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239:. Stoke suffered financial difficulties and dropped out of the league in 1908 and attendances varied during their time out. Stoke got back into the league in 1919 and the ground had now been improved considerably. There were two good sized grandstands and an extra wooden one which was situated opposite the main stand and could hold 1,000 supporters.
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Rangers on 28 March 1878, Stoke won 1–0 before 2,500 spectators. The ground took its name from the nearby
Victoria Hotel and was originally an oval shape, built to accommodate a running track and used by the local athletic club. There was an open grass bank at each end, and a small but compact wooden
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of
January 1990 requiring all clubs in the top two division of English football have an all-seater stadium by August 1994, the club drew up plans to meet the requirements at the Victoria Ground, in spite of relegation to the Third Division in 1990, as the club was intent on re-establishing itself in
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area and especially the
Victoria Ground for around eight hours. The strong winds blew a section of the roof off the Butler Street Stand leaving only the west corner intact. Top priority was to put the roof back in order that the replay against Tottenham could take place on 7 January. However, on the
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marked the 'official' switching on ceremony by playing Stoke in a friendly on 10 October 1956. In 1960 another new main stand was built and the dressing rooms were revamped. In the summer of 1963 concrete was laid on the paddock terracing and it was the Stoke players who helped lay it as part of a
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was beginning to draw in the crowds, the Butler Street Stand was built, giving seating to 5,000 people. In front of the seats was a small paddock, room for another 2,000 and it took the ground capacity to around the 45,000 mark. A record crowd of 51,380 packed into the
Victoria Ground on 29 March
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The players changing rooms were set in the corner of the ground which also included a stove so players could keep warm. Above the changing 'hut' was the directors box, a rather primitive building but could hold around 12 people. During the early 1920s a new, mainly wooden main stand was erected
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day of the match as workmen were replacing timber supports and erecting scaffolding, some of the supports collapsed and a number of workers were injured, The match itself was cancelled on safety grounds. Stoke had to play one home league match against
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alongside the 'hut' and this could hold 2,000 fans. By 1930 Stoke had added 'City' to their name and the
Boothen End was terraced and later covered, and consequently the ground lost its oval shape. 1935, when the likes of
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The
Victoria Ground was demolished in June 1997 and the site stood empty for over 20-years until a housing development was built in 2019 named Victoria Park with the streets named after former Stoke players and managers.
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stand on the east side (Boothen Road) capable of housing 1,000 people. Opposite this stand was another bank which could hold 4,000. The ground remained this way for 30 years during which time Stoke had become members of
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instead decided to move the club to a new location and so in 1997 Stoke left the
Victoria Ground after 119 years for the new 28,000-seater
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team bonding scheme. More improvements continued in the 1960s and the ground remained in a good condition until
January 1976.
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on 17 January and the
Victoria Ground was reopened by 24 January in time for Stoke to play Tottenham in the cup.
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The
Victoria Ground had been Stoke City's home since March 1878 and the first match was a friendly against
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235:. The first league match at the Victoria Ground was on 8 September 1888 and ended in a 2–0 defeat against
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at Trentham Lakes. The final league match at the Victoria was on 4 May 1997 against the first opponents
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after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in
487:"Lou Macari's love letter to Stoke City's Victoria Ground on anniversary of last game"
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513:"New homes plan for Stoke City's former ground (& there'll be some pitches...)"
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The final improvements to the ground were made during the 1980s with the
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the top two divisions – which was achieved three years later.
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Over the weekend of the 3/4 January 1976, with Stoke playing
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suite being opened as well as a new club shop and offices.
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the Butler Street Stand was used as an army storage camp.
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Floodlights were installed at the ground in 1956 and
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from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the
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874:Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom
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23:Football ground of Stoke City, 1878 to 1997
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214:, one of these was this in 1906, between
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282:, winds of hurricane force battered the
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126:56,000 (approx 25,000 before it closed)
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554:Aerial image of Stoke-on-Trent in 1927
545:. Old Football Grounds. Archived from
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839:Defunct football venues in England
352:"The Story of the Victoria Ground"
14:
885:
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210:The Victoria Ground hosted seven
854:Sports venues demolished in 1997
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18:Victoria Ground (disambiguation)
859:Sports venues in Stoke-on-Trent
849:Sports venues completed in 1878
433:The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City
844:English Football League venues
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479:
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329:scoring the final Stoke goal.
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350:Gareth Cooper (9 June 2005).
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727:Clayton Wood Training Ground
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802:Portal:Association football
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869:Football Alliance venues
788:Category:Stoke City F.C.
591:Stoke City Football Club
543:"Victoria Ground, Stoke"
816:Commons:Stoke City F.C.
457:"The Britannia Stadium"
431:Matthews, Tony (1994).
186:was the home ground of
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646:Under-21s and Academy
325:, Stoke won 2–1 with
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323:West Bromwich Albion
237:West Bromwich Albion
95:52.99917°N 2.18250°W
16:For other uses, see
549:on 28 January 2010.
467:on 29 February 2012
233:the Football League
196:the Football League
91: /
57:The Victoria Ground
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29:The Victoria Ground
763:Player of the Year
224:
212:FA Cup semi-finals
100:52.99917; -2.18250
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753:25–99 appearances
319:Britannia Stadium
276:Tottenham Hotspur
192:Britannia Stadium
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758:1–24 appearances
748:100+ appearances
685:Stoke City Women
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519:. 16 August 2019
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463:. Archived from
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361:. Archived from
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300:Stanley Matthews
248:1937 to watch a
245:Stanley Matthews
220:Newcastle United
216:Woolwich Arsenal
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359:– oatcake.co.uk
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435:. Lion Press.
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493:. 4 May 2020
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367:. Retrieved
363:the original
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315:Peter Coates
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278:away in the
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265:local rivals
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258:World War II
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131:Construction
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471:19 February
357:The Oatcake
176:(1878–1997)
98: /
73:Coordinates
833:Categories
337:References
188:Stoke City
174:Stoke City
160:Demolished
147:March 1878
115:Stoke City
83:52°59′57″N
305:With the
293:Vale Park
268:Port Vale
256:. During
163:June 1997
86:2°10′57″W
54:Full name
625:Managers
155:May 1997
122:Capacity
62:Location
743:Players
736:Players
699:Grounds
680:Matches
663:General
632:Seasons
618:Honours
611:Records
604:History
523:15 July
497:15 July
369:29 June
254:Arsenal
202:History
168:Tenants
35:The Vic
639:Europe
439:
280:FA Cup
152:Closed
144:Opened
228:Talke
136:Built
111:Owner
525:2020
499:2020
473:2012
437:ISBN
371:2007
218:and
182:The
139:1878
291:at
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379:^
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198:.
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222:.
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