Spotland Stadium
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
Spotland | |
 Spotland Stadium in 2005 | |
 | |
| Former names | St Clement's Playing Fields |
|---|---|
| Location | Sandy Lane Rochdale Lancashire OL11 5DR |
| Coordinates | 53°37′15″N 2°10′48″W / 53.62083°N 2.18000°W |
| Owner | Rochdale A.F.C. |
| Capacity | 10,249[1] |
| Field size | 115 yd × 74 yd (105 m × 68 m)[2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1878 |
| Tenants | |
| St Clement's Rugby Club (1878–1897) Rochdale A.F.C. (1896) (1900–1901) Rochdale Town F.C. (1902–1903) Rochdale A.F.C. (1920–present) Rochdale Hornets (1988–present) | |
Spotland Stadium, known as the Crown Oil Arena for sponsorship reasons, in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, is home to Rochdale A.F.C. and Rochdale Hornets R.F.L.C.[3] and has a capacity of 10,249.
History
Spotland was originally known as St Clement's Playing Fields, after the nearby St Clement's Church. Having previously been used for cricket, it became the home of St Clement's Rugby Club in 1878, until they disbanded in 1897. As well as staging local rugby competitions, the ground briefly hosted two short-lived football clubs – the original Rochdale A.F.C. from 1900 to 1901 and Rochdale Town from 1902 to 1903, but both folded. The present Rochdale A.F.C. was then formed to use the ground in 1907, later buying the freehold for £1,700 in 1914. By the time the club joined the Football League in 1921, a low wooden grandstand had been built on the south side of the ground, once the location of the cricket pavilion. Also by this time, the name of the surrounding area of the town, Spotland, had been adopted as the ground's name.[4]
In August 2016, Rochdale A.F.C. renamed Spotland Stadium the Crown Oil Arena as part of a sponsorship deal by the Bury-based fuel company Crown Oil.[1][5] In 2018, due to the winter weather the pitch got into such a bad state that a number of games had to be postponed. Subsequently Rochdale were drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and the Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was quoted “not a pitch in a condition to play football” after seeing some pictures leading Rochdale to relay the surface in time for their game.[6][7]
Structure and facilities
The ground has four stands: the Co-Operative Stand (or Main Stand), the Thwaites Beer Stand (the Sandy Lane End), the T.D.S. Stand (Pearl Street End) and the Westrose Leisure Stand (the Willbutts Lane Stand). All are fully seated, apart from the Sandy Lane End, which is a small terrace behind one of the goals.
Other uses
Apart from local football and rugby league, Spotland has in the past been used to host minor nations rugby league matches, such as British Amateur Rugby League Association (British Amateur Rugby League Association) matches, and also the National League Cup finals of 2003 and 2004.
Rugby League World Cup
Spotland Stadium was selected as a venue for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup hosting a match between Fiji and Ireland. This was the first time that Rochdale has staged an event in a World Cup in any sport. The event was sold out with almost 9,000 people[8] attending, setting what was incorrectly claimed to be a new stadium record, even though Rochdale AFC had 24,231 for an FA Cup tie v Notts County in December 1949 and three higher crowds for FA Cup and play-off games between 1990 and 2008 against Northampton, Coventry and Darlington.
References
- ^ a b "Crown Oil Sign Record Breaking Five-Year Agreement With Rochdale AFC". rochdaleafc.co.uk. Rochdale Athletic Football Club. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Club Records". Leeds United A.F.C. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
- ^ RFLC is correct, see club website
- ^ Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Great Britain (3rd ed.). London: CollinsWillow. pp. 312–314. ISBN 9780002184267.
- ^ "Rochdale rename Spotland as part of new record-breaking sponsorhip deal". Manchester Evening News. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Rochdale to relay pitch for Spurs clash after latest postponement". sport.bt.com. BT Sport. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Spurs to be greeted with 'snooker table' pitch for FA Cup tie at Rochdale". itv.com. ITV Sport. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2013: Fiji 32-14 Ireland". BBC Sport. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.