Aggborough Stadium is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium in
Kidderminster,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is the home ground of
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
, and has a capacity of 7,000, of which 3,140 can be
seated. The ground was also the home of
Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane.
Worcester City's ...
between 2013 and 2016.
History
The ground was opened in May 1890 with a single grandstand on the western touchline, and initially included a banked running track.
[Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p12, ] In 1935 a new 460-seat grandstand was built, and by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
covered areas had been created on the east and southern sides of the ground.
[
After the war the running track was replaced by a cycle track. On 27 November 1948, the ground's record attendance of 9,155 was set for an ]FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
first round replay against Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
. On 14 September 1955 Aggborough Stadium became the first ground to host a floodlit FA Cup match,[ when Harriers faced Brierley Hill Alliance in a preliminary round replay, with Kidderminster winning 4–2.
A new East Stand was built in 1979, and terracing was created all around the pitch in 1983. The ground was rebuilt in the 1990s, with the cycle track removed and a new Main Stand built in 1994. Covered terracing was added at each end of the pitch.][ When Kidderminster won their first ]Conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
title in 1994, Aggborough Stadium was not deemed to meet Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
standards and as a result Kidderminster were denied promotion to Division Three. By the time Kidderminster won their second Conference title six years later, the ground had been upgraded to Football League standards and promotion was allowed. In 2003, the new 2,040-seat cantilever stand was built to replace the old East Stand.[
]
References
External links
Stadium
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Aggborough
at StadiumDB.com
Sports venues in Worcestershire
Football venues in England
Welsh Cup final venues
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Buildings and structures in Kidderminster
Sports venues completed in 1890
English Football League venues
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