- Riverside Stadium
Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Riverside Stadium
nickname =
| caption = Riverside Stadium entrance gates
fullname = Riverside Stadium
location =Middlesbrough ,England
built =1994
opened =August 26 ,1995
renovated =
closed =
demolished =
owner = Middlesbrough F.C.
operator = Middlesbrough F.C.
surface = Grass
construction_cost = £16 millioncite web | url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/borofc/clubinfo/ | title=Boro FC Club Information | work=gazettelive.co.uk | accessdate=2007-02-25 ]
architect =
former_names =
tenants =Middlesbrough F.C.
(1995 –present)
seating_capacity = 35,100cite web | url=http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Stadium/0,,1,00.html | title=The Riverside Stadium Info | work=MFC.co.uk | accessdate=2007-02-25 ]
dimensions = 105 x 69 mThe Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in
Middlesbrough ,England , which has been the home ofMiddlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 35,100 all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place to expand that to 42,000 if required.. It was the first stadium designed and constructed to comply with theTaylor Report and, at the time, was the biggest new arena to be built in England sinceWorld War II .History
The stadium was built to replace
Ayresome Park after theTaylor Report , which required all top division football stadia to be all-seater. Middlesbrough were unable to expand the current stadium outwards owing to its location in a residential area, and expanding the stadium upwards would have limited the club to a capacity of 20,000 seats. The decision was taken by club officials to build a new stadium;Teesside Development Corporation offered them the Middlehaven site by theRiver Tees for development.The new stadium was constructed by Taylor Woodrow Construction with a 30,000 capacity for a modest £16 million, and took only 32 weeks to complete. The name of the stadium was chosen by the club's fans, following a vote during the final game at Ayresome Park. The other choices available were "Middlehaven Stadium", "Erimus Stadium" and "Teesside Stadium". When first opened, the name was amended to Cellnet Riverside Stadium (and then BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium) as part of a £3 million sponsorship deal with
Cellnet , but this deal ended after the 2001-02 season [ [http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/borofc/clubinfo/ Boro FC club info, The Riverside Stadium - Gazette Live ] ] .The first game was played against Chelsea in front of a 28,286 crowd (the highest home attendance in 14 years) on
August 26 1995 [ [http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/GreatMatchesDetail/0,,1~536230,00.html Boro 2 Chelsea 0, August 26 1995 | Middlesbrough | History | Great Games |Great Games ] ] . Middlesbrough won the game 2–0, withCraig Hignett taking the honour of scoring the first ever goal at the stadium,Jan Åge Fjørtoft scoring the second.In 2005 the club resurrected the old Ayresome Park gates which had been famously locked when the club went in to liquidation. They were erected outside the Riverside Stadium as a new entrance, a reminder of the past. The club have the Council's permission to extend the capacity by another 7,000 if demand made it necessary.
In July 2008, planning permission was granted by Middlesbrough Council to construct a
wind turbine at the site of the stadium, standing 125 metres high and capable of generating 3 Megawatts of electricity. The turbine will be used to power the stadium, with the excess being sold to the National Grid. [cite news|url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/07/08/boro-wind-turbine-given-go-ahead-84229-21301885/ |title=Boro wind turbine given go ahead |publisher=Evening Gazette |date=2008-07-08 |accessdate=2008-07-08]International matches
Like its predecessor
Ayresome Park , the Riverside Stadium has played host to international football. During the construction of the newWembley Stadium , theEngland national football team toured the country, playing at varying grounds. The Riverside was chosen to host the Euro 2004 qualifying match against Slovakia on11 June ,2003 . [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/england/2709253.stm |title=Riverside to host Slovakia clash |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2003-01-30 |accessdate=2008-05-18] England won the match 2–1 with a brace fromMichael Owen afterVladimir Janočko had put Slovakia ahead. The match is also notable for pitting Middlesbrough's England defenderGareth Southgate against their own Slovakian striker at the time,Szilárd Németh . [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/2981828.stm |title=Clockwatch: Euro 2004 qualifiers |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2008-06-11 |accessdate=2008-05-18]Details
Records
*Record Attendance (All teams): 35,000 England v Slovakia,
11 June 2003 , (Euro 2004 qualifier)
*Record Attendance (Middlesbrough): 34,836 v Norwich City,28 December ,2004 (FA Premier League)Average Attendances
"All data for
FA Premier League games only.ee also
*
Ground improvements at English football Stadia References
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