Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
The Premier League is considered by many to be the best football league in the world with millions of people around the world tuning in to watch the drama and action unfold each and every week.
From bettors placing wagers on games alongside searching to find new slot sites to loyal supporters getting up at all hours to view matches on television, the fandom for the 20 competing clubs is huge, particularly when it comes to the support felt inside the stadiums.
As clubs continue to find ways to challenge and grow, many have opted to build new arenas to increase capacity and welcome more followers on matchday. However, while it's a positive that teams can enhance their homes, it means football has lost some iconic grounds, particularly in the last 30 years during the Premier League era. This article will profile some of the best stadiums that are sadly no more.
Arsenal played at the legendary Highbury stadium from 1913 until 2006 and went an entire league season unbeaten just two years before departing.
Instantly recognisable with the famous clock end so synonymous with the Gunners and replicated at the new Emirates Stadium, the ground was a favourite of home fans and visitors alike and was affectionately known as 'the home of football'.
With the likes of Charlie George and Liam Brady taking to the immaculate pitch down the years, younger generations will best remember Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira gliding across the turf as Arsene Wenger's men challenged Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United at the top of English football during the turn of the century.
It would be an understatement to say times have changed since Manchester City fans stood in the famous Kippax and watched the team in the third tier in the late nineties.
The club's switch from Maine Road to the City of Manchester Stadium (now called the Etihad Stadium) in 2003 was followed by a takeover five years later and the team is now considered the best in the country having won the Premier League title in six of the last seven seasons under managerial mastermind Pep Guardiola.
City played at Maine Road for 80 years and the ground hosted league football across three divisions as well as title-winning sides. The average attendance for the final campaign was 34.565 as the loyal fanbase said goodbye to an iconic stadium.
Sunderland spent 99 years at Roker Park before leaving for the Stadium of Light in 1997. The ground was famous for its raucous atmosphere and the 'Roker Roar', a term coined by former England and Tottenham captain Danny Blanchflower who claimed: 'Nothing ever equalled the intensity of that wild roar at Roker Park'.
Though the final campaign saw the Black Cat relegated to the second tier, the team did end on a high, beating Everton 3-0 in the final competitive fixture at the stadium.
Roker Park was demolished with a housing estate now standing in its place. Among the street names are Promotion Close, Midfield Drive, Turnstile Mews and Roker Park Close.
Tottenham played at White Hart Lane for 118 years after moving in way back in 1899.
Throughout the early 1950s, Spurs regularly recorded crowds of 70,000 and it is one of the largest and most famous stadiums in English football. The stadium hosted 2,533 competitive matches until the team left for a brand new state-of-the-art arena nearby in 2017, briefly playing at Wembley while it was completed.
Home to legendary goalscorers including Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves over the years, it also witnessed Bill Nicholson's Spurs clinch the double in 1961.
West Ham's Upton Park, which was also called the Boleyn Ground, is looked back on fondly as one of the most authentic football stadiums in the game with visiting fans missing trips to this part of the East End of London.
With stands close to the pitch and an intimidating and lively atmosphere, the Hammers' home would often get them through games. Moving to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford though, West Ham's new home doesn't hold the same feel and it was always going to be difficult to replicate the special and unique appeal of Upton Park.
One ground that remains but fans will soon have to say goodbye to is Goodison Park. The first purpose-built stadium, Everton have played at 'The Old Lady' since 1892 but will leave at the end of the 2024/25 campaign to head to a new home at Bramley Moore Dock on the Liverpool Waterfront.
The stadium hosted games at the World Cup in 1966, including Pele's Brazil and Eusebio's Portugal and even witnessed a baseball match in 1924 and boxing bouts more recently.
A famous old stadium, with history and tradition seeping out of it, Goodison will be missed by Evertonians and football followers alike.
English football has been home to some of the most atmospheric and grand stadiums in the world, from Arsenal's Highbury to Manchester City's Maine Road and though they may no longer exist, these arenas will live long in the memories of all the fans lucky enough to visit them.
As clubs look to grow and develop, more and more famous grounds will be lost to ambition and time but are historical monuments of the greatest game on earth.
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
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