Victoria Ground

The Victoria Ground
The Vic
Full name	The Victoria Ground
Location	Stoke-on-Trent
Built	1878
Opened	1878
Closed	1997
Owner	Stoke City F.C.
Capacity	56,000 (approx 25,000 before it closed)
Tenants
Stoke City F.C. (1878-1997)

For Hartlepool United F.C.'s ground, see Victoria Park, Hartlepool

The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City F.C. from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was thought to be the oldest operational football league ground in the world.

The club moved to the Victoria Ground in 1878 after playing at the Victoria Cricket Ground (1868–75) and Sweeting's Field (1875–78). The first game at the ground, a friendly, was played on 27 March 1878. Opponents Talke Rangers were beaten 1-0.

With its good road connections and sizeable car parks, the Victoria Ground appeared to be at little risk of being a victim of relocation as clubs in England's top two divisions were faced with having to have all-seater stadiums due to the Taylor Report of 1990, but by 1996 work was in progress on Stoke's new Britannia Stadium. The last game at the ground was played on 4 May 1997, a 2–1 win against West Bromwich Albion in Division One, watched by a crowd of 22,500.

Demolition took place late in 1997 and 13 years later the site remains undeveloped. Several turnstiles recovered from the site are still in operation at Whyteleafe F.C. in Surrey.

The official record attendance was 51,380 for a match against Arsenal on 29 March 1937.

External links

• Victoria Ground Being Demolished