in

Abandoned Premier League stadium – England’s first all-seater – now a housing estate with just a plaque as a reminder


IT’S the stadium that was home to an FA Cup and 34 uninterrupted seasons of top flight football.

But today there is very little left of what was a much loved English ground.

Once a much loved Premier League football stadium, this is now a housing estateCredit: YOUTUBE/MATT SB
Very few traces of the football that used to be played here are leftCredit: YOUTUBE/MATT SB

With the stadium fully demolished, only a plaque remains as memorabilia of a 23,500-seater venue that saw some of the world’s best players play.

The team now plays three and a half miles away at a bigger ground, which holds 33,000 for football and 40,000 for concerts.

But they have rarely been able to enjoy the benefits of the new larger venue after a series of relegations and disputes with owners.

However, they are back tentatively on the up after two promotions in three years saw them return to the Championship.

READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS

And they were a missed penalty away from once again playing Premier League football after losing the 2023 play-off final at Wembley.

The team is, of course, Coventry City, and the now-demolished stadium is Highfield Road.

It became England’s first all-seater stadium in 1981, but Leeds fans tore out hundreds of seats just a matter of months later before standing returned in 1983.

Following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, Highfield Road once again became an all-seater stadium.

Most read in Football

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS

Highfield Road (pictured in 1994) was the proud home of Coventry CityCredit: PA
The stadium (pictured in 1985) became England’s first all-seater before terracing was reintroduced in 1983Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Only a plaque remains commemorating the 106 years Coventry spent at Highfield RoadCredit: YOUTUBE/MATT SB
What Highfield Road looks like nowCredit: YOUTUBE/MATT SB

Coventry were relegated in 2001 and moved out of Highfield Road in 2005, and the Coventry Building Society Arena they play in now has never seen Premier League football.

The Sky Blues now have a ten-year lease on that venue after previous failures to reach an agreement saw them forced to play out of town at stadiums like Northampton Town and Birmingham City.

However, after reaching an agreement with the University of Warwick, the club is set to construct yet another new stadium.


Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk


Tagcloud:

Leeds legend desperate to become manager and confident he could be man to lead them back to Premier League

Man Utd ‘joined in Neymar transfer race as Premier League rivals begin talks’ with PSG set for mass exodus