- Edgeley Park
Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Edgeley Park
location = Hardcastle Road,Stockport ,Greater Manchester
built = 1901
opened = 1901
seating_capacity = 10,852
tenants =Stockport County F.C. ,Sale Sharks
dimensions = 111 x 71 yardsEdgeley Park is the home of Stockport County Football Club and
Sale Sharks rugby union club. It is located inEdgeley , south-west ofStockport inGreater Manchester ,England , and has a capacity of 10,852 seats. It is now over 100 years old and has seen on its hallowed turf many of football's greats, includingGeorge Best , who played for Stockport County in 1975. The ground is a typically northern type, but has a modern feeling to it with the recently added Cheadle End.History
The stadium was built in 1901 and first served Stockport Rugby Club, a
rugby league side, before Stockport County moved there in 1902 [ [http://www.stockport.gov.uk/aboutstockport/stockportcounty/abouttheclub?a=5441 About Stockport County] ] .The original timber Main Stand was destroyed in a fire in 1935, taking most of the club's records with it.
The record attendance is 27,833, when Liverpool visited Stockport in the 5th round of the
FA Cup in 1950.The floodlight system was first used with an opening friendly match against Fortuna '54 Geleen of the Netherlands on
16 October 1956 , whose side included four members of the Dutch national team that had defeated Belgium the previous week.The ground once held two matches by the England international football team on the same day. On the
14 January ,1958 the England squad were due to play training matches atMaine Road , but the pitch was frozen. Edgeley Park's pitch was fine so it was decided to hold the matches in Stockport instead. The first game saw England draw 2-2 with a Manchester City XI, and the second saw the England senior side defeat the England U23 side 1-0.Edgeley Park was the venue for the final of the 1978
World Lacrosse Championship .Chester City played a home Rumbelows Cup tie against Manchester City at Edgeley Park on
8 October 1991 , owing to safety concerns regarding their temporaryMoss Rose home [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.110|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] .The stadium has had a lot of developments, but most recent is the impressive Cheadle End. Built in 1995 it holds 5,250 and has 2 large conference rooms plus many other modern facilities.
In 2001 the Railway End was fitted with seats and brought the capacity to an all-seater 10,852.
References
External links
* [http://www.stockportcounty.premiumtv.co.uk/page/StadiumHistory/0,,10419,00.html Edgeley Park History]
* [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/stockpor.htm Internet Football Ground Guide section for Edgeley Park]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
