![HTFCPlaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/HTFCPlaque.JPG)
Leeds Road was 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
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
,
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 operated from its construction in 1908 until the
Kirklees Stadium
Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league ...
was opened nearby for the
1994–95 season. It was the home of
Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
from 1908 to 1994 and was also the base for
Huddersfield RLFC from 1992 to 1994.
History
The ground was opened in September 1908 with a
friendly against
Bradford Park Avenue.
The record attendance was 67,037 in a 1–0 FA Cup 6th Round defeat against
Arsenal on 27 February 1932.
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
also played six home games at Leeds Road during the
1985–86 season, while its
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...
home was rebuilt following the
Bradford City stadium fire.
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
also played a home match at Leeds Road in the 1948 FA Cup run while
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
was being rebuilt following damage from German bombers in the
Second World War
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 ...
.
A single international match took place at the ground, when
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 ...
defeated the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
8–2 in a friendly on 27 November 1946. This was England's second home international match after
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 ...
, the first having been held at
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, Manchester two weeks earlier.
In January 1990, the
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
required all clubs in the top two divisions of English football to have an all-seater stadium by the
1994–95 season. Huddersfield were in the Third Division at this stage, but were aiming for promotion - finally achieving it in 1995. The club's board decided to replace Leeds Road with a new all-seater stadium at a different location, and quickly settled on a new site opposite the original stadium.
In 1991 the ground was the venue for
Emley's first appearance 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 ...
first round proper, a crowd of 9,035 is a club record for the village team from the hills outside Huddersfield, Bolton won the game 3-0.
Huddersfield Town played their 1,554th and final League game at the Leeds Road ground on 30 April 1994, beating
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
2–1, watched by a near capacity crowd of 16,195.
Town's oldest-surviving ex-player,
Joe Walter, was guest of honour at the match.
[
The ground was demolished soon afterwards and the site was redeveloped as a retail park. The point once occupied by the centre spot is now marked by a ]plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pla ...
in the car park, outside B&Q.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield settled into its new stadium – the Alfred McAlpine Stadium
Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to naming rights, sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Association football, football club ...
.
Notes
References
* ''Huddersfield Town - 75 years on - A History of Huddersfield Town'' by George S. Binns
* ''Huddersfield Town - A Complete Record 1910–1990''
External links
*
{{coord, 53, 39, 27.108, N, 1, 46, 02.4276, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
Huddersfield Giants
Defunct football venues in England
Sports venues completed in 1908
1994 disestablishments in England
Defunct rugby league venues in England
English Football League venues
1908 establishments in England
Sports venues in Huddersfield