A HISTORIC abandoned football stadium where David Beckham’s Manchester United suffered a famous upset has now been demolished.
Home to York City FC, Bootham Crescent was razed to the ground after 90 years to make way for a unique housing development worth £7million.
Despite hosting countless matches and even surviving the Second World War, the iconic ground was ripped up after being sold to Persimmon Homes.
The Minstermen left the 8,256 capacity ground in 2020 with the York Community Stadium in Huntington becoming their new home.
But the National League side’s original patch still has a place in many York supporters’ hearts.
Older fans may well remember some of their finest moments taking place at Bootham Crescent.
Iconic moments included a historic FA Cup win over Arsenal in 1985 – followed by a 1-1 draw against a formidable Liverpool side in the same competition.
But perhaps one of the greatest results witnessed at the hallowed ground was in fact a 3-1 loss to giants Manchester United in 1995.
United were six games unbeaten in all competitions when York showed up for the first leg of the League Cup second round tie.
City took on the Red Devils in the then-named Coca Cola League Cup, and defeated the Prem leaders in a shock 3-0 victory in the first leg at Old Trafford.
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United put out a full strength team for the return leg at Bootham Crescent two weeks later.
Stars like David Beckham, Roy Keane and mercurial forward Eric Cantona – who had just returned from a nine-month ban – all took to the pitch.
And despite losing on the night thanks to two goals from Paul Scholes and another from Terry Cooke, York managed to hang on.
The plucky underdogs went through 4-3 on aggregate thanks to Scott Jordan’s strike at Bootham Crescent.
Stung by their League Cup embarrassment, United rallied together and went on to win the Premier League and FA Cup Double that year.
The new Bootham Crescent development will eventually provide 93 new homes.
19 properties will then be transferred to the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust to be made available for social rent and discount sale.
A wide mix of properties will be available including, two, three, and four bedroom houses as well as one and two bedroom apartments.
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Persimmon announced that there will be plenty of options for homebuyers at a range of prices, which will be released in due course.
York got their first win of the season against Southend United last Saturday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
