What makes old football stadiums so iconic 😍 | Lost Grounds | Episode 5

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Lost Grounds episode 5: touring England's old stadiums and the memories they leave behind

The episode visits old grounds connected with Oxford United, Wimbledon, Brentford, Barnet, Tottenham, Arsenal and Wembley, and looks at what they have become. Its central idea is that stadiums can be replaced by hospitals, housing, churches or parks, but the community attachment and matchday memories remain; interviewees are both nostalgic and pragmatic about moves and rebuilds.

► Subscribe to Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Watch Sky Sports with NOW: https://bit.ly/NOWFootballYT In the final episode of Lost Grounds Ben Ransom travels around London visiting old football grounds to see what they have become, featuring a park made out of the old Wembley stadium. football footballstadium footballground Chapters 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Manor Ground 03:20 - Elm Park 04:02 - Plough Lane 08:24 - Griffin Park 12:15 - Underhill 14:10 - White Hart Lane 16:35 - Highbury 20:59 - Wembley 24:47 - Outro ► 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: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage

Transcript

I've been touring the country looking for lost football grounds. Last time out, I discovered a piece of Arsenal's past. Witch Arsenal and explored West Ham's ground move. Wo, >> we've been betrayed. >> This time I revisit a famous tradition in Brenford. >> Yes, mate. >> Reminisce with Hibbury heroes. >> Hibbury, it's a icon stadium. and talk Twin Towers with an England superstar. >> I do glance across and say there they are. >> I've reached the final stretch, the last lap of this magnificent journey. In fact, I'm racing to my next appointment from Northampton to Oxford. Although sadly no time to drop in for a lap of Silverstone. [music] >> In the industrial area near the Cowi Robo Works, the Manound is tucked away. >> The Manound 25 years on from its final game and Oxford United's move to the Casam Stadium. >> The League Cup triumph of 1986 is Oxford's little piece of history. Now they're looking to the future through the computer screen when Oxford's new stadium is completed. It was always a scrap for anyone that come to the mana ground and the slope. We like to kick light towards the cop. Second half we like to go down the slope. It had a really good atmosphere about it, you know. I loved it. It was a great ground. >> John Aldridge was part of Oxford United's greatest ever side, winning the League Cup in 1986. But a mana for fans and players alike is [music] now a hospital. Fortunately, I found someone to show me around. [music] >> You work here? >> I do. >> And you've been an Oxford fan for as long as you can remember. uh since I was born. >> What have we got here? >> So, basically this is Annabelle. She designed the sculpture that's outside the front of the hospital and it she built it to basically commemorate the fact that this used to be the mana ground. It's like the collaboration of when the old ground was here, but also now that we're still serving the community with patients. >> So, you stood on one of the terraces. >> Yes. So, this is Beach Road. This was the main entrance to the football ground. This is where everybody used to come into the ground. The actual ground starts at the start of the brick paving. My seat was just here and I was right on the end towards the London road end and that's where I used to stand with my dad. There was about seven stands. They were all different. They were all higgledy piggledy. You had some with a roof. You had some no roof. So they were completely open to the elements. >> Where the base of the umbrella is is the center spot off the pitch right here. >> So this is it. This is where every game at the Mana Ground kicked off. Right here. >> Absolutely. Directly below that umbrella. >> Perfectly by a parasol. >> By a parasol. [laughter] Yes. >> It had to be something for the community cuz the club was a community. The club is a family. And here now we're still serving the community. It's just just slightly different now. >> Despite having only been at the CASAM for 25 years, the club hoped to be on the move again soon. And this is that new site known as the Triangle. They're set to move again in 2028 when their lease at the Casam Stadium expires. [music] And moving along to Reading, a club that's had to endure plenty of highs and lows. Last [music] season, the Royals saw the last of Elm Park, falling to the depths of division 1. Hope is now looming with their long- awaited move to their new 37 million pound home, the Majetski Stadium. Their current ground hosted two spells of Premier League football. But more recently, the story has been one of off-field turmoil, supporter protest, and a change of ownership. Reading left Elm Park in 1998 after more than a century. Today, the site is once again a housing estate. [music] Back in London, it's time to tell the other half of the story we began in Milton Kees. The bulldozers have moved in to bring to [music] an end the biggest fairy tale in football. This pile of rubble used to be home to the most feared, most loathed, and perhaps the most romantic football [music] team in the history of the modern game. thought this was the perfect [music] place to start. This is the Plow Lane Memorial. This is the corner of where Wimbledon played for a large large part of their history. This marks the sound levels of the most famous moment in the club's history, the 1988 FA Cup final victory. It is a lasting reminder of what was here before. Angus from the Dons Trust is here to speak to us. Hello, Angus. Thank you. We're on plow lane. >> We are SW19. both the former and now current home of Wimbledon which is magical. [music] >> This is our home. This is the lane as we call it. >> The dons know the time has come to move on. From next month, [music] Wimbledon will share Sur Park with Crystal Palace. >> There's lots of photographs and posters of people manning the barricades because people were so unhappy at the idea that the ground was being sold. the period when we were nomads at Sohus Park. There was a whole campaign around then and trying to find another ground in the burough then. >> It looks like Wimbledon will never return to their roots in the South London burough of Merton for this is the future. Unfortunately for Wimbledon's tiny but dedicated band of supporters, it's going to be built 70 mi away in Milton Kees. These fans are adamant they won't be supporting Wimbledon and Milton Kees because according to them, what they know as Wimbledon won't be playing there. Congratulations. You've stolen the shell of Wimbledon Football Club. >> You haven't taken the heart. >> You've killed club and you've killed football. >> We are Wimbledon. You can't just take a club and uproot it and move it to another another county. It's always been important for us to get back to the burough. After a while, the campaign coalesed around getting back to plow lane because we had this opportunity for this space here, [music] which formerly was a dog track and stock car and speedway station. We had to raise the money and we raised the money through bonds. >> So, our members and supporters [music] funded our move back to Plow Lane. I mean, what an impossible dream to have. >> Get back to the same street that we came from. >> The new Plow Lane pays plenty of tributes to the old one. I can see the FA Cup trophy 1988. We [music] talked about it on the terraces at the old player lane because my I remember my cousin saying to me probably with the Southern League or fourth division. He said, "Do you think we'll ever win the FA Cup?" And I was like, "Not in my lifetime." >> Does it still work? >> It sort of works. >> Try. Yeah. >> Here we go. Into the old plane, the new plow lane. That's magnificent. This obviously is important to you. Womble till I die. What's the story behind these? What are they? Gates. >> Yeah. So this was these were put up when they closed the old flower lane. The developers put these [music] up to prevent people getting in. Someone obviously came up with the uh the artwork till I die [music] which is sort of part of one of our songs. Anyway um and it just sort of summed up the um the feeling of the fans at the [music] time. >> There are also nods to the grounds they played at after reforming as a Phoenix club. With the club now the proud owners of the Kings Meadows Stadium, it's [music] a case of all hands to the pump as the former Dons Rebels pursue their dream of bringing league football back to Southwest London. >> It started out as a kind of a a ground share. Improved it every time we progressed. We put the improvements in to make it viable for the league we were in. Didn't really feel like home, but it done us a good 17 [music] 18 years. I don't want to make you too emotional, [music] but how does it feel as a fan when it was announced in 2016? It was like, wow, we're going home. [music] And then to come here during the construction as well to see it's actually happening, you know, and to be this close to the old ground as well is just unbelievable really. Something I I hoped to see but didn't [music] think I'd see in my lifetime. >> Next stop, Brenford. [music] la. [music] >> Welcome to Griffin Park. Looking very different to the last time you saw it. >> The actual stadium itself is quite simple to take down. We got a ball out and had a kick around before we started taking it down. >> After a long journey, there was time to unwind. And like so many football fans, before kickoff, there was only one place to go. The pub. >> Brenford is famously [music] the only stadium in England with a pub on all four corners. >> Brenford may not play at Griffin Park anymore, but the fans still very much turn out on a match day, especially when the sun is shining. Let's try pub one of the four. >> There's definitely a feelood factor. >> There is a feelood factor and the club has been run well and it's great for the local area. Everybody loves it here. So this is the brook, formerly the Royal Oak. You can see the old sign up there, but there is no sign of life whatsoever. Look, Monday, Tuesday closed. Saturday 5. I guess that's a sign of the times, right? This place would have been absolutely bustling on match day. >> Super. The third corner, the famous Griffin, the pub that gave inspirations the name of Griffin Park and was once the club headquarters. Even after the move on a match day, it's still thriving. When the ground was still just across the road, we used to, I would say, have roughly about 500 people come in throughout the day. we got just sort of given to us from neighbors down the road. But the seat is actually my seat from Griffin Park. >> No, not doesn't want an interview. >> Yes, mate. What can you hear? >> I would like uh one uh Guinness. >> Do we do cash these days? Yeah. Okay, great. I'm going to sneak out though while it's quiet. And >> this is it. Four corners of Griffin Park. This is the old Princess Royal, now an Armenian church. This is the old Princess Royal pub. >> Yes. Before years is Princess Royal Park. >> So, how long have you been here? >> 4 years. >> The bar is right here. >> There's a bar is here. Yeah. >> Wow. In the middle of London to have like an Armenian center here, so closely connected to a football ground. It's quite magical in a way. We've been talking about spirit in [music] football and there's there's definitely a spirit here now, which is so nice. And this would have been the main entrance to the park right here. How much work had to go into changing this place into what it is now? >> Lots of work >> because it was closed for a long time. >> It was long time. [music] And I said is everything changed except the walls. [laughter] Honestly, >> the walls on the heart. >> The walls has heart. Yes. >> The church now serves as a thriving cultural center. When I arrived, rehearsals for the weekend's performance were in full swing. That was so good. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, >> Richard III. Yes, >> of course. Bit of William Shakespeare for you. bit of history [music] >> from Brenford up to North London and to a club actually fighting to return to their former home. >> Farewell to Underh Hill. It's time for Baret to say goodbye. The famous slope will be consigned to memory. We always like, okay, you know what? [music] First half we always go up the hill and second half we go down the hill. That was the strategy. >> We are in Barnett where Barnets FC haven't actually played [music] a professional game for more than a decade after moving to a new stadium at the Hive. However, there are plans to try and bring the club back [music] into the burough. It's not quite as simple though as you might think. Under Hill the stadium, it was there for over a century. There's a school there now. The spiritual home of Barnett still is in the mind of supporters. >> It was not the best, but I'm used to, you know, play on the streets. When you come from there, if somebody has love and wants to play, then you know, it's it's all good. >> Can I ask you a bit about the move away? It's relatively recent. Why is that move away not been deemed to be a success? >> If you're a resident at the other end of Barnett, to get to the hive on a Saturday can take [music] an hour. On a Tuesday night, it's n impossible to finish work and get to the stadium for a game. >> [music] >> So it wasn't a popular decision amongst the majority of supporters when we left. We didn't really have a choice when we left. When you've [music] spent your entirety coming to what is home and to have that taken away from you, yeah, it's a [music] big hit. >> The plans to go back to Barnett are proving difficult. A planning application to build a new ground on this field has been rejected and alternative options are being explored. I think they're obviously very concerned that they're losing an open space, but there's an [music] abundance of this sort of space in the burough anyway. The benefits that the club will bring back to the Burough of Baret are huge. Nearly £3 million a year back into the local high street. [music] We lost a load of support in the burough when we left the burough. That's difficult to replicate. We got a much better chance here of survival and a sustainable future. >> I'm driving through North London. trying to find one of England's newest and grandest grounds. [music] >> The send off of White Island was emotional. Now we're here and I know the atmosphere is going to be electric. >> It's an Iowa night from the first time on the opening night of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. >> This place is [music] every bit as spectacular close up. England's third largest stadium. It has become the benchmark for modern era ground moves in this country. The construction of this site was a remarkable build, a 400 million pound project [music] on the site of their former home. [music] It's one of the games iconic names. The time has come to celebrate and to say farewell to Whiteart Lane. >> I'm all over the world. You always bump into Spurs fans and always, you know, it comes up [music] White Out Lane. White Out Lane. You share those memories with a lot of people. >> White Hot Lane was a a special place. There [music] aren't many old stadiums like that anymore. They're kind of a dying breed. It was a difficult place to leave. That process [music] is difficult to adapt to that new place. This clock is one of the few surviving elements of White Hart Lane. And for some people, the importance of their old stadium goes far beyond football. We're very happy indeed to declare you husband and wife. [music] [music] >> We had our wedding reception at the old ground in the Bill Nicholson suite. >> We both come in a roll white Rolls-Royce through the gate. My side have always been Spurs lot. I just wanted to be there like it didn't matter whether it was a wedding or not. I think that's one of our favorite >> favorites celebrating an imaginary goal in the West End. After the meal, people would then go and have a look and try and see if they recognized any [music] of the players. I felt so special going in in the Rolls-Royce as a married woman. You can never replicate that. >> Football truly the beautiful game. [music] I made the short hop between North London rivals and to the home of the Premier League champions. [music] >> 2026 will always be the year that Arsenal celebrated their first title here at the Emirates. But when they last lifted the trophy back in 2004, home was half a mile down the road at Hybrid. Run through the stor. [music] >> Time has run out on Hybrid, but it's going out with a bang. Hibbury is unique. Like many former football grounds, it's now a housing development, but unlike many others, it looks very different. Hybrbridge [music] Stadium is used to having long cues outside on most Saturdays, but not many in June. These fans aren't here to buy match tickets or merchandise, [music] but flats. >> I must be in the right place. >> You are indeed. You are indeed. The home of Arsenal. That's uh Joe Mercer lifting the 1950s FA Cup trophy. And we're basically a legacy business on the back of the regeneration of the Arsenal Football Club. We've got the original brochures of uh all the stands. East and West are listed, so they were preserved. North and South were built from scratch. >> And how many apartments, flats? >> 725. >> Wow. >> There was a huge uptake and you could actually get a season ticket at the same time as buying a flat if you opted in. >> So, you've bought the flat? >> Yes, we have. Yeah. >> How much of an incentive was the Arsenal season ticket? >> Uh, quite an incentive for me cuz I'm a big Arsenal fan. >> If you're a football fan, this is a unique development. Absolutely stunning. Hybrid Square still follows the shape of the old ground with the pitch now transformed into communal gardens. >> Packing up the pitch before the bulldozers move in. Nearly 5,000 [music] Arsenal supporters have purchased their piece of history, a section of the famous hybrid [music] turf. >> It's nice to kind of take on a piece of the turf. The art deco facads of the east and west stands have been preserved as part of this amazing development. And in the magnificent marble entrance hall, the bust of legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman still remains. >> But listen to the noise as Hibbury prepares to greet the champions. >> Even the players tunnel survives now as an entrance to the communal gardens. Just another reminder of this ground's [music] magnificent past. >> After months of negotiation, finances for Ashton Grove have been given the go-ahead. Arsenal's new 60,000 capacity stadium should be ready in time for the start of the 20067 season. >> Great news for Arsenal football club and for all our fans because this is what we've been waiting for. Everybody's been working so hard. Our capacity was something like 36,000 at Hybrid and we really needed a bigger stadium and at one stage when we couldn't get anywhere with Islington I was even thinking about getting Wembley when we saw that particularly Manchester United who were at the time really our arch rivals you know they were getting [music] 70,000 people and we had 36,000 we we couldn't compete so we did definitely had to move >> quite literally unbeatable the title and a place in history belongs to Arsenal >> Hbury. It's a icon stadium. I [music] loved the tightness of the corridor, the atmosphere at the stadium. You really felt the fans noises on the back of your shoulder and we always felt them really really close to us. Atmosphere wise is one of the greatest stadium [music] I ever played for. >> It was difficult because the atmosphere quite wasn't the same. But the good news is that it was geographically [music] very close. But nevertheless, it took a little bit of time to settle down. Hybrid was our ancestral home. It's where we belonged. And so many happy memories there. >> And my heart will leave you. [music] My blood will forever run through the stor. [music] There was just one final stop on my epic journey. The home of English football. >> Wembley. Wembley. [music] [singing] >> The magic of Wembley Stadium is known to every sports fan throughout Britain and around the world. It's been our national stadium for over 70 years now, but the old place is showing its age. Wembley needs rebuilding. >> Wemmbley Stadium, the Twin Towers for generations, a pilgrimage for football supporters. So, you might be wondering why in full motorcycle gear I'm hiking up a mound in West London next to the A40 called Northa [music] Fields. Well, the answer lies beneath my feet. For the last few days, hundreds have [music] come from across the country for a last glimpse of Wembley Stadium and its muchloved Twin Towers. [music] Twins preparing for a sentimental separation. They'd been together for over 80 years. By the middle of next week, the North London skyline will have changed forever. This park opened in 2008. Its four hills were made out of the rubble of the old Wembley Stadium. Can you imagine? The twin towers now used fo