Bootham Crescent

Bootham Crescent in York, North Yorkshire, England, is the home of York City football club and York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it is near the city centre, just over a mile from York railway station. The ground was constructed in four months, and opened on 31 August 1932. It hosted Football League matches from 1932 to 2004 and from 2012 to 2016, both spells ending after York were relegated into non-League football.

About Bootham Crescent in brief

Summary Bootham CrescentBootham Crescent in York, North Yorkshire, England, is the home of York City football club and York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it is near the city centre, just over a mile from York railway station. York City leased land at Bootham Crescent from York Cricket Club as a replacement for their ground at Fulfordgate on the outskirts of the city. The ground was constructed in four months, and opened on 31 August 1932. It hosted Football League matches from 1932 to 2004 and from 2012 to 2016, both spells ending after York were relegated into non-League football. The record attendance of 28,123 was set in March 1938, for an FA Cup match against Huddersfield Town. It was renamed KitKat Crescent from 2005 to 2010 as part of a sponsorship deal with Nestlé. York are expected to move to a community stadium at Monks Cross in Huntington in mid 2019, and the Boothamrescent site will be used for housing. The David Longhurst Stand opened in 1991 after a roof was erected on the Shipton Street End, named after the former York player Davidonghurst who died during a match at the ground in 1990. It has also hosted a concert, firework display, American football and rugby league matches and beer festivals. The highest seasonal average attendance of 10,412 was achieved in 1948–49, for a Third Division North match against Stockport County. The Main Stand was built on the west side using sections of the west section of the Fulford Gate terrace, with terraces behind the goals behind the goal.

The Popular Stand was erected in 1959, and replaced by ones twice as powerful in 1995. A number of improvements were made in the early 1980s, with a gymnasium, offices and a lounge for officials built. The stadium was renovated over the summer of 1932; the area was drained and then built to the design of local architects Leck, Leck & Wardenby. In the Second World War, the Popular stand was converted into an air-raid shelter, and it suffered slight damage when a bomb landed on houses along the Shipton Street End. The main stand was built in 1959 and the Popular Stand in 1995, with the Main Stand and the Grosvenor Road End built at the opposite end of the ground. After four months of construction, the ground was ready for the 1932–33 season, with an initial capacity of over 30,000. The club president, Sir John Hunt, marked the occasion by cutting a ribbon of the opening of the match by the Sheriff of York Football League, the treasurer of the Football Association and the local Member of the Parliament. The match was played in a Third division North Third Division Third Division match between York City and Stockport. York played in the match on August 31, 1932, when York played a third Division North Third League match. The game was won by Stockport by a score of 2-1.