HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, 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
Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County F.C. between 1907 and 1925 and then its successor
Rotherham United F.C. 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 ...
until 2008. The stadium has had no professional tenant since, but has been in use again for local youth football since 2016. It has been described as 'the spiritual home' of Rotherham United.


History

The stadium was in use during the 1890s, with Rotherham Church Institute using the ground in the
Sheffield Association League The Sheffield Association League was an English association football league based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. History The league was founded in 1897 to fill the void left by the disbandment of the Sheffield & District Football League, which ...
. and presently has a capacity of around 8,300. During the 1990s, relocation to a new all-seater stadium in Rotherham was considered, but the original preferred site for a new stadium had become unavailable by the time Rotherham won promotion to
Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
in 2001, and so the club were faced with the need to develop a new all-seater stadium at Millmoor or elsewhere. Initially, the club chose to convert Millmoor into an all-seater stadium. Redevelopment work was started on the ground, with a new main stand being built in place of the previous wooden main stand which was built in the 1950s. The new stand was planned to contain corporate facilities and bring the capacity back to over 10,000. The work was scheduled to finish in 2006, but faced a series of setbacks, one of which was
Japanese knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
being found on the site. The work was never finished and the main stand remains half-built. Rotherham United have now moved to a new community stadium. In May 2011
Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...
and Rotherham Council announced a plan to allow the
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club to move into Millmoor. After much speculation it was announced in December 2011 that the Titans would remain at Clifton Lane for the foreseeable future due to the deal falling through. Millmoor hosted a number of memorable Rotherham United games including a first leg of the inaugural Football League Cup final against Aston Villa in 1961, which Rotherham won 2–0. On 22 September 2007, for Rotherham United's game against
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
, it was a special day to celebrate 100 years at Millmoor. The game ended 1–1, with Peter Holmes scoring for the Millers. There were special articles in the matchday programme and a commemorative cover. There were balloons all around Millmoor, with the Millers' badge, and the words '100 Years at Millmoor'. Fans were urged to wear retro Rotherham United shirts in order to be entered into a raffle. Many fans were seen with new scarves with Rotherham United F.C. on one side and 1907–2007 on the other side. In May 2008, Rotherham United were forced to leave Millmoor after talks with Ken Booth, owner of Millmoor, broke down. The team played at the athletics
Don Valley Stadium Don Valley Stadium was a sports stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The venue, which was completed in September 1990, hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was designed by Sheffield City Council's Design & Building Services and nam ...
in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
until 2012, when the club moved into a new community stadium back in Rotherham. Despite this, Millmoor remains in existence more than a decade after the football club's departure and has been used for other sports purposes.


Structure and facilities


Tivoli End

The Tivoli was a favourite amongst the fans. The stand holds up to 2,700. It was a terrace but was later seated during the club's time in the
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
.


Railway End

The Railway End is the away fans section where over 2,000 fans can be accommodated. This end is covered and all seated. An unusual feature is that away fans can only access this end by going down Millmoor Lane, which is a narrow alleyway. The acoustics on the railway end are said to be some of the best and fans can generate a lot of noise. If needed, away fans can be given additional seats in a section of the Millmoor Lane stand. The railway referred to in the stand's name is the now closed line to the former
Rotherham Westgate railway station Rotherham Westgate railway station was the eastern terminus of the five-mile-long Sheffield and Rotherham Railway, the first passenger-carrying railway in the Sheffield/Rotherham area. In central Rotherham on the eastern bank of the River Don ...
.


Main stand

Redevelopment work was started on this stand, however ceased and in November 2007 the club confirmed that it had no intentions to complete this stand or modernise any part of the stadium due to the difficulty in reaching a deal to purchase the land surrounding Millmoor from the previous chairman. This dispute later led to Rotherham United moving away from the stadium. The stand remains partly finished.


Millmoor Lane End

Opposite to the Main Stand is the Millmoor Lane side of the ground. It is split up into three sections: *Tivoli end/Uncovered end - before the ground was all-seated in conformity with the rules of the
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
, the corner of the ground underneath the floodlights was a continuation of the terraces of the Tivoli End. When the section was all seated, the Tivoli End was split up into two parts for safety reasons: the part of the stand segregated from the Tivoli Stand is now simply called "The Uncovered End" due to the fact there is no roof over the heads of the home supporters housed there. *Millmoor Lane - in the middle of the Millmoor Lane side is the Millmoor Lane, which is a small stand for home supporters.


Other uses

Greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
took place at Millmoor Stadium from 11 May 1931 until 29 July 1933. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...
) and was known as a flapping track which was the nickname given to independent tracks.


References

{{Coord, 53, 25, 42.12, N, 1, 22, 12.83, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Rotherham United F.C. Defunct football venues in England Sports venues in Rotherham Defunct football venues in South Yorkshire Sports venues completed in 1907 English Football League venues 1907 establishments in England Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom