London Road Stadium
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| Full name | London Road Stadium |
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| Location | London Road, Peterborough, PE2 8AL |
| Coordinates | 52°33′52.91″N 0°14′25.46″W / 52.5646972°N 0.2404056°WCoordinates: 52°33′52.91″N 0°14′25.46″W / 52.5646972°N 0.2404056°W |
| Capacity | 15,314 |
| Field size | 112 x 76 yards (102.4m x 69.4m) |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1913 |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Tenants | |
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Peterborough & Fletton United (1923–1932) Peterborough United (1934–present) |
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London Road, currently known as the ABAX Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Peterborough, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Peterborough United. The stadium holds 14,084 and was built in 1913, although the original ground bears little resemblance to the one seen today.
The stadium was built and opened in 1913, consisting of a single wooden stand with a capacity of just 250. It was owned by the city council and taken over by 'The Posh' following their formation in 1934. The council built brick dressing rooms and a committee room at the back of the wooden stand to support the club. These survived until the 1950s, when the North Stand was constructed.
The two goal ends were the next to be built. Many home fans had traditionally stood at the London Road End, so a covered standing terrace was constructed there just after the Second World War. A similar structure was built at the Moy's End at around the same time.
Financial difficulties during the war years meant that the ground lease was very nearly terminated by the city council. Another local sports club almost took a 10-year lease, but 'The Posh' were saved in 1942 by two individuals who paid the £50 owed in rent by the club.
In the 1950s, the council sold London Road to the club following a long term lease and it was at this time that major development of the ground began. In 1953, the Moy's End was refurbished with new covered terracing and a similar improvement was made at the London Road End just over a year later. A new stand, with 2,404 seats and standing room in the front, was constructed behind the old wooden stand in 1956 and opened in time for the 1957–58 season. The wooden stand was demolished, leaving a gap of 30 yards between the new Main (North) Stand and the pitch (the pitch was moved back the following season).
A new standing terrace was then built at the Glebe Road (southern) side of the stadium shortly after the completion of the Main Stand. Four executive boxes, along with a television platform, would later be added to the structure. Floodlights were added to the stadium in 1960, with four pylons erected at each corner of the ground. Joe Richards, who was then chairman of the Football League, performed the switch-on ceremony. The first match in which the floodlights were used was against Arsenal in February 1960.
Following the club's promotion to the First Division in 1992, the Main Stand was forced to undergo re-development. This was because the stadium's seated capacity was below the level required by the Taylor Report. To solve this problem, the stand's terraces were converted to seats. 700 of these new seats were bought second hand from Leicester City, who had no use for them following the re-development of their Filbert Street stadium. Another 300 seats were taken from Millwall's stadium, The Den. Millwall were about to move into a new stadium themselves. With a capacity of 3,605, the Main Stand's facilities were improved to include a pub, conference areas and a retail shop.
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