Keys Park
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Keys Park, which is currently known as The PRG Roofing and Construction ground, is the home of the Hednesford Town Football Club, and is situated on Keys Park Road in the town of
Hednesford Hednesford (pronounced ) is a historic market town in the Cannock Chase district of Staffordshire, England. Cannock Chase is to the north, the town of Cannock to the south and Rugeley to the southwest.The population at the 2011 census was 1 ...
, Staffordshire. The club previously played at the Cross Keys, a ground situated behind the pub of the same name. The stadium was completed during the summer of 1995, at a cost of £1.3 million. Its original capacity was set at 3,500; a smart main stand housing changing rooms, club offices and social facilities, a shallow uncovered terrace on the Wimblebury side of the ground and two identical covered terraces at either end of the ground. The stadium was first used in a friendly game against
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
in July of that year. Keys Park was officially opened by Sir
Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...
later that year, in a ceremony that included a friendly against
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. In January 1997, Keys Park saw its highest attendance ever as over 3,000 people witnessed the Pitmen's 1–0 win over
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
in the
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 ...
Third Round. During the following season, three sides of the ground were developed; the Heath Hayes End was converted into a 1,000 capacity open terrace, whilst the Wimblebury side was turned into a large uncovered terrace. Seating was installed at the previously terraced Hednesford End to raise the ground capacity over the 6,000 needed for a grade 'A' rating by
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
, which was granted in 1998. Despite relegation from the
Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
in 2001, the club proceeded with its plans to make the stadium covered on all four sides, and with the help of a Football Association grant, the club installed roofs on each of the uncovered terraces at the Heath Hayes End and on the Wimblebury Terrace. The Northern Premier League Play-Off Final between Hednesford and United of Manchester on 11 May 2013 saw a new record with a crowd of 4,412 people to watch the Pitmen win 2-1 and promotion to the Conference North.


References

Football venues in England Sports venues in Staffordshire Sports venues completed in 1995 Hednesford {{England-sports-venue-stub