Gigg Lane
Encyclopedia
Gigg Lane is an all-seater football
stadium in Bury
, Greater Manchester
, England
. Historically within Lancashire
, it was built for Bury F.C.
in 1885, and has been their home ever since.
on 12 September 1885, which Bury won 4–3. The stadium has had permanent floodlights
since 1953, although the first floodlit match to be played there took place in 1889, before the Football League had authorised the use of floodlights in competitive matches.
The capacity of the ground was once 35,000 - and this capacity was reached when the record crowd was achieved for Bury's F.A. Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 9 January 1960. The game ended 1-1 and Bury lost the replay after extra time 4-2.
In 1986, Gigg Lane saw its lowest ever crowd of just 461 for a Freight Rover Trophy
game against Tranmere Rovers
. There has never been a league crowd below 1,000 although the closest to that mark came in 1984 with a crowd of 1,096 against Northampton Town
.
Bury F.C. own Gigg Lane outright.
Stand" in the summer of 2010..
The stand contains a pattern of blue and white seats that spell out "SHAKERS"
After the Taylor Report
forced all Football League clubs to switch to all-seater stadiums, Gigg Lane began coverting all four sides of the ground in 1993, with the Cemetery End being the final terraced section to be demolished in 1999.
The Manchester Road End was home to the club's electronic scoreboard (obtained from Leicester City
's Filbert Street
ground after it closed in 2002) until 2011. A new scoreboard was placed in the south-east corner of the ground a few months later.
, cricket
, baseball
and lacrosse
. It has also been used by football clubs other than Bury: Manchester United
and Bolton Wanderers
have hosted reserve-team matches at the ground. FC United of Manchester
have shared the ground since the 2005–06 season, although they are hopeful of moving to their own ground from 2012-13.
A couple of teams have "switched" their home games to Gigg Lane, including Preston N.E.
for a League Cup tie in 1994. Non-league sides Rossendale United
and Radcliffe Borough
moved home F.A. Cup ties to Gigg Lane against Bolton (in 1971) and York City respectively.
In 1996, the stadium was used as the filming location for the TV film based on the Hillsborough disaster
of 1989 – where 96 Liverpool F.C.
fans died as a result of a crush on the stadium's terraces. Hillsborough Stadium
was seen as an unsuitable location for the film, partly to avoid causing further distress to survivors and bereaved families, and partly because the appearance of Gigg Lane was more akin to the 1989 Hillsborough than the actual stadium was seven years after the tragedy due to redevelopment.
Recently, Manchester United footballer, Anderson
, filmed a television advert for Adidas
on the pitch at Gigg Lane.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadium in Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Historically within Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, it was built for Bury F.C.
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
in 1885, and has been their home ever since.
History
The first match to be played at Gigg Lane was a friendly between Bury and Wigan AthleticWigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
on 12 September 1885, which Bury won 4–3. The stadium has had permanent floodlights
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
since 1953, although the first floodlit match to be played there took place in 1889, before the Football League had authorised the use of floodlights in competitive matches.
The capacity of the ground was once 35,000 - and this capacity was reached when the record crowd was achieved for Bury's F.A. Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 9 January 1960. The game ended 1-1 and Bury lost the replay after extra time 4-2.
In 1986, Gigg Lane saw its lowest ever crowd of just 461 for a Freight Rover Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
game against Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
. There has never been a league crowd below 1,000 although the closest to that mark came in 1984 with a crowd of 1,096 against Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
.
Bury F.C. own Gigg Lane outright.
Structure and facilities
Gigg Lane's current capacity is 11,840. The South Stand is the largest stand and it was renamed the "Les HartLes Hart
John Leslie 'Les' Hart was a professional footballer who has an association with one club, Bury F.C. for 44 years.-Early career:...
Stand" in the summer of 2010..
The stand contains a pattern of blue and white seats that spell out "SHAKERS"
After the Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
forced all Football League clubs to switch to all-seater stadiums, Gigg Lane began coverting all four sides of the ground in 1993, with the Cemetery End being the final terraced section to be demolished in 1999.
The Manchester Road End was home to the club's electronic scoreboard (obtained from Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
's Filbert Street
Filbert Street
Filbert Street, in Leicester, England, was a football stadium, and the home of Leicester City from 1891 to 2002. Although officially titled "The City Business Stadium" in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by its address, like many English football stadia.- Early years :The club,...
ground after it closed in 2002) until 2011. A new scoreboard was placed in the south-east corner of the ground a few months later.
Other uses
The stadium has been used for many sports other than football, such as rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. It has also been used by football clubs other than Bury: Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
have hosted reserve-team matches at the ground. FC United of Manchester
F.C. United of Manchester
F.C. United of Manchester is an English semi-professional football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester that plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. It was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover of the...
have shared the ground since the 2005–06 season, although they are hopeful of moving to their own ground from 2012-13.
A couple of teams have "switched" their home games to Gigg Lane, including Preston N.E.
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
for a League Cup tie in 1994. Non-league sides Rossendale United
Rossendale United F.C.
Rossendale United F.C. was an English football club based in Newchurch, near Rawtenstall, Lancashire. The club was formed in 1898 but was expelled from the North West Counties League Premier Division on 18 June 2011....
and Radcliffe Borough
Radcliffe Borough F.C.
Radcliffe Borough F.C. is an English football club based in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. The club was formed on 24 April 1949 and currently plays in the Northern Premier League Division One North...
moved home F.A. Cup ties to Gigg Lane against Bolton (in 1971) and York City respectively.
In 1996, the stadium was used as the filming location for the TV film based on the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
of 1989 – where 96 Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
fans died as a result of a crush on the stadium's terraces. Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
was seen as an unsuitable location for the film, partly to avoid causing further distress to survivors and bereaved families, and partly because the appearance of Gigg Lane was more akin to the 1989 Hillsborough than the actual stadium was seven years after the tragedy due to redevelopment.
Recently, Manchester United footballer, Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....
, filmed a television advert for Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
on the pitch at Gigg Lane.