Full name | Field Mill |
---|---|
Location | Quarry Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 5DA |
Owner | John Radford |
Capacity | 10,000 max |
Record attendance | 24,467 (v Nottingham Forest) 10 January 1953 |
Field size | 114 x 70 yards |
Scoreboard | Yes (2009) |
Construction | |
Built | before 1861 |
Tenants | |
Mansfield Town (1919–) |
Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town Football Club.
It is the oldest ground in the Football League, hosting football since 1861, although some reports date it back as far as 1850. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 when fully open, but due to safety restrictions, it currently holds 8,186. The stadium once hosted a pop concert under the previous owner, Keith Haslam, but the sale included a clause preventing use for non-sports events until 2032.
'Field Mill' was originally the name of a large, stone-built, water-powered textile-mill with its own mill pond. The mill was located directly across the road from the present ground, being one of several situated along the River Maun water course supplied from a nearby reservoir. The mill was demolished in 1925.
The club site on Quarry Lane was originally used as a recreational area for employees of the Greenhalgh & Sons Works, who rented the surrounding areas from the Duke of Portland for their cotton-doubling business. One of the Greenhalgh sons was Harwood Greenhalgh, a Mansfield-born footballer who played for Notts County, and represented England in the first ever international football match.
The Greenhalgh's team played at Field Mill under various incarnations, including 'Greenhalgh F.C.', 'Field Mill Football Club' and 'Mansfield Greenhalgh'. A team representing Greenhalgh & Sons also played cricket at the ground for many years, while the late nineteenth century saw athletics and cycle-racing on Quarry Lane. An 1894 merger with Mansfield Town (no relation to the current club) to form Mansfield F.C. saw Field Mill become almost exclusively a football ground.
The ground was used by Mansfield Mechanics FC from 1912 to 1916.