Griffin Park
Encyclopedia
Griffin Park is a football ground situated in the London Borough of Hounslow
, west London
. It has been the home ground of League One
side Brentford
since it was built in 1904. It is known for being the only English
league football ground to have a pub on each corner, and is situated in a predominantly residential area. The ground gets its name from the griffin
in the logo of Fuller's Brewery, which at one point owned the land on which the stadium was built.
The highest ever attendance at the ground was 38,678 when Brentford played Leicester City
on 26 February 1949. The ground currently has a capacity of 12,763. The biggest attendance in the 2008–09 season was 10,642 against Wycombe Wanderers
on 14 March 2009, and last season (2009–10), the largest attendance was 9,031 against Leeds United
on 12 December 2009.
Griffin Park is beneath the flightpath of London Heathrow Airport
and the roofs of the stadium
are used as a large advertising space because of this. The space is currently used by Qatar Airways
.
v USA
match in the first round of the 1948 Olympic
football
competition was held at Griffin Park. Italy won 9-0.
The ground has hosted three international friendlies in recent times, the most recent of these being a game between Nigeria
and Ghana
.
In 2002, London Broncos rugby league team moved to Griffin Park as tenants of Brentford F.C. The club stayed at Griffin Park until the 2006 season until they became Harlequins Rugby League when they vacated Griffin Park and ground shared with Harlequin F.C.
.
The Chelsea Reserves and Chelsea Youth Team played their home games at Griffin Park from the 2007–08 season until the end of the 2009-10 season.
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It has been the home ground of League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
since it was built in 1904. It is known for being the only English
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...
league football ground to have a pub on each corner, and is situated in a predominantly residential area. The ground gets its name from the griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
in the logo of Fuller's Brewery, which at one point owned the land on which the stadium was built.
The highest ever attendance at the ground was 38,678 when Brentford played 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...
on 26 February 1949. The ground currently has a capacity of 12,763. The biggest attendance in the 2008–09 season was 10,642 against Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
on 14 March 2009, and last season (2009–10), the largest attendance was 9,031 against Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
on 12 December 2009.
Griffin Park is beneath the flightpath of London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
and the roofs of the stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
are used as a large advertising space because of this. The space is currently used by Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...
.
Stadium structure
It comprises four stands. The home fans are allocated the Bees United stand (the main stand, formerly known as the Braemar Rd Stand.) an all-seated single tier stand, the Ealing Road end, a covered terrace and the Bill Axbey Stand (formerly the New Road stand), a single tier seated stand. Away fans are housed in the Brook Road Stand (capacity 1600) (aka 'The Wendy House'), a double tiered stand, comprising terracing at the lower level and seating in the upper sections.Other tenants
The ItalyItaly at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Italy competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 213 competitors, 191 men and 22 women, took part in 88 events in 16 sports.-Medalists: Gold*Adolfo Consolini...
v USA
United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics
The United States competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 300 competitors, 262 men and 38 women, took part in 126 events in 19 sports.- Gold:*Harrison Dillard — Athletics, Men's 100 metres...
match in the first round of the 1948 Olympic
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
football
Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Olympic Games title was won by Sweden, managed by Englishman George Raynor.-Summary:Sweden, whose Football Association forbade professionalism within domestic football, ran out as winners and only used 12 players throughout the entire tournament but there were exceptional performances put...
competition was held at Griffin Park. Italy won 9-0.
The ground has hosted three international friendlies in recent times, the most recent of these being a game between Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
and Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
.
In 2002, London Broncos rugby league team moved to Griffin Park as tenants of Brentford F.C. The club stayed at Griffin Park until the 2006 season until they became Harlequins Rugby League when they vacated Griffin Park and ground shared with Harlequin F.C.
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
.
The Chelsea Reserves and Chelsea Youth Team played their home games at Griffin Park from the 2007–08 season until the end of the 2009-10 season.