By Chris Wright
With a capacity of just 5,070, Accrington Stanley’s Crown Ground is the smallest ground in the Football League as things currently stand, what with it being able to hold a full 22 fewer supporters than the next smallest on the list: Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium.
Officially known as “The Fraser Eagle Stadium” for corporate reasons, the Crown was built in 1968 when Stanley regenerated as an entity – this being two years after the the original club, one of the Football League’s 12 founder members in 1888, was liquidated over issues with the Inland Revenue in 1966, having already been forced to resign from the Football League mid-season in 1962.
44 years later Stanley finally regained their league status by winning promotion to League Two in 2006. They now, quite rightly, pride themselves on being “the football club that wouldn’t die”…
Wonderful stuff.
Seeing as we metioned Acrrington Stanley, we’re also now legally obliged to embed this…
More in Pies’ Around The Grounds series…
City Ground, Nottingham Forest
Princes Park, Dartford FC’s Wooden Eco Stadium
Molineux, Wolves
The New Maracana, Rio De Janeiro
Griffin Park, Brentford
De Kuip, Feyenoord
Upton Park, West Ham
San Mames, Athletic Bilbao
FC Gspon’s Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium, The Highest Pitch In Europe
Valley Parade, Bradford City
Prenton Park, Tranmere
Wankdorf, Young Boys
Estadio Municipal, SC Braga
Home Park, Plymouth Argyle
Victoria Park, Hartlepool United
Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Ninian Park, Cardiff City
Wankdorf Stadium, Young Boys
Portman Road, Ipswich Town
Recreation Ground, Aldershot
Saltergate, Former Home Of Chesterfield
(Photos: PA)