Gigg Lane

Gigg Lane

Gigg Lane Location of Gigg Lane
Full name	Gigg Lane
Location	Gigg Lane Bury Greater Manchester
Owner	Bury F.C.
Operator	Bury F.C.
Capacity	11,840 (all-seated)
Record attendance	35,000
Field size	112 x 73 yards
Construction
Built	1885
Opened	1885
Tenants
Bury F.C. (1885–) Swinton RLFC (1992–2002) F.C. United of Manchester (2005–2014)

Gigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.

The first match to be played at Gigg Lane was a friendly between Bury and Wigan on 12 September 1885, which Bury won 4–3. The first league game was a 4–2 victory over Manchester City on 8 September 1894 in the 1894–95 Football League Second Division. The stadium has had permanent floodlights since 1953, although the first floodlit match to be played there took place in 1889, before the Football League had authorised the use of floodlights in competitive matches.

The capacity of the ground was once 35,000—and this capacity was reached when the record crowd was achieved for Bury's FA Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 9 January 1960. The game ended 1–1 and Bury lost the replay after extra time 4–2.

In 1986, Gigg Lane saw its lowest ever crowd of just 461 for a Freight Rover Trophy game against Tranmere Rovers. There has never been a league crowd below 1,000 although the closest to that mark came in 1984 with a crowd of 1,096 against Northampton Town.

The highest all-seater attendance at Gigg Lane was recorded when Bury played local rivals Manchester City 12th Sept 1997, with an attendance of 11,216.

The ground was renamed the JD Stadium in November 2013 after Bury announced a new sponsorship deal with JD Sports. The deal was ended in July 2015.

The stadium's current capacity is 11,840. The South Stand is the largest stand and it was renamed the "Les Hart Stand" in the summer of 2010. The stand contains a pattern of blue and white seats that spell out "SHAKERS"