Home of Stoke City FC
Opened 1997
Capacity 30,089
★★★★★
★★★★★
Came to watch the u23 semi final. Had a great day out, met lots of friendly Stoke fans, and had football chats.
Average cost for food and drinks, lots of outlets, no queuing, clean large toilets, great view from the seats, lovely stewards, and a lot of parking outside the ground.
We enjoyed the game, sadly we lost, maybe next time. Up the Forest
10 months ago
History (from Wikipedia)
The all-seater stadium cost nearly £15 million to build and brought the club up to standards with the Taylor Report of January 1990 to end 115 years at the Victoria Ground. Along with the possibility of converting the Victoria Ground into an all-seater stadium, relocation had was being considered by 1995 and by early 1996 the decision to build a new stadium elsewhere had been confirmed.[10]
Construction of the stadium was underway during the 1996-97 season.[11] In August 1997 it opened its doors for the first time as the Britannia Stadium thanks to a £1 million, 10-year sponsorship deal with the Britannia Building Society which was instrumental in the overall funding of the project. Another £4.5 million was given as a grant by the Football Trust.[11]
The stadium's opening did not go according to plan, as from the outset there was concern about getting there, as the plans covered only one access road from the nearby A50, and as a result spectators arriving from the city or the motorway had to travel up the A50 for over a mile to a roundabout at Sideway and double-back the other way, which caused huge congestion.[10] The stadium was officially opened by club legend Sir Stanley Matthews, then aged 82. After he died in March 2000, his ashes were buried beneath the stadium's centre circle and a statue showing different stages of his career was put up in his honour outside the ground.[12] On 27 August 1997, Rochdale were the visitors for the historic first-ever competitive match a 1–1 draw in the League Cup watched by 15,439 - and four days later the first-ever league game took place against Swindon Town before a crowd of 23,859.[11] The first season at the new ground was a bad one as Stoke were relegated from the First Division, losing 5–2 at home to Manchester City on the final day of the season, with the visiting side also going down after the relegation-threatened sides above them all won their final games.
The club's supporters protested against chairman Peter Coates, who stood down afterwards, only to return in 2006.[11]
Four seasons of third tier football followed with Gunnar Gíslason taking control of the club in November 1999.[10] In May 2006 he sold control of the club back to Peter Coates, and soon after the Club obtained full ownership of the stadium in a deal worth £6 million following the previous joint-partnership with the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration Ltd.[13] The name of the ground was changed to the Bet365 Stadium in June 2016.[14]
Construction of the stadium was underway during the 1996-97 season.[11] In August 1997 it opened its doors for the first time as the Britannia Stadium thanks to a £1 million, 10-year sponsorship deal with the Britannia Building Society which was instrumental in the overall funding of the project. Another £4.5 million was given as a grant by the Football Trust.[11]
The stadium's opening did not go according to plan, as from the outset there was concern about getting there, as the plans covered only one access road from the nearby A50, and as a result spectators arriving from the city or the motorway had to travel up the A50 for over a mile to a roundabout at Sideway and double-back the other way, which caused huge congestion.[10] The stadium was officially opened by club legend Sir Stanley Matthews, then aged 82. After he died in March 2000, his ashes were buried beneath the stadium's centre circle and a statue showing different stages of his career was put up in his honour outside the ground.[12] On 27 August 1997, Rochdale were the visitors for the historic first-ever competitive match a 1–1 draw in the League Cup watched by 15,439 - and four days later the first-ever league game took place against Swindon Town before a crowd of 23,859.[11] The first season at the new ground was a bad one as Stoke were relegated from the First Division, losing 5–2 at home to Manchester City on the final day of the season, with the visiting side also going down after the relegation-threatened sides above them all won their final games.
The club's supporters protested against chairman Peter Coates, who stood down afterwards, only to return in 2006.[11]
Four seasons of third tier football followed with Gunnar Gíslason taking control of the club in November 1999.[10] In May 2006 he sold control of the club back to Peter Coates, and soon after the Club obtained full ownership of the stadium in a deal worth £6 million following the previous joint-partnership with the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration Ltd.[13] The name of the ground was changed to the Bet365 Stadium in June 2016.[14]
Things to do in Stoke.
Trentham Gardens.
Absolutely beautiful gardens, worth the price of admission. Great place for adults and kids, there was a great playing area for children, although some... Read More
Monkey Forest Trentham.
Living in Stoke I visit here often and I always love it! Getting too see baby monkeys too was amazing and I love it. It's great for family days out with not... Read More
