Prenton Park
Encyclopedia
Prenton Park is an association football stadium
in Birkenhead
, England
. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C.
The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report
to become all-seater. Today's stadium holds 16,567 in four stands: the Kop, the Johnny King Stand, the Main Stand and the Cowshed (for away supporters).
Attendances at the ground have fluctuated over its hundred year history. Its largest-ever crowd was 24,424 for a 1972 FA Cup
match between Tranmere and Stoke City
. In 2010, an average of 5,000 fans attended each home game.
were formed in 1884; they played their first matches at Steeles Field in Birkenhead
but, in 1887, they bought a new site from Tranmere Rugby Club. The ground was variously referred to as the "Borough Road Enclosure", "Ravenshaw's Field" and "South Road". The name "Prenton Park" was adopted in 1895 as a result of a suggestion in the letters page of the Football Echo. Not strictly within Prenton
, it is likely that the name was chosen as the area was regarded as more upmarket than nearby Tranmere
.
Because the land was required for housing and a school, Tranmere were forced to move and the name went with them. The present Prenton Park was opened by the Mayor of Birkenhead, Councillor George Proudman, on 9 March 1912. Their first match was played against Lancaster Town
in the Lancashire Combination
. There were stands (also known as bleacher
s) on both sides of the pitch, a paddock and three open terraces, the general format which remained until 1994.
Floodlights
were installed in the ground in September 1958. The supporters' association raised the £15,000 cost of the new lights. When manager Dave Russell
joined the club in 1961, one of his many influential changes was to take advantage of the lights, playing regular home games on Friday nights rather than the usual Saturday afternoon. This allowed supporters to watch Tranmere on Fridays and First Division
sides Everton
or Liverpool
on Saturdays. The idea was successful and continued until the 1990s.
Over the years, various upgrades and repairs have been made to the stadium. By 1968, the old wooden Main Stand was in poor condition and in need of replacement. At a cost of £80,000, today's Main Stand was erected and opened by Minister for Sport and former referee Denis Howell. In 1979, the terracing on the Cowshed and Paddock was concreted. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with further bars and executive suites added soon after.
Many improvements to the ground were driven by changes in legislation
. In 1985, the Safety of Sports Grounds Act led to a reduction in capacity from 18,000 to 8,000. The Kop End was closed, and the Main Stand capacity was reduced by 3,000, because there were insufficient access points. £50,000 was spent on safety work to maintain a capacity of 8,000, and the club were unable to afford any further refurbishment. But the biggest change of all took place during 1994 and 1995. The Taylor Report
suggested that all stadia in the top two divisions of English football should no longer permit standing. The club's response was to redevelop three sides of the ground with entirely new all-seater stands created – the Borough Road Stand, the Cowshed and the new Kop. Capacity in the ground thus increased from 14,200 to the 16,567 of today. On 11 March 1995, the new ground was officially opened at a cost of £3.1 million.
In 2009, Liverpool F.C. Reserves moved from the Racecourse Ground
to Prenton Park. This ground continued to be their home for the 2011–12 season.
The Main Stand houses the VIP area, directors box and various suites. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with the Dixie Dean
suite, Bunny Bell
bar and Dave Russell
restaurant added soon after. The 40-year-old structure is becoming increasingly expensive to repair.
, when the Kop was given entirely to the home fans, a campaign was begun to claim the Kop as a home end. From the 2000-01 season this became the case, with away fans housed in the Cowshed.
. Tranmere entered The Football League
the next season, and 7,011 watched their first game against Crewe Alexandra F.C.
. There was an average of 6,000 in attendance at home games, before the Football League was suspended as a result of the Second World War
.
After the war, the numbers of supporters rose, and by the early 1960s this number had increased to highs of 12,000. Attendances began to fall towards the end of the 1960s; this trend continued through the 1970s, though the decade did give Tranmere its largest-ever crowd: 24,424 on 5 February 1972, for a 4th round FA Cup
match against Stoke City
. With today's capacity of under 17,000, it is unlikely that this record attendance will ever be broken.
The 1980s saw the number of supporters falling to some of the ground's lowest levels. The lowest ever attendance at Prenton Park was on 20 February 1984, when only 937 supporters watched a 2–0 victory over Halifax Town
. However, the decade also saw a high number of supporters in the ground for other reasons. In the Hillsborough disaster
, 96 Liverpool F.C.
fans lost their lives and, on 15 April 1989, 12,000 people attended a memorial service at Prenton Park.
Tranmere's success in the 1990s led to improved attendances, rising to around 9,000 per game. By 2010, this had fallen to around 5,000 per game; however, 12,249 supporters took advantage of an offer of free admission to watch a replayed match against Notts County F.C.
at Prenton Park in the Third Division North
. Oldham had beaten Tranmere 4–1 the previous day, but Tranmere won 13–4 in the return fixture, including nine goals by Bunny Bell
. At the time Bell's feat was an individual record, but it stood for less than months before Joe Payne
netted ten for Luton Town
, on his debut against Bristol Rovers
. However, the aggregate of 17 goals in one game remains a league record.
final in 1991, contested by Millwall Lionesses
and Doncaster Belles. Millwall won the game 1–0 in front of a crowd of 4,000. The game was broadcast live on Channel 4
.
European Fixture to take place at Prenton Park was a UEFA Cup first qualifying round tie between Irish team Shelbourne
and Scottish team Rangers
, on 22 July 1998. Due to fears of sectarian violence
, and after discussions between the two clubs and UEFA
, Prenton Park was chosen as the venue for the first leg, with Shelbourne as the home team. The match finished 3–5 in favour of Rangers after Shelbourne (at the time an amateur side) had earlier taken a 3–0 lead. As a result of this game, Rangers were fined 25,000 Swiss Franc
s and warned by UEFA for their fans' behaviour at the game.
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...
in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, 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...
. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C.
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...
The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of 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...
to become all-seater. Today's stadium holds 16,567 in four stands: the Kop, the Johnny King Stand, the Main Stand and the Cowshed (for away supporters).
Attendances at the ground have fluctuated over its hundred year history. Its largest-ever crowd was 24,424 for a 1972 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match between Tranmere and Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
. In 2010, an average of 5,000 fans attended each home game.
History
Tranmere Rovers F.C.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...
were formed in 1884; they played their first matches at Steeles Field in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
but, in 1887, they bought a new site from Tranmere Rugby Club. The ground was variously referred to as the "Borough Road Enclosure", "Ravenshaw's Field" and "South Road". The name "Prenton Park" was adopted in 1895 as a result of a suggestion in the letters page of the Football Echo. Not strictly within Prenton
Prenton
Prenton is a suburb of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England and a 'post town' in the CH postcode area. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within...
, it is likely that the name was chosen as the area was regarded as more upmarket than nearby Tranmere
Tranmere, Merseyside
Tranmere is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire...
.
Because the land was required for housing and a school, Tranmere were forced to move and the name went with them. The present Prenton Park was opened by the Mayor of Birkenhead, Councillor George Proudman, on 9 March 1912. Their first match was played against Lancaster Town
Lancaster City F.C.
Lancaster City F.C. is an English football club based in Lancaster, Lancashire. The club are currently members of Northern Premier League Division One North and play at Giant Axe.-History:...
in the Lancashire Combination
Lancashire Combination
The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League...
. There were stands (also known as bleacher
Bleacher
Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...
s) on both sides of the pitch, a paddock and three open terraces, the general format which remained until 1994.
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....
were installed in the ground in September 1958. The supporters' association raised the £15,000 cost of the new lights. When manager Dave Russell
Dave Russell (footballer)
Dave Russell was a Scottish football player and manager. He won the Scottish Cup with East Fife in 1938, and was manager of both Bury and Tranmere Rovers for eight years.-Playing career:...
joined the club in 1961, one of his many influential changes was to take advantage of the lights, playing regular home games on Friday nights rather than the usual Saturday afternoon. This allowed supporters to watch Tranmere on Fridays and First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
sides Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
or Liverpool
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...
on Saturdays. The idea was successful and continued until the 1990s.
Over the years, various upgrades and repairs have been made to the stadium. By 1968, the old wooden Main Stand was in poor condition and in need of replacement. At a cost of £80,000, today's Main Stand was erected and opened by Minister for Sport and former referee Denis Howell. In 1979, the terracing on the Cowshed and Paddock was concreted. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with further bars and executive suites added soon after.
Many improvements to the ground were driven by changes in legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
. In 1985, the Safety of Sports Grounds Act led to a reduction in capacity from 18,000 to 8,000. The Kop End was closed, and the Main Stand capacity was reduced by 3,000, because there were insufficient access points. £50,000 was spent on safety work to maintain a capacity of 8,000, and the club were unable to afford any further refurbishment. But the biggest change of all took place during 1994 and 1995. 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...
suggested that all stadia in the top two divisions of English football should no longer permit standing. The club's response was to redevelop three sides of the ground with entirely new all-seater stands created – the Borough Road Stand, the Cowshed and the new Kop. Capacity in the ground thus increased from 14,200 to the 16,567 of today. On 11 March 1995, the new ground was officially opened at a cost of £3.1 million.
In 2009, Liverpool F.C. Reserves moved from the Racecourse Ground
Racecourse Ground
The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium AKA The Racecourse Ground is a stadium located in Wrexham, North Wales. It is the home of Wrexham F.C. and, since 2010, the Crusaders Rugby League team who play in the engage Super League...
to Prenton Park. This ground continued to be their home for the 2011–12 season.
Main Stand
The Main Stand is the oldest in Prenton Park, having been opened in December 1968. It is also the largest, with a capacity of 5,957. A two tier stand, it is generally divided into three main sections. The lower tier consists of the Bebington End paddock (capacity 1,150) and the Town End paddock (capacity 1,209), either side of the halfway line. The upper tier is simply referred to as the Main Stand (capacity 3,598).The Main Stand houses the VIP area, directors box and various suites. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with the Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
suite, Bunny Bell
Robert Bell (footballer)
Robert "Bunny" Bell was a footballer who played for Tranmere Rovers and Everton.On Boxing Day 1935, he scored nine times in Tranmere's 13-4 defeat of Oldham Athletic, at that time an English record. He might have made it 10, but missed a penalty. He scored 57 goals for Tranmere during the 1933–34...
bar and Dave Russell
Dave Russell (footballer)
Dave Russell was a Scottish football player and manager. He won the Scottish Cup with East Fife in 1938, and was manager of both Bury and Tranmere Rovers for eight years.-Playing career:...
restaurant added soon after. The 40-year-old structure is becoming increasingly expensive to repair.
Kop
The Bebington Kop, simply referred to as the Kop, is a large single-tier, all-seater stand with a capacity of 5,696. Completed in 1995, it replaced the earlier open terrace (also called the Kop) which had stood behind the goal at the Bebington End. Originally the Kop housed both home and away fans, split down the middle, and occasionally was handed entirely to the away fans. However, following the 2000 League Cup semi-final against BoltonBolton 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....
, when the Kop was given entirely to the home fans, a campaign was begun to claim the Kop as a home end. From the 2000-01 season this became the case, with away fans housed in the Cowshed.
Johnny King Stand
Built in 1995 and formerly known as the Borough Road Stand, it was renamed in 2002 to recognise former Rovers manager John King. The stand runs along the Borough Road side of the pitch, and is a low-rise seated stand with a capacity of 2,414.Cowshed
The Cowshed houses away fans at Prenton Park, and has a capacity of 2,500. It has a slanted seating arrangement, caused by the main road running behind it. It historically housed the more vocal home fans, but was switched to away supporters at the turn of the century. Since the change, a bar and TV screens have been added to the stand.Attendances
Prenton Park has seen the number of supporters rise and fall considerably over its hundred year history. Around 8,000 visitors watched the first game at the stadium on 11 March 1912, as Tranmere beat Lancaster Town 8–0. Early attendances varied from 5,000 to 8,000 though, on Boxing Day 1921, 11,137 supporters came to see Tranmere take on Bolton Wanderers ReservesBolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves and Academy
-Reserve team:Bolton Wanderers Reserves play in the Barclays Premiership Reserve League North. They also participate in the Manchester Senior Cup, although in recent years the teams entered in this competition have featured an increasing number of youth players.Bolton Wanderers Reserves play their...
. Tranmere entered The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
the next season, and 7,011 watched their first game against Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
. There was an average of 6,000 in attendance at home games, before the Football League was suspended as a result of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the war, the numbers of supporters rose, and by the early 1960s this number had increased to highs of 12,000. Attendances began to fall towards the end of the 1960s; this trend continued through the 1970s, though the decade did give Tranmere its largest-ever crowd: 24,424 on 5 February 1972, for a 4th round FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match against Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
. With today's capacity of under 17,000, it is unlikely that this record attendance will ever be broken.
The 1980s saw the number of supporters falling to some of the ground's lowest levels. The lowest ever attendance at Prenton Park was on 20 February 1984, when only 937 supporters watched a 2–0 victory over Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
. However, the decade also saw a high number of supporters in the ground for other reasons. In 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....
, 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 lost their lives and, on 15 April 1989, 12,000 people attended a memorial service at Prenton Park.
Tranmere's success in the 1990s led to improved attendances, rising to around 9,000 per game. By 2010, this had fallen to around 5,000 per game; however, 12,249 supporters took advantage of an offer of free admission to watch a replayed match against Notts County F.C.
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
Tranmere v. Oldham, 1935
On Boxing Day 1935, Tranmere faced Oldham AthleticOldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
at Prenton Park in the Third Division North
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...
. Oldham had beaten Tranmere 4–1 the previous day, but Tranmere won 13–4 in the return fixture, including nine goals by Bunny Bell
Robert Bell (footballer)
Robert "Bunny" Bell was a footballer who played for Tranmere Rovers and Everton.On Boxing Day 1935, he scored nine times in Tranmere's 13-4 defeat of Oldham Athletic, at that time an English record. He might have made it 10, but missed a penalty. He scored 57 goals for Tranmere during the 1933–34...
. At the time Bell's feat was an individual record, but it stood for less than months before Joe Payne
Joe Payne (footballer)
Joseph "Joe" Payne was an English international footballer, best known as the scorer of 10 goals in a match for Luton Town against Bristol Rovers on 13 April 1936. This is still a record in The Football League...
netted ten for Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
, on his debut against Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
. However, the aggregate of 17 goals in one game remains a league record.
Milwall v Doncaster, 1991
The only major final to take place at Prenton Park was the FA Women's CupFA Women's Cup
The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
final in 1991, contested by Millwall Lionesses
Millwall Lionesses L.F.C.
Millwall Lionesses Ladies Football Club were founded in March 1972 by Patricia Maslin and Rita Bullions. In a time when women's football was almost unheard of the group of women who made up the Lionesses were at first snubbed by Millwall FC but went on to became the first women's football team to...
and Doncaster Belles. Millwall won the game 1–0 in front of a crowd of 4,000. The game was broadcast live on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
Shelbourne v Rangers, 1998
The only UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
European Fixture to take place at Prenton Park was a UEFA Cup first qualifying round tie between Irish team Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
and Scottish team Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, on 22 July 1998. Due to fears of sectarian violence
Sectarian violence
Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community...
, and after discussions between the two clubs and UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, Prenton Park was chosen as the venue for the first leg, with Shelbourne as the home team. The match finished 3–5 in favour of Rangers after Shelbourne (at the time an amateur side) had earlier taken a 3–0 lead. As a result of this game, Rangers were fined 25,000 Swiss Franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s and warned by UEFA for their fans' behaviour at the game.