Home of Preston North End FC
Opened 1878
Capacity 23,404
★★★★★
★★★★★
Visited for the first time when Wycombe played Preston in the FA Cup (Feb 8, 2025), and I was really impressed.
The press room was a lot larger than I expected (it even has a bar), the view from the press area was very good and the food was amazing.
Another one ticked off.
A lovely old-fashioned ground.
The statue of Tom Finney is also very impressive.
a month ago
History (from Wikipedia)
The land on which the stadium stands was originally Deepdale Farm. It was leased on 21 January 1875[4] by the town's North End sports club and originally used for cricket and rugby. It hosted its first association football match on 5 October 1878.
Old Deepdale[edit]
As football grew in popularity, it became necessary to have raised areas, so the idea of football terracing was formed. In the 1890s Preston built the West Paddock, which ran along the touch line and a tent was erected to house the changing rooms.
By the turn of the century, crowds were regularly over 10,000 and in 1921 they had to expand again. The Spion Kop was built and the West Paddock was extended to meet the Kop end.
The pitch was removed to allow the building of the Town End, which was completed in 1928 but was destroyed by fire only five years later and had to be rebuilt.
The Pavilion Stand, a relatively small stand of two tiers holding the changing rooms and offices, was built and opened in 1934.
The record league attendance for Preston North End at Deepdale is 42,684 v Arsenal in the First Division, 23 April 1938.[2]
The women's team Dick, Kerr's Ladies also used to played at Deepdale, often beating men's professional teams in front of large crowds.[5]
During the 1960s and 1980s, big changes took place as roofs were placed on the stands, seating was installed and terracing extended.[citation needed]
Plastic pitch[edit]
In 1986, Preston North End decided to lay an all-weather pitch to try to generate some extra income for the club by renting the pitch to local teams to play on, to reduce the number of postponed matches as well as enabling the use of the Deepdale pitch as a training ground.[citation needed]
It was one of four football stadiums in the English league to feature a plastic pitch, but this proved to be unpopular with the fans and was finally ripped up in 1994, by which time it was the last remaining plastic pitch in the English league.[6]
Renovation[edit]
The original plans for the re-developed stadium were inspired by the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy.[7]
The regeneration of Deepdale began in 1995 when the old West Stand was demolished to make way for the new £4.4m Sir Tom Finney Stand which includes press areas and restaurants.
The next stand to be developed was the Bill Shankly Kop in 1998, followed by the Alan Kelly Town End in 2001, which replaced the popular Town End terrace. In 2008, a 25-metre screen was also erected on the roof of the Bill Shankly Kop.
The old 'Pavilion' stand, was replaced by the 'Invincibles Pavilion' for the 2008–09 season, named after the Preston North End team of the 1888–89 season who were the first League champions, the first team to complete the League and FA Cup Double, and the only English team to complete a season unbeaten in both League and Cup.[4][8] The Invincibles Pavilion includes a row of executive boxes and a restaurant which overlooks the pitch as well as the Stadium Control Room, PA Box and Big Screen Control Room and an NHS walk-in centre has also been built into the stand.
Deepdale is now an all-seater stadium with a total capacity of 23,404, as follows:[9]
Old Deepdale[edit]
As football grew in popularity, it became necessary to have raised areas, so the idea of football terracing was formed. In the 1890s Preston built the West Paddock, which ran along the touch line and a tent was erected to house the changing rooms.
By the turn of the century, crowds were regularly over 10,000 and in 1921 they had to expand again. The Spion Kop was built and the West Paddock was extended to meet the Kop end.
The pitch was removed to allow the building of the Town End, which was completed in 1928 but was destroyed by fire only five years later and had to be rebuilt.
The Pavilion Stand, a relatively small stand of two tiers holding the changing rooms and offices, was built and opened in 1934.
The record league attendance for Preston North End at Deepdale is 42,684 v Arsenal in the First Division, 23 April 1938.[2]
The women's team Dick, Kerr's Ladies also used to played at Deepdale, often beating men's professional teams in front of large crowds.[5]
During the 1960s and 1980s, big changes took place as roofs were placed on the stands, seating was installed and terracing extended.[citation needed]
Plastic pitch[edit]
In 1986, Preston North End decided to lay an all-weather pitch to try to generate some extra income for the club by renting the pitch to local teams to play on, to reduce the number of postponed matches as well as enabling the use of the Deepdale pitch as a training ground.[citation needed]
It was one of four football stadiums in the English league to feature a plastic pitch, but this proved to be unpopular with the fans and was finally ripped up in 1994, by which time it was the last remaining plastic pitch in the English league.[6]
Renovation[edit]
The original plans for the re-developed stadium were inspired by the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy.[7]
The regeneration of Deepdale began in 1995 when the old West Stand was demolished to make way for the new £4.4m Sir Tom Finney Stand which includes press areas and restaurants.
The next stand to be developed was the Bill Shankly Kop in 1998, followed by the Alan Kelly Town End in 2001, which replaced the popular Town End terrace. In 2008, a 25-metre screen was also erected on the roof of the Bill Shankly Kop.
The old 'Pavilion' stand, was replaced by the 'Invincibles Pavilion' for the 2008–09 season, named after the Preston North End team of the 1888–89 season who were the first League champions, the first team to complete the League and FA Cup Double, and the only English team to complete a season unbeaten in both League and Cup.[4][8] The Invincibles Pavilion includes a row of executive boxes and a restaurant which overlooks the pitch as well as the Stadium Control Room, PA Box and Big Screen Control Room and an NHS walk-in centre has also been built into the stand.
Deepdale is now an all-seater stadium with a total capacity of 23,404, as follows:[9]
- Sir Tom Finney Stand: 7,893
- Bill Shankly Kop: 5,933
- Alan Kelly Town End: 5,859
- Invincibles Pavilion: 3,719
Things to do in Preston.