"Stamford Bridge", London: the history of the stadium. FC "Chelsea"

"Stamford Bridge" (Stamford Bridge) - football stadium of the club "Chelsea", located in England. His story is no less interesting than the football team. It is about him that you can say that the team was created for the stadium, and not vice versa. During its existence, the object was reconstructed more than once.

Opening date and title

Officially, the stadium was opened in the XIX century, namely on April 28, 1877. The name of the stadium, according to many researchers, appeared significantly more before his own. Nearby there was a small river called Stamford. The road crossing it was called "Sandy Ford", or "Sanford Bridge". The bridge was called stone, or "Stanbridge". Subsequently, according to many, from these words was formed the name of the stadium - "Stamford Bridge". Initially, it was exclusively athletic competitions, not football matches. So it was like twenty-eight years. At the beginning of the XX century (1904) the stadium was acquired by the brothers Mirs. In addition, they bought out the nearby land to create a full-fledged complex. The brothers dreamed of organizing their own football club, and this required the acquisition of "Stamford Bridge".

Moving of FC "Chelsea"

Initially, the stadium was supposed to become subordinate to Fulham, but the club's management refused to offer. It was then the transfer of the stadium to the club "Chelsea", which holds his games on it until now. At the time of the transfer of FC Chelsea was not as popular and formidable as today, but only began to form. Many even could not imagine what the club will become after a hundred years. But, although there have been many changes, the venue for the performances is the Stamford Bridge stadium.

Architect

The stadium was designed by the famous architect of England Archibald Leitch. In addition, he worked on the development of many other arenas in the UK. Particularly famous - "Old Trafford" and "Goodison Park." Initially, the stadium got one tribune - Eastern. She had a length of one hundred and ten meters and housed five thousand fans. Only later, having spent a lot of time and work, it turned out to build the rest of the stands. Originally, the treadmill available at the stadium significantly distanced viewers from the field. For many years the stadium remained without significant changes.

1930

Twenty-five years "Stamford Bridge" remained unchanged. In 1930, the club's owners decided to build a canopy. The structure appeared above the South Stand. It was there that the most dedicated fans of the team met. This rostrum can be called the personification of the club "Chelsea".

However, this stadium tribune was forced to disappear in 1994. More precisely, it had to be dismantled. The tribune was intended only for standing places, and, under the new rules, all seats in the stadium must be sedentary. In 1997, a new rostrum was erected, which complied with all the rules.

1939

This year was the date of the founding of the Northern Stand of the stadium. Initially, it was planned to create it quite extensive, but the plans for the Second World War did not come true. The tribune became the continuation of the Eastern part. It was quite different from the neighboring ones, but it was often used to accommodate fans. The tribune lasted until 1975, and then it was redone. But she was destined to survive the destruction and the second time, namely in 1993, when the complete reconstruction of the "Stamford Bridge".

1960

Some reorganization of the stadium took place with damage to the team. In the period 60-70-ies the club experienced a flourishing. Deciding that for such a successful team needed a more convenient field, the leadership made an attempt to completely reconstruct the "Stamford Bridge". However, to realize the idea, the team had to lease many players, since they could not collect the required amount. This idea almost led the team to complete collapse, and to recover, it took two decades.

In 1964-65 years, the West Stand was erected, but already with seats. Three quarters of her occupied separate chairs and one-quarter - benches. It was demolished when the new Stamford Bridge was built. Reconstruction of it took place in the last place and, although it was old enough, many fans were sad to part with it.

Nevertheless, the new rostrum turned out magnificent. The capacity was thirteen and a half thousand people, and each spectator could easily observe the course of the game. The cost of construction cost the management of the club at thirty million pounds sterling.

1970

In 1973, the East Stand was erected. It became one of the best in England and was ultra-modern. The Tribune became the only part that managed to stand until today. Of course, she underwent some changes in the reconstruction of the entire stadium in the 1990s.

The 1970s became quite heavy for both the team and the stadium. Because of its past decisions, FC Chelsea went bankrupt by the end of the decade, and to pay off the construction company, the management was forced to give it to the stadium.

The team began to train on the sites together with other clubs. Meanwhile, "Stamford Bridge" was preparing for demolition. In its place, the company was going to build a residential area (houses, shops). The disappearance of the famous stadium was avoided thanks to the team's president Ken Bates. To return home field, he spent a lot of effort and money. To get the stadium back was only after almost ten years. Ironically, the construction company went bankrupt, which took the object. It can be said that the stadium in London then began a new life.

This period was the most difficult in the history of the club, but the leadership and the players were able to withstand everything. Subsequently, the stadium began to recover, this took seven years.

1990

The Northern Stand initiated the large-scale reconstruction in 1994. The old one was completely destroyed, and in its place a new one appeared, which was intended for the most notorious fans. The tribune received the name in honor of Matthew Harding (one of the directors of the team), who was killed in a helicopter crash.

The next was the West Stand, and in parallel it was erected a new hotel. Thanks to the work done, the fans were able to close as close to the field as possible, which allowed them to fully enjoy the team's games.

Subsequently, the construction was hampered by disputes with the authorities, this pushed the reconstruction of the remaining layers for two whole years.

Completion of reconstruction is considered on August 21, 2001. It was on this day that the construction of the East Stand finished, the reconstruction of which began in 1973.

Stadium today

Now, Stamford Bridge, which has a capacity of 41,841 people, is one of the finest stadiums not only in the UK, but all over the world. After the reconstruction, it was completely transformed. From the oval turned into a rectangular. Thanks to this fans are as close to the field as possible. In the last ten years the stadium has been constantly improving and supplementing. During the reconstruction, not only the field was changed, but also many complexes located nearby. Around him is a huge number of club complexes and shops. The stadium took the ninth place in the UK in capacity. According to the rating of the organization of UEFA "Stamford Bridge" received five stars. The stadium is now on par with the famous arenas of England, like Emirates and Wembley.

Interesting Facts

At the stadium, dog races were held (1937-1968). In 1945, after the war, the Soviet Dynamo team took part in the tour of England, playing four friendly matches, including with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The first match was just against them. The teams played a terrific game, and the final score was 3: 3. The audience at the end of the match demolished the fence and ran out onto the field. This meeting was one of the most interesting and exciting in the history of football.

In 1980, for the first time in England, a cricket match was held with artificial lighting at this stadium. In 1997, at the "Stamford Bridge" was the first time a match in American football. In 2005, in honor of the club's centenary, the leadership opened a new museum of the team. The largest attendance was in 1935 - 82,905 people. The smallest attendance in 1906 is 3000 people. After the First World War, the stadium took the country's Cup final three years in a row. The stadium possessed the most cultic tribune in England - "Shed End". Here the avid Chelsea fans gathered. Often they were called "bounty hunters".

Relatively recently, the club was bought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Together with him came new financial opportunities, which allows the stadium to flourish. Management constantly tries to expand it. In plans - to increase the number of seats to fifty-five thousand. However, at the same time there are problems with UEFA. Since the stadium is located near the city's transport communications, it is limited in expansion. Sometimes even there were ideas for the construction of a new arena, but still, "Chelsea" is still playing at its famous field. In addition, the fans do not want to part with the familiar and favorite stadium.

A couple of words can be said about the cost of tickets to the matches that take place at Stamford Bridge. The cost of cheap (lower levels of seats) - from 50 to 70 pounds. More expensive - from 60 to 90.