County Ground (Swindon)
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| Location | County Road, Swindon SN1 2ED |
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| Coordinates | 51°33′52″N 1°46′14″W / 51.56444°N 1.77056°WCoordinates: 51°33′52″N 1°46′14″W / 51.56444°N 1.77056°W |
| Owner | Swindon Borough Council |
| Capacity | 15,728 |
| Field size | 110 x 70 yards |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1896 |
| Tenants | |
| Swindon Town F.C. (1896-present) | |
The County Ground is a stadium located near the town centre of Swindon, England, and has been home to Swindon Town Football Club since 1896. The current capacity of 15,728, all-seated, has been at that level since the mid-1990s. A record attendance of 32,000 was set on 15 January 1972, against Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. North of the football stadium is Swindon Cricket Club, with their pitch is also named The County Ground which was used for the football club from 1893 till 1896.
Thomas Arkell of Arkell's Brewery donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the 'Wiltshire County Ground', this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose built football ground. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. A covered stand on the Shrivenham Road side was erected in 1932, it was replaced in 1960 with one obtained second hand from Aldershot Military Tattoo. At a cost of £4,300 a roof was erected over the Town End, this was raised by the Supporters Club, and was opened on 27 August 1938 by local MP, W.W. Wakefield.
The War Department took over the ground in 1940, where for a while POWs were housed in huts placed on the pitch. For this the club received compensation of £4,570 in 1945.
The addition of floodlights in 1951 at a cost of £350, gave Swindon the honour of being the first League club to do so. These were first tried out v Bristol City on 2 April 1951 beating Arsenal by six months. These original set of lights were supplemented by lights on both side stand roofs, which were sufficient for the County Ground to stage its first floodlit league match on 29 February 1956 v Millwall. (7 days after Fratton Park became the 1st ground to stage a floodlit league fixture). The present pylons date from 1960.
Additions included the building of the "new" all-seater Arkell's (or North) stand in 1971 (behind the original) and following the Hillsborough disaster; the County Ground was converted to an all-seater stadium beginning with the addition of extra seating in front of the North Stand and the building of a sponsored stand (originally the Intel Stand, then the Nationwide Stand, now the Don Rogers Stand) in the early 90s. The Nationwide Stand replaced the Shrivenham Road enclosure, a two-tiered terrace. During the stand's history, a fire broke out on the top tier making the upper area unsafe. In its last years the upper tier was used by TV cameras and for crowd monitoring only.
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