Chesterfield FC Saltergate Stadium - July 2010

[ThenewMendoza]

I'm not much of a football fan but I've always fancied having a mooch round a disused stadium for some reason, despite my job taking me to a few stadia in worse condition than this place. Chesterfield's Saltergate stadium, or its official name of the Recreation Ground, was one of the oldest football grounds in the country having its inaugral match played against Rotheram on 4th November 1871. Upon closure in July 2010 it had served the Spireites for the best part of 140 years.

Capacity at the ground was just over 8000 when it closed, due to regulations about seating following a number of stadium incidents and accidents in the football world. Having said that, back in 1938 when Chesterfield played Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup the ground was host to a record attendance of 30,561.

More recently the club have moved to a new stadium in the Whittington Moor part of town, and although Saltergate is no longer home it is still in part use by the clubs Summer Holiday Soccer School. From what I can gather there are no plans in place to demolish the old ground.

There's loads of info here for those who crave more - [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltergate[/ame]

Pics.

And a quick look at the new home at the b2net Stadium (it's just near Tesco )

M

 

[godzilla73]

Howay the spireites! My brother lives around the corner from this and I was wondering what would become of it. Looking at the state of it from these pics it must have been top of the Taylor report hit list of grounds that were hazardous to people's health! Must have a look next time I am up in Ches...good pics though, as there won't be many grounds left like this soon, with terraces and leaning bars belonging to a bygone age.
Thanks!
GDZ

 

[ThenewMendoza]

Looking at the state of it from these pics it must have been top of the Taylor report hit list of grounds that were hazardous to people's health! Must have a look next time I am up in Ches...good pics though, as there won't be many grounds left like this soon, with terraces and leaning bars belonging to a bygone age.
Thanks!
GDZ

I was surprised to find the main stand constructed from wood, I thought they'd all gone following the fatal fire in Bradford back in 1985. You can still find plenty of terraces in the lower leagues, but compared to modern stadiums it does seem a bit out of time.

M

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

It looks in better nick now than it did a couple of years back when I watched my team there.

The open air toilets in the away end were not very comfortable on a cold day.

 

[chambta]

No immediate plans for demolition (I live 100 yards away and am a season ticket holder) though it's likely to happen sometime towards the end of year in preparation for the new development there.

 

[Goldie87]

Hmm I like the look of this, wouldnt mind a look at an old football stadium. I always regret not exploring Filbert Street just before it was demolished.

 

[Vintage]

Beautiful little stadium. I'm glad its not being demolished. I love old grounds like this. The new cardboard put up stadia are dreadful. But all clubs are moving with the times.

 

[TK421]

Really interesting TnM. I, like you, am not a great football fan, but I enjoyed looking at these photos. We have Scarborough football club near us, and it is very overgrown, having closed many a year ago, its on my list of to do's Great report mate

 

[kevsy21]

Interesting stuff,nicely documented,good pics.

 

[losttom]

I like the look of this one

 

[Foxylady]

...I, like you, am not a great football fan, but I enjoyed looking at these photos. We have Scarborough football club near us, and it is very overgrown, having closed many a year ago, its on my list of to do's

Same here. I do like seeing the empty ones though. Nice one, Mendo...and looking forward to seeing the Scarborough one, TK.

 

[smileysal]

Agree with Foxy, looking forward to seeing Scarboroughs ground.