 The east stand | |
 | |
| Full name | Ayresome Park |
|---|---|
| Location | Ayresome Park Road,Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 54°33′51″N1°14′49″W / 54.56417°N 1.24694°W /54.56417; -1.24694 |
| Owner | Middlesbrough F.C. |
| Operator | Middlesbrough F.C. |
| Capacity | 26,667[2] |
| Field size | 110 × 74 yards |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Closed | 1995 |
| Demolished | 1997 |
| Architect | Archibald Leitch[1] |
Ayresome Park was afootball stadium in theAyresome area ofMiddlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home ofMiddlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the1903–04 season, until theRiverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and replaced with housing.
Middlesbrough had previously played atLinthorpe Road West cricket ground, but election to theFootball League meant that an improved stadium was required. Ayresome Park was built at Paradise Field, adjacent to the oldParadise Ground ofMiddlesbrough Ironopolis, who had played in the Football League in the1893–94 season.[3]
The highest attendance at the ground (53,802) was set on 27 December 1949, when Middlesbrough played theirNorth East rivalsNewcastle United. Ayresome Park was also one of the venues for the1966 FIFA World Cup. Three games were played at the ground, involving theSoviet Union,North Korea,Italy andChile. North Korea famously beat Italy 1–0 at the ground, to knock one of the most powerful footballing nations out of the tournament and in the process, advance the Koreans to the quarter-finals. The attendances at Ayresome Park, however, were among the lowest in the tournament, with a low of 15,887 fans at the game forNorth Korea versusChile.
Middlesbrough famously had to play their first home game of the1986–87 season atHartlepool because they were locked out of Ayresome Park by thebailiffs, due to huge debts which almost put the club out of business. However, they were soon back at Ayresome Park after a takeover deal saved the club, with their attendances and fortunes on the pitch both improving almost immediately.
Despite this crisis, a £1.2 million sports centre was opened at the stadium on 3 March 1986 after a six-year delay caused by fire and safety regulations.
By the early 1990s, the stadium was showing its age and clearly in need of major work to bring it up to date. The demands of theTaylor Report meant that all stadiums in the highest two divisions of English football had to be all-seater by the start of the1994–95 season. The surrounding residential area gave limited scope for expansion to an all-seater capacity of no more than 20,000, and with the club wanting a considerably bigger capacity, by 1993 the decision had been made to relocate the club to a new site in the town's docks area.[4]
Plans fora new 30,000-seat stadium on the banks of theRiver Tees were given the go-ahead in the spring of 1994, and construction work began that autumn, with the new stadium being ready for the1995–96 season; when it became the first new stadium to be built by a top division club sinceManchester City moved toMaine Road in 1923.
The final competitive game at Ayresome Park was played againstLuton Town on 30 April 1995 in a match which Boro won 2–1 to secure the Division One title and promotion to thePremier League, two years after being relegated. It was also a fine first season in management for the club's new managerBryan Robson.
John Hendrie, a key player for Boro during the first half of the 1990s, earned the honour of scoring the final competitive goal at Ayresome Park.
The very last game at the ground was a sell-out testimonial match for long-serving goalkeeperStephen Pears, who scored the ground's final goal, scoring from the penalty spot in a 3–1 win forPeter Beardsley's select XI against the Middlesbrough promotion winning side. The select XI's other goals were scored by Beardsley andBernie Slaven;Paul Wilkinson scoring the Boro's only goal. Boro received the First Division Championship Trophy following the game.
Ayresome Park was retained as a training ground for a year until a new facility was opened, and it was finally demolished in early 1997. The site of the stadium is now a housing estate. To commemorate the old ground, the gates of Ayresome Park have been erected outside the main entrance to the club's new ground, theRiverside Stadium.
Soviet Union  | 3–0 |  North Korea |
|---|---|---|
Malofeyev 31',88'Banishevskiy 33' | Report |
Chile  | 1–1 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Marcos 26' (pen.) | Report | Pak Seung-Zin 88' |
| North Korea | 1–0 |  Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Pak Doo-Ik 42' | Report |
| Reserves and Academy | |
|---|---|
| Records and Satistics | |
| History | |
| Home stadium | |
| Training ground | |
| Rivalries | |
