in English football. Valley Parade's first floodlights cost £3,000 and were lamps mounted on telegraph poles running along each side of the ground. They were originally used against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
on 20 December 1954. The floodlights were replaced in 1960 and again used for the first time against Hull City, but when one fell over in 1962, an FA Cup game with Gateshead
Gateshead F.C.
Gateshead Football Club are a professional Association football club, based in Gateshead, England. They currently play in the Conference National, the fifth level of the English football league system.Ian Bogie is the current manager....
had to go ahead with only three pylons, prompting an FA inquiry. In 1985, football ground writer Simon Inglis
Simon Inglis
Simon Inglis is a British architectural historian, writer and broadcaster, most notably about football and stadiums.Inglis was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham and is currently editor of the Played in Britain series on sporting heritage, published by English Heritage...
described the view from the main stand, which was still the same as when it was developed in 1908, as "like watching football from the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
of a Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
" because of its antiquated supports and struts.
1984-85 in English football
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...
season against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
and destroyed the main stand in just nine minutes. For the next season and the first five months of the 1986–87
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
season, Bradford City played home games at Leeds United's
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
, Huddersfield Town's
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
Leeds Road and Bradford Northern's
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
Odsal Stadium
Odsal Stadium
Odsal Stadium is a stadium situated in Odsal, Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The venue is used for rugby league and has been the home ground of Bradford Bulls/Bradford Northern since 1934...
, while Valley Parade was rebuilt. Huddersfield-based firm J Wimpenny carried out the £2.6 million work, which included funding from insurance pay-outs, Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
stadium grants, club funds and a £1.46 million Government loan obtained by two Bradford MPs, Geoffrey Lawler
Geoffrey Lawler
Geoffrey John Lawler is a British politician and public affairs consultant. He was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, representing Bradford North, for one term.-Early life:...
and Max Madden
Max Madden
Maxwell Francis "Max" Madden is a British journalist and Labour Party politician.Madden was elected as Member of Parliament for Sowerby at the February 1974 election, which he lost to the Conservatives in 1979....
. A new 5,000 all-seater main stand was built, longer than the structure which had burned down. The Kop was also covered for the first time and increased to a 7,000 capacity. Other minor work was carried out to the ground's other two stands. On 14 December 1986, 582 days after the fire, The Hon Sir Oliver Popplewell
Oliver Popplewell
The Honourable Sir Oliver Bury Popplewell is a former British judge. He chaired the inquiry into the Bradford City stadium fire, presided over the libel case brought by Jonathan Aitken MP against The Guardian newspaper which eventually led to Aitkin's imprisonment for perjury, and was widely...
, who had conducted the inquiry into the fire, opened the new stadium before an exhibition match against an England international XI. It was first used for a league game on Boxing Day when City lost 1–0 to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
.
The two stands which were not altered after the fire were both improved during the 1990s. The Bradford end of the ground was made a double-decker, all-seater stand, with a new scoreboard, in 1991. City's promotion to Division One in 1996 meant that chairman Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond was a football chairman of Bradford City from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of Scarborough.-Biography:Richmond was born and raised in Leeds, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School...
announced the construction of a 4,500 seater stand on the Midland Road side. It was first used for a Yorkshire derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
on Boxing Day 1996, before being officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 27 March 1997. Richmond continued his plans to redevelop the ground as City continued to rise through the league. The roof of the Kop, which was the largest safe-standing terrace in the country at the time, was removed and the capacity reduced during City's 1998–99
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
promotion season, to prepare for a summer £6.5 million rebuilding programme. The Kop was converted into a two-tier 7,500-seat capacity stand. An additional 2,300-seat capacity corner section was built, which filled in the corner between the main stand and Kop. When opened in December 2000 it took the capacity of Valley Parade to more than 20,000 for the first time since 1970. A suite of offices and a shop were added at the same time. Once the work was completed, a second tier was added to the main stand at the cost of £6.5 million. It was opened in 2001, increasing the main stand's capacity to 11,000, and the ground's capacity to 25,000.
Richmond also planned to increase the main stand's capacity by a further 1,800 seats by building new changing rooms and office blocks, and add a second tier to the Midland Road stand, to increase the ground capacity to more than 35,000. However, the club went into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
in May 2002, and Richmond was replaced by new co-owners Julian Rhodes
Julian Rhodes
Julian David Rhodes is the chairman of English League Two football side Bradford City. He has been chairman since December 2004, after taking the club out of administration. In 2007, he became joint-chairman with Mark Lawn....
and Gordon Gibb
Gordon Gibb
Gordon Gibb is the CEO of Flamingo Land Ltd and former chairman of Bradford City Football Club.-Personal:Gordon Gibb was born in Strathaven in Scotland, moving to Yorkshire when his father, Robert Gibb, a former professional footballer, set up the family run theme park Flamingo Land...
. The following year, Valley Parade was sold to Gibb's pension fund for £5 million, with the club's offices, shop and car park sold to London-based Development Securities for an additional £2.5 million. Bradford City's annual rent bill in 2011 to Gibb's pension fund is £370,000. The total budget for the year, including other rent payments, rates
Rates (tax)
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
, maintenance and utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
bills is £1.25 million.
The ground has been renamed a number of times for sponsorship reasons. Sponsors have included The Pulse radio station
The Pulse of West Yorkshire
The Pulse is a British Independent Local Radio station that serves the Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale areas of West Yorkshire. The station was originally known as Pennine Radio...
, Bradford & Bingley
Bradford & Bingley
Bradford & Bingley plc is a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. In 2008, partly due to the credit crunch, the bank was nationalised and in effect split into two parts; the mortgage book remained with the now publicly owned Bradford & Bingley plc, and the deposits...
and Intersonic. The ground has been named the Coral Windows Stadium since July 2007 in a three-year deal, but is still commonly known throughout football as Valley Parade.
Structure and facilities
The stadium is divided into five all-seater stands, the Sunwin Stand, the Carlsberg Stand, the East Stand, the PulseThe Pulse of West Yorkshire
The Pulse is a British Independent Local Radio station that serves the Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale areas of West Yorkshire. The station was originally known as Pennine Radio...
Family Stand and the TL Dallas Stand. All five stands are covered except for a small part of the main stand, and all but the East Stand being two-tiered. Most of the stands are cantilever structures, and because of the ground's location on the hillside, the East Stand overhangs the road.
Many of the stands have more traditional names, but have since been renamed because of sponsorship deals. The Sunwin Stand is the ground's main stand, and is often called the latter by fans. The Carlsberg Stand is also known as The Kop, because it was the former standing area, and its name was derived, like at many stadia across the country, from the Battle of Spion Kop
Battle of Spion Kop
The Battle of Spion Kop was fought about west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900...
. The East Stand, which is currently not sponsored after its previous sponsorship deal ended during the 2006–07 season, is also named the Midland Road stand, because of the road on that side of the ground. The TL Dallas Stand is also known as the Bradford end, because it is nearest to the city centre. The family stand has also been called the North West Corner.
The total capacity of Valley Parade is 25,136. The largest stand is the Sunwin Stand, which holds 9,004 supporters, followed by the Carlsberg Stand, which has a capacity of 7,492. The East Stand holds 4,500, and the Pulse Family Stand 2,300. The TL Dallas Stand is the smallest of the five stands with a capacity of 1,800. The stadium includes room for more than 200 disabled supporters and helpers, as well as 134 seats for media representatives. The Sunwin Stand has further room for expansion, and is unusual because it only runs three-quarters of the length of the pitch. The rest of this side is taken up by a brick building, situated in the south west corner of the stadium, which houses the club changing rooms and the security offices. The Sunwin Stand also includes the ground's 17 executive boxes and conference facilities, which have capacity for up to 700 people. A second function room, called the Bantams Bar, in the Carlsberg Stand, has room for another 300 people. There is also more office space, a club store, ticket office and museum in the car park behind the Carlsberg Stand. From early 2010, the area near the store will also include a dental surgery
Dental surgery
Dental surgery is any of a number of medical procedures that involve artificially modifying dentition, in other words surgery of the teeth and jaw bones.-Types:Some of the more common are:...
, which will be run by NHS Bradford and Airedale in partnership with the football club.
Visiting team fans sat in the TL Dallas Stand from 1995 to 2008, but have also been given other parts of the ground for larger matches. In March 2008, the club announced that the TL Dallas Stand would be made available for home fans for the 2008–09 season. The decision came after an overwhelmingly positive text message poll from the club's supporters to use the Bradford End of the ground. Visiting team fans have been accommodated in the end blocks of the East Stand since the start of the 2008–09 season.
Fire disaster
On 11 May 1985, a crowd of 11,076 attended Bradford City's final Division ThreeFootball 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...
game of the 1984–85
1984-85 in English football
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...
season against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
. The Bradford side had secured the Division Three title the week before when they defeated Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
2–0. The league trophy was presented to City's skipper Peter Jackson before the Lincoln game. The score was still 0–0 after 40 minutes of the game, when a small fire was noticed three rows from the back of the ground's main stand. The flames became more visible within minutes, and police started to evacuate people in the stand less than six minutes later. Club chairman Stafford Heginbotham, who was in the main stand, described the effect and his reaction to the disaster: "The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. The smoke was choking. We couldn't breathe. It was to be our day." The game was stopped, and the wooden roof caught fire. The fire spread the length of the stand, and timber and the roof began to fall onto the crowds. Black smoke enveloped the rear passageways, where fans were trying to escape. Ultimately, the fire killed 56 spectators, ranging from 11-year-old children to the 86-year-old former chairman of the club, Sam Firth. At least 265 further supporters were injured. The few existing narrow escape routes led to locked doors in some cases, and the only escape for most spectators was directly onto the field. The match was abandoned and never replayed, with The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
ordering the scoreline at the time of abandonment to stand.
Oliver Popplewell
The Honourable Sir Oliver Bury Popplewell is a former British judge. He chaired the inquiry into the Bradford City stadium fire, presided over the libel case brought by Jonathan Aitken MP against The Guardian newspaper which eventually led to Aitkin's imprisonment for perjury, and was widely...
published his inquiry into the fire in 1986, which introduced new safety legislation for sports grounds across the country. Forensic scientist David Woolley believed the cause of the fire was from a discarded cigarette or match, which had dropped through gaps between the seating to a void below the stand where rubbish had built up. A number of police officers and 22 spectators were later awarded bravery awards for their deeds on the day.
The old wooden roof of the stand was due to be replaced the day after the Lincoln match, because it did not meet the safety regulations required for Division Two
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...
, where the team would be playing in the following season. Instead, it took until July 1986 for rebuilding work to begin. The ground was used for reserve team fixtures from September 1985, but only journalists and club officials were present to watch. Bradford City's senior team played home games at other grounds in West Yorkshire for 19 months while Valley Parade was rebuilt. The new ground cost £2.6 million to rebuild, and was reopened in December 1986.
More than £3.5 million was raised for victims of the fire and their families through the Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund. Memorials have been erected at the ground and at Bradford City Hall, the latter of which was provided by Bradford's twin town of Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
, in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The disaster is also marked by an annual remembrance ceremony on 11 May at Bradford City Hall, and an annual Easter-weekend youth tournament, contested between Bradford, Lincoln and other teams from across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Other uses
Valley Parade hosted its first international football game just two months after its first Football League match. The game's governing bodies wanted to promote the sport in the West Riding of YorkshireWest Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, so chose Valley Parde to host a game between an English League side and an Irish League side, despite the ground not being up to standard. An estimated 20,000 spectators attended the match on 10 October 1903, which the English League won 2–1. Over the next 20 years the ground hosted a number of other representative games, including an England international
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...
trial, the 1904 FA Amateur Cup
FA Amateur Cup
The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status.-History:...
Final and an under-15s schoolboy international between England and Scotland. But it was not until 6 April 1987 that the ground hosted another international when England under-18s
England national youth football team
England national youth football team can refer to the following age group teams:* England national under-23 football team* England national under-22 football team* England national under-21 football team* England national under-20 football team...
drew 1–1 with Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
. Other under-18 fixtures have been played since, the last of which was between England and Belgium in November 2000. Valley Parade has also hosted England under-21
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
matches against Denmark
Denmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
in 1999 and against Italy
Italy national under-21 football team
The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
in 2002, the latter of which ended in a 1–1 draw in front of 21,000 spectators. Valley Parade's next international came seven years later when Bradford City hosted an under-19s European Championship qualifying game, in which England defeated Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...
4–1. The England women's team
England women's national football team
The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...
have also played at Valley Parade, including their first home match under the auspices of the Football Association in 1994 against Spain
Spain women's national football team
The Spain women's national football team represents Spain in international women's football.-World Cup record:- Olympic Games record :- European Championship record :- U-20 :- U-19 :- U-18 :- U-17 :- Current squad :...
.
Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
have played 29 games at Valley Parade, including a 2–0 friendly victory over Swiss side AC Lugano
AC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was founded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lugano. They play at the Stadio Cornaredo...
in 1962, and all their home fixtures in 1973–74
1973-74 in English football
The 1973–74 season was the 94th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with England...
, their last season before extinction. Bradford's 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...
side Bradford Northern played a number of fixtures at Valley Parade between 1920 and 1937, as well as three games in the 1980s and 1990s. Northern became Bradford Bulls with the advent of the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
, and played two seasons at Valley Parade in 2001 and 2002 during redevelopment of their home ground at Odsal
Odsal Stadium
Odsal Stadium is a stadium situated in Odsal, Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The venue is used for rugby league and has been the home ground of Bradford Bulls/Bradford Northern since 1934...
.
Records
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...
fourth round tie against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
on 11 March 1911. The highest league attendance of 37,059, was for a Bradford derby
Bradford derby
The Bradford derby is a football derby match played between Bradford City and Bradford Park Avenue.The derby has also been called the Wool City derby, referring to Bradford's history with the wool trade...
match between Bradford City and Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
on 17 September 1927 in Division Three (North)
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...
. The record all-seated attendance record at Valley Parade is 22,057, set against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in the Premier League on 1 May 2001. Stuart McCall
Stuart McCall
Andrew Stuart Murray McCall , usually known as Stuart McCall, is a former footballer who played in central midfield. He played a total of 763 league games during his career, the 13th highest of all British footballers...
's testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
between Bradford City and Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
on 28 April 2002 also attracted a crowd of more than 21,000. The lowest attendance for a league home match at Valley Parade is 1,249, on 15 May 1981, for a Division Four
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
fixture with Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
. The record gate receipts that Bradford City have received are £181,990 for the Premier League game with 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...
on 13 January 2001.
Official attendance figures for league games were not kept by The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
until 1925. City's official highest average attendance at Valley Parade since then is 18,551 for the 1928–29
1928-29 in English football
The 1928–29 season was the 54th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...
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...
season from Division Three (North), although the club reported an average of 22,585 in 1920–21
1920-21 in English football
The 1920–21 season was the 46th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League Third Division is introduced, expanding the League's operational radius south of Birmingham...
. It was not until City were promoted to the Premier League in 1999 that the club again recorded average attendances of higher than 18,000. City recorded an average of 18,030 in 1999–2000
1999-2000 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
, and 18,511 the following season.
During their two years at Valley Parade, the Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
recorded their highest attendance on 4 March 2001 against St Helens with a crowd of 16,572. The Bulls averaged 11,488 in 2002 for Super League VII
Super League VII
Tetley's Super League VII was the official name for the year 2002's Super League championship season, the 108th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the seventh championship run by Super League...
. The highest crowd for a Bradford Northern fixture at Valley Parade was 20,973 on 13 February 1926 for a Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
game against Keighley
Keighley Cougars
Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. As of 2012 they will play in Co-operative Championship having won the Co-operative Championship 1 play off final 32-12 against Workington...
, which finished 2–2.
Transport
Bradford is served by two railway stations. They are Bradford Interchange, which is also the city's main bus terminus, and 1 miles (1.6 km) away from the ground, and Bradford Forster SquareBradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
, which is 0.6 mile (0.965604 km) away from the ground. Bradford Interchange connects to Leeds railway station for East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
and CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
train services, and provides First Bradford
First Bradford
First Bradford is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup. The company operates the majority of services in the Bradford area, covered by Metro, a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the West...
and Keighley & District
Keighley & District
Keighley & District is a bus company based in Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Blazefield Group which is itself owned by the international transport company Transdev....
buses to the ground. Forster Square, which provides train services operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
, also connects to Leeds. The stadium has no parking facilities available to supporters on matchdays. In 2000, as part of the expansion of Valley Parade, the club drew up a green transport plan in a bid to ease traffic congestion around the ground. Proposals included a new train station on the line between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square, and a discounted bus service. No station has ever been built, and a discounted bus route was withdrawn because of low patronage.