With the English premiership football league actions on air,the eyes of many football fans will most likely turn to the TV screen, towards the UK and one of the country's football team, the Chelsea football club. Many of those football fans , who can't afford to visit the famous Stanford bridge stadium, which is the home of the team, will love to watch and admire their favorite eleven players and their skills.
With so many football fans at home,who can't visit or travel , i decided to write a short history of the Stamford bridge to show you how it has become one of the most famous football stadium in the world and it's nickname, The pride of London
The Stamford bridge was built in 1876 and opened in 1877, the stadium was used by the London Athletics Club until 1905, when new owner founded Chelsea Football Club to occupy the ground; Chelsea have played their home games there ever since. It has undergone numerous major changes over the years, most recently in the 1990s when it was renovated into a modern, all-seater stadium. Stamford Bridge had an official capacity of around 100,000, making it the second largest ground in England after Crystal palace, the FA Cup final venue. As originally constructed, Stamford Bridge was an athletics track and the
pitch was initially located in the middle of the running track. This meant that spectators were separated from the field of play on all sides by the width of running track and, on the north and south sides, the separation was particularly large because the long sides of the running track considerably exceeded the length of the football pitch. The stadium had a single stand for 5,000 spectators on the east side only.
In 1945, Stamford Bridge staged one of the most notable matches in its history. Soviet side FC Dynamo Moscow were invited to tour the United Kingdom at the end of the Second World War and Chelsea were the first side they faced. An estimated crowd of over 100,000 crammed into Stamford Bridge to watch an exciting 3–3 draw, with many spectators on the dog track and on top of the stands.
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Stamford bridge has four side or stand as any stadium will, but this is interesting, the first - The Matthew Harding Stand, previously known as the North Stand, is along the north edge of the pitch. In 1939, a small two storied North Stand including seating was erected. It was originally intended to span the entire northern end, but the outbreak of World War II and its aftermath compelled the club to keep the stand small. It was demolished and replaced by open terracing for standing supporters in 1976. It is named after former Chelsea director Matthew Harding, whose investment helped transform the club in the early 1990s before his death in a helicopter accident on October 22, 1996. His investment in the club enabled construction of the stand which was completed in time for the 1996-97 season with the capacity of 10,884.
The second stand - The oldest stand, the East Stand is located along the east side of the pitch and was built in 1973. The stand has three tiers and is the heart of the stadium, housing the tunnel, dugout, dressing rooms, conference room, press center, AV and commentary box. Previously it was the home to away supporters on the bottom tier, however at the start of the 2005/2006 season then-manager
Jose Mourinho requested the move of the family section to this part of the stand to boost team morale away fans were moved to the shed with the capacity of 10,925.
The third stand - The Shed End is located along the south side of the pitch. In 1930, a new terrace was built on the south side for more standing spectators. It was originally known as the Fulham Road End but supporters nicknamed it 'The Shed' and this led the club to officially change its name. It opened in time for the 1997/98 season and along with the Matthew Harding Stand is an area of the ground in which many vocal fans congregate today. The Shed also contains the centenary museum and a memorial wall where families of deceased fans are able to leave a permanent memorial of their loved ones indicating their eternal support for the club. A large chunk of the original Shed End terrace still stands today and runs along the south side of the stadium, it has recently been decorated with lights and large images of Chelsea legends. Since 2005 it has been where away supporters are housed, they are given 3,000 tickets towards the east side which is roughly half of the stand with capacity of 6,831.
The fourth stand - In 1964-65, a seated West Stand was built to replace the existing terracing on the west side. Most of the West Stand consisted of rising ranks of wooden tip up seats on iron frames, but seating at the very front was on concrete forms known as "the Benches". The old West Stand was demolished in 1997 and replaced by the current West Stand. In 2001 the construction of the stand was aided by Roman Abramovich. Now complete, the stand is the main external 'face' of the stadium, being the first thing fans see when entering the primary gate on Fulham Road . The Main Entrance is flanked by the Spackman and Speedie hospitality entrances, named after Nigel Spackman and David Speedie former Chelsea players with the capacity of13,500.
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For many Chelsea fans, Stanford Bridge is the symbol of their team,just like their blue color. It is as earn them the recognition of been the pride of London.
Stamford has a the total capacity of 41,841watch and admire their favorite team players at the stadium...
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