Is leaving traditional grounds really worth it? | Lost Grounds | Episode 4

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Lost Grounds: Is leaving traditional grounds really worth it?

The episode tours old grounds from Southampton and Brighton to West Ham and Luton, weighing the pros and cons of stadium moves. The views differ: Brighton's moves are seen as broadly positive, West Ham fans strongly dislike the London Stadium, the club stresses commercial and infrastructure gains, and Luton's representative says a move is necessary to progress.

► Subscribe to Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Watch Sky Sports with NOW: https://bit.ly/NOWFootballYT In episode four of Lost Grounds Ben Ransom travels around Britain visiting old football grounds to see what they have become, featuring an piece of Arsenal's old stadium in a garden in south London and more. football footballstadium footballground Chapters 00:00 - Intro 00:41 - The Dell 04:00 - The Goldstone Ground 05:11 - Withdean Stadium 08:22 - The Nest 08:51 - The Den 10:46 - Invicta Ground 11:00 - Manor Ground 12:26 - Upton Park 16:14 - The Kursaal 17:50 - Layer Road 18:08 - Kenilworth Road 19:29 - Power Court 21:32 - National Hockey Stadium 22:20 - Nene Park 23:38 - County Ground 25:23 - Coming up ► EFL highlights: https://bit.ly/EFLHighlights2627 ► EFL Cup highlights: https://bit.ly/CarabaoCupHL ► SPFL highlights: https://bit.ly/SPFLHighlights2627 ► Bundesliga highlights: https://bit.ly/BundesligaHighlights2627 ► Buy this season’s shirts: https://bit.ly/SkySportsShop More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkySportsFootball ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skysportsfootball ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsfootball / https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportswsl ► X: https://x.com/SkyFootball / https://x.com/SkySportsWSL ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here…

Transcript

I'm on the hunt for our country's lost football grounds. So far, I've learned about old Shrosbury traditions. Row, row, row your coracle gently down the stream. Found out how Swansea swapped the veetch for veg and went door knocking in Stoke. Coming up, I found a piece of history in Plumstead. Wow. This is literally in your [music] back garden. examined an abandoned amusement arcade in South End and heard [music] tales of woe in West Ham. >> We've been betrayed. >> So, time for us to go to the next one. >> Our journey continued by heading to the South Coast and I reached Southampton to visit one of the great old homes in English football. >> [music] >> This is the Dell full of stories. During the Blitz, the penalty area was bombed, leaving an 18 ft crater. It was a ground full of character. On top of the Milton road stand were the unique chocolate boxes reshaped in the 1990s to be a wedge design and all around there are nods to former legends. Matt Laticier scorer of the final competitive goal at the Dell. A legendary one club man nicknamed Lagod. Bobby Stokes, scorer of the winning goal in the 1976 FA Cup final win over Manchester United. Mick Shannon, scorer of over 200 Southampton goals. Bizarrely, there's even Crossley Place where the car park used to be. Now, no definitive link can be found, although it's been heavily suggested it's named after Mark Crossley, the only goalkeeper ever to save a Leticia penalty. The old ground finally closed its doors for the final time in 2001. Cue the scramble for Southampton fans to get their [music] hands on a piece of memorabilia. Now Rich, I'm knocking on your door in the middle of the afternoon because I'm told you've got a host of Southampton memorabilia and bits and bobs, [music] including some stuff from the Dell. Am I right? >> I certainly have. Come and welcome to show you. >> Thank you very much. >> What's this? That was my 8-year-old's uh little project. He became very interested in the Dell, probably because I liked it quite a lot. So, he decided to make from scratch >> his very own version of the >> This is what I remember. The stands that kind of like came in and >> angle >> the Milton and Archers Road end because they were angled like that because of the roads. They were [music] restricted to how they could redevelop them. He's captured that pretty well, I think. >> I think that is fantastic. >> Given it being 25 [music] years since we left her this year, I've I've spruced it up earlier this year. Um yeah, a nod with picture of the Milton Road end and the West stand. Some memorabilia from the Dell like this chair from the upper west. >> This is from the stand up. Yeah. >> Oh, nothing like a wooden seat. >> I've made the frontage of the bar to kind of look like the Milton Road end from the outside exterior. That was an idea I thought worked quite well. >> These have caught my eyes straight away. I very much recognize this kind of era of shirt. >> Yeah, my growing up era. >> So, you were at the last game, were you? >> Yeah, I was at [clears throat] the last game. Yeah. Memories. Oh, amazing. You know, Latizier scoring in the 89th minute is things dreams are made of. >> You do know you can probably only ever sell this house to a Southampton. >> I know. Yeah. They won't want to [music] buy it otherwise. [laughter] >> The famous ground full of memories which after 103 years is soon to be yesterday's news. I'm now heading along the South Coast to a club whose rise to the Premier League comes with the brilliant backstory of their grounds. >> [music] >> This is the Gold Stone, Brighton's old stadium. The ground was the home for 95 years, but by the time they left in 1997, it had become a battleground in a war between the people running the club at that time and a long-suffering fan base. There's an area of the country where seagulls are an endangered species. At the moment, Brighton are limbering up for the forthcoming season, not knowing whether or not they're [music] to be kicked out of the football league. Their old ground has been sold off and a new one is years [music] away from being completed. The previous season, fans had rioted over a potential ground share with Portsmouth. They survived extinction by the skin of their teeth, a draw with Heraford keeping them in the football league. Faced with a 2-hour coach journey to watch their local team's home fixtures, the prospect of traveling to Gillingham in between every away game has left plenty of space on the official fans bus. All the while, they were looking for a way to come back and find a new home within Brighton and home. And this is what they came up with. A welcome sign for Brighton fans everywhere as work begins on a new home for the club. The conversion of the W with Dean Athletics Ground could see the third division side back in Brighton early next year. >> I like it down here. People [music] say it's a bit of a strange place to come and play, but we've got used to it. >> That is Martin Hinchwood. And the Hinchwood family are well placed to tell Brighton's story. Adam, Martin's nephew, and his son, current first team player Jack, returned to the old ground to share their memories with me. >> The theater of trees, I think it got called back then. Lots of good memories. I stood behind that goal and uh was a ball boy and saw many a good Bobby Zamora goal. The building just behind there was where the players went after and during the day it was like a nursery. When we had a midweek game, they have to quickly pack all the nursery stuff away and set it up as like a a players bar. Jack, has your dad ever shown you any videos or did he ever bring you down there as a as a youngster? >> I do remember slightly coming down uh coming down that road. My mom's scrambling for a parking space. I've seen loads of videos, you know, we've got a DVD at home of the 0405 season which was Championship Great Escape, I think. Yeah, circle on that box. [laughter] >> Apparently in his early days he used to play right midfield which I can't believe cuz uh cuz I was fit [laughter] I just run up and down. Obviously show a lot of interest in my dad's career. >> It's one of the longest running sagas in football. But at last it seems Brighton's long quest for a new home is almost over. This cornfield on the rolling slopes of the South Downs is where the new stadium would be built. Brighton are now well established at the AMX and established as a Premier League side. For their fans, it's been quite a ride. >> Back of the net. My favorite memories of the Goldstone are on the days where I maybe had a hangover and I couldn't cope with the North Stand, but there was a little pocket called the Northeast Corner and it was where all the grumpiest but the people with the most sense of humor used to [music] go and the banter there was spectacular. It's one of my favorite places in the world. the coffee machine in the director's porter cabin that we're within um I still go back to in my dreams. [music] It should be called the within athletics track. Both my children had their school sports days there. It was all we had. >> We've come a long way [music and singing] together. >> A lot of the clubs that I've been at on this journey, it's felt like a bit of a club's soul has been left at a certain place. But I think in Brighton, this is a unique case. Feels almost like all the moves have been positive. >> Definitely. And I think the fans were a massive part of that. All the campaigning and the thousands of people that marched the streets and to see where it is now is unbelievable. An unbelievable story. >> Here is a word. He [cheering] makes no mistake. >> Be honest. How different is this compared to where you are now? >> Yeah, it's it's a bit different. I got to say that. I think the club's come a long way since then. It'd be nothing without this stadium. You know, it's massive part of the history as well as the Goldstone as well. The journey the club's been on it special. [music] >> It was time to head towards London now. And there was something on route [music] that caught my eye. Look there. Shh depot used by Southern Rail now, but it actually used to be the home of Crystal Palace. >> [music] >> This ground was the Cuden Common Athletic Ground, more commonly known as the Nest. [music] Palace left here for Shhurst Park in 1924. Look at that absolutely fantastic view. Moving through London, I headed to a ground with a fierce reputation. [music] [singing] >> A look into the future of football stadia. Yet the newest major ground in Britain is outside the premiership. >> It feels appropriate coming to the old den that we should approach it from cold low lane and the infamous walk that would have greeted many fans as they arrived here to watch football for the first time. And emerging into the light, this is where the old den would have stood. You can see right now it is a housing estate as it has been ever since they made the move. So half a mile in that direction. It was a move that was extremely significant in the history of English football. >> The Hillsborough disaster was the worst in British sporting history. Lord Justice Taylor has heard 174 witnesses, including police, players, fans, and stewards. Today, he outlined his recommendations. >> I think there are plenty of things that can be done quickly uh without undue expense which ought to be able to prevent that happening [music] again. The newly built den opened its doors in August 1993 and has been Milw Wall's home ever [music] since. It was the first stadium in English football to be fully compliant with all of the safety recommendations from the Taylor report. [music] Many of the features that are now commonplace was seen here for the first time. It was allsea crush barriers and perimeter [music] fencing were removed all in the interests of spectator safety. At a time when the Taylor report is forcing all grounds to be updated, First Division Milwall have taken the lead by spending£16 million on the all-seater Den Mark 2. >> Change in this country is hard for people to accept. We've got to move into the 21st century. >> It may be the way ahead, but whether many other clubs can afford a similar scheme is to be seen. As I moved through Southeast London, I'd been tipped off about a precious piece of football history, a north London club actually began life south of the river in Plumstead. This is the site of their old mana ground where they first played as Royal Arsenal. They later returned here as Wulitch Arsenal before leaving for Hibbury in 1913. But it's a ground where they played [music] at between 1890 and 1893 that I'm much more interested in. See if anyone's home >> petal. >> Yes. Come in. >> Ben, so good to meet you. I understand you got something hidden in the garden which we would love to see. >> Yes. Yeah. It's Arsenal uh old garden >> in here. >> In here. Yeah. >> Let's go. Thank you so much. >> Those are the steps of Arsenal ground. >> Wow. This is literally in your back garden. >> Yes. >> Oh my goodness. Look. Witch. Arsenal. Arsenal. >> It goes all the way through all the way through the back of the ter six houses. >> How did you find out that this was part of the old Arsenal? >> So some Arsenal fan they knocked on our door. They came with cup as well. >> With a cup. >> With a cup. Yeah. So that's how we found out that we have steps [laughter] Arsenal ground staff. >> What was your reaction honestly when they walked up? >> I was surprised because my husband was Arsenal fan. So he was like really happy. >> So this has been here forund plus years. >> We didn't do anything to it. We just left it like that. >> If you're listening Arteta and the players, >> get the team down here. There's a plea. Arsenal, come on. Bring the Premier League trophy here. >> Please, please. [laughter] >> I kept moving through the capital, over the temps, and into East London. >> Ah, there's the Berlin. [music] >> [music] >> The gates are about to close on this famous football venue. But a 100 odd years of history won't be forgotten. Anyone who remembered [music] the old chicken running over there. That was the ultimate stage. It was like the rooms [music] where the gladiators come in. It It was the perfect showcase. Most of the moves we've seen so far on this journey have been embraced. Leaving was painful, but supporters made peace with their new home. However, that isn't always the case. After a massive negotiation, I do want to pay tribute to both teams for a deal that I think is great for West Ham and for London and for football, which fully protects the interests of the taxpayer. >> We will put in a lump sum. We will pay a rent. We accept that the cost uh for making it that worldass stadium is coming uh from the government. >> We've been betrayed. That's the only word for it, betrayed and misled. No one wanted to leave Upton Park. But we were promised such big things that also has to be said that the appetite wasn't there to fight it, but there was excitement as well that perhaps it was, you know, the start of a new dawn. >> I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like this. That really isn't helping. >> The success rate at this stadium's been extremely poor. And in fact, the last season at Upton Park was light years better than anything we've done over here. None of the fans expected Champions League. I don't think we wanted Champions League. We just want to play good football and with a [laughter] bit of success. One of my friends on Hammers United, he he describes it this way. He says, "Imagine being in a [music] family home. You've been there for generations and everyone loves it. Then the family for some reason sells the family home and they move into a rented [music] accommodation. Now the quid proquo for that is you got plenty of cash. West Ham was skint. [music] Somehow they've managed to sell this ground and sell the land and they're skint. Upton Park bulldozed for housing. This place was home to so many legendary figures. Indeed, if you ask any West Ham fan, they'll tell you that they won the World Cup. And it's that 1966 moment that's captured here forever at the sight of the old bulling grounds. Goal scorer Martin Peters, hat-trick hero Sir Jeff Hurst, and on the shoulders of Ray Wilson, England captain Bobby Moore. >> Bobby Moore, Jeff Hurst, Martin Peters returned to Upton Park as World Cup heroes. >> So many memories, so many good people. There's so many fantastic moments happened here. It is sad. We can't just live in the past. We've got to make this new place. I mean, I hate it. Just about everyone I know hates it, but we've got to make it a fortress. In response to Paul's interview, [music] West Ham have told us that the stadium move to the third biggest football ground in the UK has given the [music] club the chance to improve its infrastructure and improve commercially whilst aiming to provide greater onfield success, including winning a European trophy. The club are proud of their competitive ticket pricing and have more than 50,000 current season ticket holders. And a key priority for West [music] Ham is to improve supporter engagement to try and enhance the match day experience at the London Stadium. I'm heading into Essex for the next stop and to South End. The club currently plays at Roots Hall as it battles to return to the football league. But one of their former homes was one of English football's most unusual venues. like to be beside [music] the seaside. [singing] I do like to be beside the sea. >> After a hot ride, where better place to cool off than the town seafront? And how about a quiz question? How many of our former grounds are also grade two listed buildings and abandoned amusement parks? This is the cursor. So distinctive it appeared on a royal male stamp in 2011, but it sat disused since before co. No football has been played here since 1934, but it has a remarkable history. Thought to be the world's first purpose-built amusement arcade, it once housed a circus, ballroom, ice rink, and even a zoo. It's also seen wall of death motorcycle rides. [music] And no, I won't be trying that. Queen played here, AC/DC played here, and for 15 years, so did South End United. The building has finally been bought and will hopefully be restored to its former glories, but I'm not sure if there are any plans for a football pitch anytime soon. Up through Essex to Colchester, who left Road for a new ground in 2008. They've done a fine job of preserving the site's history with a statue of Peter Wright, their player of the century. It was time to head back west and that took me to Luton. A footballing story for the ages. >> THE DARKEST DAYS WELL AND TRULY BEHIND THEM. A NEW SHINING dawn [cheering] for Luton Town FC. From the first division down to non-league and [music] back to the Premier League, all in the space of 31 years, Kennaworth Road is the stuff of footballing legend. There's a family here, family feeling um with all the supporters and the staff and the players and everybody. We have heart. >> The Luton fan base have been dragged from pillar to post. Hold that thought because this block takes restricted view to a whole new level. From any one of these seats, there are no fewer than 17 stansions blocking the view of the pitch. It's a bit snug as well. And this is the most famous entrance to an away end in the whole country. [music] The walk through the terrace houses to get into the back of the awayand is iconic, but it is a walk that not many more will get the opportunity to do because Luton Town are moving here. Power Court, a new ground scheduled to open in 2028. >> Bring me [music] sunshine in your smile. Bring me laughter [music] all the while. Gary, good to meet you. >> Lovely to meet you, Ben. >> You've got the grand plan here. Please talk me through. I'm excited to see >> this is the various plans of the stadium. You've got blocks of apartments on that side, the music venue, hotel, and blocks of apartments here. You're looking at about 11,000 standing and and 14,000 seated. There will be absolutely elements of Koworth Road, little key identity assets, little key rusty assets, you could say that that we're bringing over that where where we could use as a as a form of art. >> Should we go see the site? >> Yeah, let's do it. >> Can't wait. Come on. [music] >> Where the crane is, there is roughly where the center circle is, I think. [music] >> So, this will be landscaped. This is a really interesting one because we can't afford this to put this in until we get to the Premier League again, but we have to prepare for it. This is a hydropool for the players for their recovery after a game. If you start to think about that when you move to the Premier League without planning for it, cost you a mint. So, we thought, let's dig the hole and so that'll be concrete and over. We chose the best site without any doubt, shadow of a doubt. But we also chose the most difficult site. [laughter] The land was contaminated, but it had a river running through the middle which nobody saw cuz it was culverted and it was just an old industrial site and it had an old substation that was that was just about here but we moved see the new one over there. Those are the the the real main challenges of the land. A stadium relocation can make or break a football club. How do you get rid of something you love so much? If we want to progress as a football club and take the opportunity for the town, we we just simply have to move. I've got absolute confidence that once they're in, they'll be happy. >> I traveled north again. A similar journey made by Wimbledon all those years ago. An historic day for Wimbledon and for the whole of football. The day a whole club was transferred 70 miles away from its traditional home. [music] Wimbledon's first game in Milton Kees was played here in 2003. And before that, this was the national home of a very different sport. >> On a day when nearly 90,000 football f