The Oval (Eastbourne)
| The Oval | |
|---|---|
| The Oval | |
| Location | Channel View Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7LN |
| Opened | 1946 |
| Owner | Eastbourne Borough Council |
| Capacity | Unknown |
| Field dimensions | 110 x 75 yards |
| Tenants | |
| Eastbourne United Association F.C. | |
The Oval is a football stadium in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England and is the home of Eastbourne United AFC since 1946 when they were playing as Eastbourne Old Comrades FC. The stadium is located on the border of Langney and Eastbourne, next to the Princes Park and boating lake.
The area was originally known as the Gilbert Recreation Ground, which was owned by the local council whom invited Eastbourne Old Comrades to play there after their original home at Lynchmere was sold for development. The council at the time were developing it into a sports arena with an athletics track and a grass cycle track surrounding the grass pitch. Plans were made in 1951 to build a stand and a terrace which was opened in September 1955 when Eastbourne United hosted a game against Queens Park Rangers.
Floodlights were first installed in 1958 and inaugurated with a match versus Eastbourne F.C. in front of a gate of 4,100. More floodlights were supplemented in 1966 when Eastbourne United were playing in the Athenian League, these were installed at a cost of £5,500 and were officially turned on 25 October 1967 with a friendly game with West Ham United. A third set of floodlights was officially opened on 18 February 1980 by former manager Ron Greenwood with another friendly game with Millwall.
With the local council still owning the site, Eastbourne United AFC are currently trying to buy the lease to improve the ground and its amenities which started to show its wear and tear in the 1980s. The great storm in 1987 destroyed one of the covered terraces, this was not repaired as the council's insurance did not cover storm damage. The local athetics club left the site in 2003 to a new facility to the north of the town, their move appeared to leave council even less-inclined to maintain the facilities.
Today the perimeter fencing now surrounds the pitch, this was bought from nearby Eastbourne Borough's ground at Priory Lane when they improved their facilities. The new fencing has allowed spectators to watch the game nearer to the pitch than they used to.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Oval - Official Site
- Nomad Online
- Aerial View
- David Barber Article - published by the TheFA.com
Coordinates: 50°46′51.55″N 0°18′18.80″E / 50.7809861°N 0.305222°E
