Princes Park is a football stadium in Dartford,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It is the home of

Dartford F.C. Dartford Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Dartford, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed i ...

and

London City Lionesses London City Lionesses is a fully professional women's association football club based in Dartford, England. The team competes in the Women's Championship, the second tier of English women's football. The club was founded in May 2019, as an i ...

. Thamesmead Town were also sharing the ground with Dartford since 2017 until going out of business in October 2018. The stadium's postcode is DA1 1RT, the closest possible representation of the word "Dart". DA1 1FC was unobtainable, as the letter C is not allocated for use at the end of British postcodes. The stadium is owned by

Dartford Borough Council Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...

Construction

Construction work began on 14 November 2005. Designed by Alexander Sedgley architects, the stadium has a capacity of 4,100 (642 seated), and has been described as one of the most ecologically sound ever built. The pitch level is sunk two meters below the external ground level to reduce

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

and

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

. It is estimated to have cost around £7 million. The stadium was opened on 11 November 2006 when Dartford FC, who had been without a home ground in the borough since 1992, beat Horsham YMCA 4–2 in an

Isthmian League Division One South The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

league fixture, in front of a capacity 4,097 crowd. The stadium roof has a

sedum ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succul ...

roof blanket, a living roof that provides a natural

air filtration A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes solid particulates such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbon) may also ...

system. Solar panels on the roof serve the community changing areas and public toilets

hot water storage A hot water storage tank (also called a hot water tank, thermal storage tank, hot water thermal storage unit, heat storage tank and hot water cylinder) is a water tank used for storing hot water for space heating or domestic use. Water is a con ...

cylinders. The roof is supported by treated Glulam timber beams. Water recycling system which serves the toilets within the clubhouse. Rain water is collected in the two large ponds at the north end of the stadium grounds.

Underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and ...

on both levels of the clubhouse. Low energy lighting. Increased fabric

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

to give the clubhouse better thermal retention and efficiency.

Condensing boiler Condensing boilers are water heaters typically used for heating systems that are fueled by gas or oil. When operated in the correct circumstances, a heating system can achieve high efficiency (greater than 90% on the higher heating value) by cond ...

s to provide a more energy efficient system. Also excavated earth was reused for landscaping the external courtyard areas around the stadium.

Facilities

Princes Park has an all-weather training pitch available for community use, and the stadium's clubhouse which contains bars, banqueting suites and meeting rooms. Located close to Dartford town centre and the M25 motorway, Princes Park is also served by a dedicated " Fastrack" bus stop. The use of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

for travel to the stadium is encouraged, although there is a dedicated

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

with spaces for up to 300 vehicles. Vehicle access is via Grassbanks, a new road named by the winner of a local newspaper competition. On non-matchdays, this is available for use as a "

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

" station for users of the Fastrack bus service.

Sports

Sports played at the stadium include *Football -

and

play home matches at the stadium *

Road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

- Dartford Roadrunners are based at the stadium *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

- Princes Golf, a nine-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

, which closed in November 2005 when construction work on the stadium began, and was re-opened in October 2007 after remodelling work.

Commendations

The stadium has received a number of commendations for its design and environmentally friendly features. The

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the va ...

acknowledged the stadium for being "green", and the venue has received significant publicity in the national press. Princes Park was the winner of the GT Ground Awards, "Best New Non-League Ground" award. saying, "Let's hope other forward-thinking councils will follow their lead." On

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

Soccer AM ''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports. First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the f ...

'' show in April 2007, Fashion designer and architect

Wayne Hemingway Wayne Andrew Hemingway (born 19 January 1961) is an English designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. He is also on the Design Council Trustee Board and having been with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for a de ...

said of Princes Park "It’s got a grass roof all the way around the outside, it’s got solar panels it’s totally sustainable and creates its own electricity. That’s the way that buildings should go, it’s just fantastic, and it’s definitely the best stadium in the country." Adding that "the absolute number one new stadium in the country is from a club that is in the conference - Dartford" ahead of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and the new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

References

External links

Princes Park websiteDartford FC official websiteDartford Roadrunners official website
{{coord, 51, 26, 13.82, N, 0, 13, 50.88, E, type:landmark, display=title Football venues in England Sports venues in Kent Dartford F.C. Greenwich Borough F.C. Dartford Sports venues completed in 2006