The Mazuma Stadium (formerly known as the Globe Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in
Morecambe, Lancashire, England, which is the home of
Morecambe F.C.
Morecambe Football Club is a professional football club in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Nicknamed the "Shrimps" due to the coastal town's local specialit ...
The stadium replaced the old Morecambe F.C. stadium,
Christie Park, which was Morecambe's home from 1921 to 2010. The stadium holds up to 6,476 supporters, with 2,173 seats available in the Main Stand, which runs the length of one side of the pitch. Opposite the Main Stand is an uncovered terrace with a capacity of 606, giving a similar feel to the ground as that at
Christie Park. At either ends of the pitch are the home and away stands, with the home end holding a maximum of 2,234 supporters and the away end having a capacity of 1,389. In the north east corner of the stadium is the Tyson Fury Foundation, which is split between two floors. The building also houses a gym, which was purchased by
Tyson Fury
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...
in August 2020.
History
Work officially started on clearing the site of trees on 9 May 2009, and work above ground started in early September 2009. By the middle of September the first main structure of the Main Stand was visible, and in early 2010 the other three stands were being developed. In late May the pitch was seeded.
It was originally planned that the stadium would be ready for the
2009–10 season, but delays meant that it would not be ready until the
2010–11 season.
Globe Arena's opening game was to be a friendly against
Bolton Wanderers on 28 July 2010, with the official opening of the stadium due to be marked by a local derby against rivals
Preston North End on 31 July. However, all three planned home pre-season friendly fixtures were cancelled because of site delays. The stadium's opening game was instead against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
for Morecambe's
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
first-round tie on 10 August, in which Morecambe marked the occasion by beating their Championship opponents 2–0, with
Andy Fleming scoring the first two goals at the stadium.
The first league game at the Globe Arena was a 0–0 draw with
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
. Their first league win came in a 1–0 match against
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
. The Shrimps' biggest victory on the ground was a 6–0 defeat of
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
, with striker
Phil Jevons
Phillip Jevons (born 1 August 1979) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a forward who played between 1996 and 2014 for Everton, Grimsby Town, Hull City, Yeovil Town, Bristol City, Huddersfield ...
becoming the first player to score a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
on the ground.
A record of 5,375 was set on 28 August 2013 when Morecambe hosted
Newcastle United in the 2nd Round of the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
with Newcastle emerging 2–0 winners. That record was broken in a
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
matchup against
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
eight years later to the day, on 28 August 2021, where 5,481 people attended and saw a 1–0 win for the home side; that was broken the same season, when 5,617 spectators were in attendance for a 1–1 draw against Bolton Wanderers, and once more in the last game of the season when 5,831 saw Morecambe fall 0-1 to
Sunderland but maintain their place in League One for a second consecutive season.
Stands
Wright and Lord Stand
![Globe Arena - 3 - geograph-2209670](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Globe_Arena_-_3_-_geograph-2209670.jpg)
The stand is named after chairman Peter McGuigan, to celebrate his 10 years in charge of the club. The stand can also be known as the Main Stand and runs along the side of the pitch. Within the stand, there are facilities on three floors; the ground floor includes advanced changing, first aid, home, away and officials' dressing rooms, gym and office facilities for players and management, as well as a bar, club shop, and reception area on the public side. On the first floor there is a 387m sq hospitality suite for matchday use; it can be sub-divided into three separate areas for smaller functions and private parties, and will be available throughout the year for non-matchday functions including conferencing use for up to 360 people. On the second floor are five private boxes which each accommodate 10 people, a sponsors' lounge for 24 people, and the directors' lounge. All have private catering facilities and their own bird's eye view of the pitch.
Bartercard Stand
![Globe Arena Omega Holidays stand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Globe_Arena_Omega_Holidays_stand.jpg)
The Bartercard Stand is also known as the West Stand. It accommodates 2,234 standing home spectators and is located to the left end goal mouth. The stand has a bar and catering outlets to the rear.
Dennison Trailers Stand
![Globe Arena Bay Radio stand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Globe_Arena_Bay_Radio_stand.jpg)
The Dennison Trailers Stand can also be known as the East Stand, and is located to the right end goalmouth. The Stand accommodates 1,389 standing visiting spectators and has a bar and catering outlets.
‘Berlin Wall’ Terrace
![Globe Arena Open Terrace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Globe_Arena_Open_Terrace.jpg)
The Terrace is an uncovered standing area that, like the Peter McGuigan stand, runs along the side of the pitch. It accommodates 606 home spectators and has catering facilities available. At the end of the stand is the Community Block, currently owned by Tyson Fury. It was not open to supporters for the League Cup match against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
because not everything was completed, but it was opened at the next game against
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
. The terrace also houses the ground's scoreboard.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Morecambe F.C.
Football venues in England
Sports venues in Lancashire
Buildings and structures in Morecambe
English Football League venues
Sports venues completed in 2010
2010 establishments in England