On Friday Liverpool submitted their plans for a new
stadium to the citys council. The proposed arena, situated at
Stanley Park will become the second largest club ground in the
country in terms of capacity, behind Old Trafford, seating just
over 60,000 fans. In light of this, Goal.com takes a look at the
top ten of the largest grounds in the Premiership and gives a brief
history behind the homes of some of the most famous clubs in the
world.
10. White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur. Capacity: 36, 214
Spurs first played at White Hart Lane in 1899, when 5,000 fans
witnessed a 4-1 win against Notts County. By 1923, the capacity was
increased to accommodate 50,000 fans in total, both standing and
seated. The highest attendance ever seen at The Lane was 75, 038
when spurs took on Sunderland in the FA Cup in 1938.
9. Goodison Park, Everton. Capacity: 40, 569
Built in 1892, and costing £3000, the Grand Old Lady is a stadium
steeped in history. It was the first British sports ground to have
two-tier stands on all four sides, and was the first stadium in the
league to have under-soil heating. Due to the confined area in
which the ground is situated, expansion is almost impossible. There
had been talks with Liverpool City Council to share the proposed
Stanley Park ground with their Red neighbours, however
unsurprisingly, this was rejected by both clubs.
8. Stamford Bridge, Chelsea. Capacity: 42, 449
The first incarnation of Stamford Bridge opened in 1877 and was
used initially as an athletics stadium. The lease was acquired in
1904 by two brothers who wanted to stage high-profile football
matches. They offered the ground to Fulham, who turned it down, so
the brothers decided to form their own team, Chelsea.
Redevelopments in the last thirty years have seen the running track
disappear and the Bridge be transformed into a perfectly adequate
stadium for modern football. However, with Ambramovichs millions,
Chelsea have expressed a desire to redevelop further, but with
space at a premium, the club might look elsewhere.
7. Villa Park, Aston Villa. Capacity: 42, 573
Villa Park opened in 1897 under the name Aston Lower Grounds. The
record attendance is 76, 588, which was set in 1952 when Derby
County made the trip across the Midlands to for an FA Cup sixth
round tie. Villa Park has hosted many international matches,
including three during the 1966 World Cup and four during Euro
1996. It is also a traditional venue for FA Cup semi-finals. The
club have planning permission to extend the ground in time for the
2012 Olympics, when the ground will host several matches. By then,
the capacity should have climbed to 51,000.
6. Anfield, Liverpool. Capacity: 45, 362
Constructed in 1884, Anfield is synonymous with the English game,
in particular the single tier Kop, that is famed the world over for
creating a tremendous atmosphere. When capacity in the stand was at
its highest, 30,000 would watch the game from the Kop, with
folklore saying that home fans could suck the ball into the net.
Although the stadium has seen extensive redevelopment over the past
few decades, plans have been submitted for a move to a new 60,000
stadium at Stanley Park, with the facility of expansion to 80,000
in the coming years.
5. City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City. Capacity: 48,
500
The host stadium of the UEFA cup final in 2008 is one of the
Premierships newest grounds. Initially designed as part of the
failed bid to host the 2000 Olympics, the stadium housed the 2002
Commonwealth games, before being handed over to Manchester City in
2003 after their move from Maine Road. The ground is commonly known
as Eastlands, the name of the disused land that it was built on.
The overall cost of the project was £110million.
4. Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Capacity: 49, 000
Another relative newcomer to the list is the home of Sunderland,
and was opened in 1997. Due to its practical design, there are
possibilities to increase the capacity to 78,000. The Stadium of
Light was built by the same company that built Ajaxs ground, the
Amsterdam Arena.
3. St James Park, Newcastle United. Capacity: 52, 387
The ground was first used for football in 1880, however Newcastle
United did not play there until 1892. The club are yet to submit
plans for a £200million development, which would increases the
capacity to at least 60,000. St James Park is the only ground in
the Premier League not to feature a scoreboard and it is also the
only stadium outside London to be built in the centre of a
city.
2. Emirates Stadium, Arsenal. Capacity: 60, 432
The Emirates Stadium is the newest in the Premier League, having
just finished its inaugural season. The final cost of the project
was a massive £390million. The bowl-shaped stadium features four
tiers on all sides and an extensive amount of executive space. Fans
have voiced their displeasure at the name of the ground, which
throughout development was called Ashburton Grove, until Emirates
airline secured the naming rights. Current Arsenal boss Arsene
Wenger had an involvement in the design of the dressing rooms
1. Old Trafford, Manchester United. Capacity: 76, 212
Nicknamed The Theatre Of Dreams by United idol Bobby Charlton, Old
Trafford is the largest league football stadium in England. Opened
in 1910, the ground has become a traditional venue for FA Cup
semi-finals, which are held on neutral turf. It has been awarded a
5* rating by UEFA and was the host of the 2003 Champions League
final. The most recent developments saw the ground increase in
capacity from 68,000 to its current size, however there is the
possibility of increasing this to an imperious 96,000 in the
future.