Football Stadium Building Boom- Late Victorian Britain
Between 1889 and 1910, 58 British clubs moved to new grounds, while many others upgraded standing areas and terracing- How? Why? and Where?
How did the Grounds and Stadiums Change?
- Public School Football: The Public School Boys of the 1850s preferred to play games without a crowd, claiming 'spectatorism' was the antithesis of sport. Therefore there was no real need for anything more than a field.
• Emerging Crowds: With time, crowds began to appear around fields where teams were playing. Noticing a potential for earnings, fields were roped or fenced off, and admissions charged using turnstiles.
• Better Viewing: As the game continued to gain support, crowds grew. Small grandstands or pavilions were erected by the halfway line of some pitches and raised embankments surrounded the field of play.
• With Money Comes Expansion: Wooden framed terracing would be installed in clubs who were doing particularly well, or who had owners willing to invest that bit more. For others; waste, street sweepings or slag and ash piles would have to do for vantage points.
• The Apogee of Football Grounds: Archibald Leitch was the stadium building architect extraordinaire of the era. Responsible for the designs of Ayresome Park, Hillsborough, Villa Park, White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge to name a few.
• Leitch's Style and Evolution: His focus began with enclosed stadiums, with a single large covered grandstand and three sides of open terraces. This grew into a more impressive two tier grandstand and then further developed into a stadium with four covered sides capable of holding both seated and standing fans.
• Longevity: These grounds were remarkable due to their grandstand balconies' criss-cross iron work, gabled roofs and pediments. These designs remained suitable up until the 1950s, however some remained far longer than that, with Ayresome Park not being demolished until 1997!
Why did the Grounds and Stadiums need to change?
Safety Precautions: Although many Stadiums held up deep into the Twentieth Century, the original and rudimentary grounds of the more popular clubs could occasionally have safety issues. A great example of this is with Tottenham Hotspur, whereby in 1898 the refreshment hut roof collapsed during a match against Woolwich Arsenal, after being climbed upon by fans looking for a better vantage point.
Better Pitches: A change in tactics in the late 19th Century resulted in the need for newer, better pitches. Teams were learning to play more effectively and expansively, they were inspired by the Scottish style, holding positions and passing around the opposition, a stark contrast to the dribbling game played in many English public schools. This new tactic would therefore have been very difficult, if not impossible to play on boggy pitches such as the various London marshes, that were often the home to working class football teams in this period, as is the case today.
To earn from: With rising financial burdens football teams were needing to raise an income from their matches, noticing the apparent clamour for watching football matches teams began to rent or borrow pitches and charge admission fees. These rented fields could not be muscled from them by larger more physical players- an outcome that happened often in Tottenham Hotspur's first season due to their young team. Many clubs also found that their original grounds were too small for the amount of fans they had, meaning profits were being lost due to inadequate stadium size.
Improved Status: A growing status in the football world inevitably lead to an enlarged fanbase and a growing commitment of quality football and good viewing, that clubs owed to their fans. Popular teams could not afford to call off matches due to the flooding of or being pushed off their pitch. Teams also required a headquarters and a stable home ground, where fans could rely upon their team to show up to and play at consistently.
The Railways: In this era there was a vast railway network across Britain, able to move large groups of people from more rural towns and villages to the large cities, making it one of the most useful modes of transport for the football industry. In order to benefit the most from this, teams would need to be nearby a train station to get larger gate receipts. A perfect example of this is Bristol City, who had Ashton Gate, their own station, built in 1906 in order to get more fans to the stadium on match days.
Where did these Grounds and Stadiums move to?
Red- First Ground. Blue- Second Ground. Yellow- Third Ground (when applicable)
The Changing Location of London Sports Grounds
It is noticeable that most of the grounds of successful clubs moved closer to three major areas:
Railway Stations: As mentioned previously, railway stations were hugely important to the growth of football teams and their supporters, and the clubs knew this. This is accentuated by Chelsea, who consciously built Stamford Bridge in its location due to its proximity to the Fulham Broadway Underground stop. Using the map above, it is also clear that many other London clubs prioritised station location in their search for a new ground.
Pubs: Public houses were central to many football clubs in their infancies, being the headquarters, pitch owners or even main investors in clubs, helping them to grow from their humble beginnings. They would often provide a space for teams to change before a match, and eat in after a match and were often also where fans met before and after games, with the pub housing the away team being particularly popular with fans.
The Heart of Working Class Community: Football teams were often a source for civic pride within towns and cities, and is part of the reason for such a large growth in football fandom in the late Victorian era. Clubs would have moved closer to the working class hotbed of cities as this is where support would have been strongest, and would have allowed more of the local fans the chance to see their team play.
