Home of Preston North End FC
Opened 1878
Capacity 23,404
★★★★★
★★★★★
Argyle on tour!! It's a smart stadium with a 20 minutes walk from the centre. Quite elaborate and over complicated structures for the floodlights, unlike, for instance, the very smart Bolton stadium. The concourse is excellent, plenty of room, and even with nearly 3k Argyle fans, the speed of service was good, and the queues minimal. Stewards were totally chilled out, but then, there weren't any problems. We outsang the Preston fans who were strangely silent for a good deal of the match. Tannoy was good and stadium has a good feel to it. Sadly, we gave them a goal in the first minute and although we outplayed them with 65% possession we lost 2 - 1....so annoying because we deserved a draw. A great exciting game of football though!
a week ago
Went here for the Preston v Blackburn game, the first time I've been to watch Preston. Had a walk around Moor Park over the road from the ground beforehand which is lovely. Outside of the ground was clean and looked well kept. The staff in the club shop and ticket office where friendly and inviting. Had a drink in the Gentry bar attached to the ground which had a great atmosphere and the beer was good. Easy access to get inside the stadium. Enjoyed a pint and a bite on the concourse which again was tidy and food/drink was enjoyable, again great staff. Match was great and inside the stadium is really open so good views from everywhere. Had a great time and will come back soon
4 months ago
Really like Deepdale. Love the symmetrical 4 stands rather than just turning the ground into a bowel. Good concourse and great view in the away end behind the goal. Take care as the stands are much steeper than most grounds with rather large steps. Best footy pie I have ever had mind! The Butter Pie - Unbelievable!
Local Social/Working Men's Club which is great. Also not far from the Centre where there are pubs, a spoons and the train station
2 months 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.
Mystery Tea House.
Really can't say enough good things about this place. I sorely miss it since moving away from Preston. The range of teas is astounding and the quality (of... Read More
The Continental.
