Kingsmeadow

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Kingsmeadow
nickname =


fullname = The "Cherry Red Records" Fans' Stadium
location = Jack Goodchild Way, 422a Kingston Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 3PB
built = 1989
opened = 1989
owner = AFC Wimbledon
operator = AFC Wimbledon
surface = Grass
former_names = Kingsmeadow
tenants = Kingstonian F.C.
seating_capacity = 4,500 (1,125 Seated)
dimensions = 110 x 75 yards

Kingsmeadow, officially The Fans' Stadium (or The Cherry Red Records Fans' Stadium for sponsorship purposes) [ [http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news.php?Psection_id=2&Psub_section_id=1&Open=2826 Cherry Red Records to sponsor stadium - AFC Wimbledon Official Site] ] is a football stadium in the Norbiton area of Kingston upon Thames, London, which is used for the home matches of both AFC Wimbledon and Kingstonian.

Ownership

The freehold of the site is owned by Kingston Council. The leasehold, which safeguards the site for the borough's football team, was originally held by Kingstonian FC but is currently owned by AFC Wimbledon having been purchased from the previous owners in March 2003.

Current stands & capacity

The Kingsmeadow stadium comprises the following stands:

* The Kingston Road End - covered behind-the-goal shallow terrace, usually designated the "Away" end for Wimbledon games.
* The Main Stand - an all seater stand with 1,125 seats, which also includes the stadium's two bars and other facilities.
* The John Smiths' Stand - covered shallow terrace along the length of the pitch, opposite the Main Stand.
* The "Tempest" end - (formerly "The Athletics End") covered behind-the-goal deep terrace; took its original name from the Kingston Athletics Centre which sits directly behind the stand, renamed in October 2005 for sponsorship purposes.

The stadium has a capacity of 4,500, though originally it held 6,299 (modern safety requirements required the capacity to be reduced). As of the 2008-09 season, Kingsmeadow meets the standards for Conference National, the top level of the Football Conference. Previously, it had met the standards for the regional levels of the Conference, but required minor improvements to meet Conference National standards. [cite web|url=http://www.afcwimbledon.com/dtdocs/20080421_sgm/2008_04_21_draft_minutes_of_SGM.pdf |title=Draft Minutes of Shareholders' General Meeting, 21 April 2008 |publisher=AFC Wimbledon |format=PDF |date=2008-04-21 |accessdate=2008-06-22] These improvements were made during the 2008 close season. Wimbledon will play in Conference South for the first time in 2008-09, while Kingstonian are in Division One South of the Isthmian League, two promotions away from the Dons.

The 2005-06 season saw the Athletics End newly covered, thanks to the sponsorship of Wimbledon's shirt manufacturers Tempest Sports in addition to stadium improvement grants, and the stand was officially relaunched as the "Tempest End".

History

The stadium has been the home of Kingstonian since 1989, when they built the entire complex on the site following the sale of their traditional Richmond Road ground. Kingstonian opened the ground with a friendly against Queens Park Rangers. Following relegation from the Conference National, Kingstonian went into financial administration and both club and ground were purchased by Rajesh Khosla and his son Anup, who were business rather than football oriented, and consequently alienated a large part of Kingstonian's support.

After one season as tenants of the Khoslas (the rent not going to Kingstonian because the Khoslas had arranged that the stadium was owned in Rajesh's name and the club in Anup's), Wimbledon undertook to buy the leasehold to the ground. The club's owners, The Dons Trust, launched a share issue to finance the purchase, which was closed the following summer. The club subsequently arranged for a commercial loan to clear the remaining debt to the Khoslas. Upon taking over the ground, its name was changed to "The Fans' Stadium".

Wimbledon kept Kingstonian on as tenants and charge them a lower rent than they themselves had been charged by the Khoslas, with both gate receipts and bar takings at Kingstonian games being retained solely by Kingstonian (which continued to be Khosla-owned until 2005). An annual friendly between the two clubs is also intended to defray the cost of the rent.

ee also

* Ground improvements at English football Stadia

References

External links

* [http://www.thefansstadium.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.kingstonian.net/ Kingstonian FC official website]
* [http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/ AFC Wimbledon official website]