Bloomfield Road Stadium Capacity, Tickets, Seating Plan, Records, Location, Parking
Bloomfield Road is a single-level football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club’s existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and Athletic Grounds.
The stadium hasn’t changed much since the 1960s, but in the early 2000s, they started to fix it up. Before the club’s first Premier League season in 2010–11, a temporary eastern stand was built. It is still in place today.
The three permanent stands are named the Stan Mortensen North Stand (indicated by the acronym “B.F.C.” written in white seats), the Jimmy Armfield South Stand (with the former player’s surname written in white seats), and the Sir Stanley Matthews West Stand. (with one of the club’s nicknames, “SEASIDERS”, written on white seats).
The record attendance at Bloomfield Road is 38,098, when Blackpool played Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 1955.
The stadium hosted three matches in the 2005 UEFA Women’s Championship. It has also hosted the final of the Northern Rail Cup, a rugby league tournament.
| Built In: | October 28, 1899 |
| Capacity: | 17,338 |
| Home Teams: | Blackpool |
| Ground Size: | 112 x 74 yards (102.4 x 67.7 metres) |
Bloomfield Road Stadium History
Before moving to Bloomfield Road, Blackpool had called two other pieces of land home during its short existence. Firstly, between 1896 and 1897, they played their fifteen home Football League games at Raikes Hall Gardens (also known as the Pleasure Gardens).
In 1897, they moved to the Athletic Grounds in present-day Stanley Park, which hosted thirty-two league games over two seasons. After a brief spell back at Raikes Hall Gardens in 1899, during their non-League season, and again for all but the first home game of the 1900–01 campaign, Blackpool moved permanently to Bloomfield Road.
The land was originally known as Gamble’s Field, named for the farmer who owned the land when South Shore F.C. played there in the Lancashire League in 1899.
The first competitive game played on the field took place on 21 October 1899, when the South Shore played the 1st South Lancashire Regiment. One comment at the time was: “The new ground was not fully finished on Saturday and the linesman had a lot to do besides watch the game to prevent spectators from crossing the line. The grandstand was not ready but is expected to be ready.” ready for next Saturday. A bar and two dressing room tents will be set up”. In fact, the official opening of the ground came on 28 October 1899, when the South Shore entertained Newton Heath in an FA Cup tie.
When Blackpool F.C. merged with South Shore FC in mid-December 1899, the former club moved into the latter’s ground and changed the name to Bloomfield Road. In addition, the two clubs were merged with Blackpool’s Lancashire League matches, because they were considered easier than those on the South Shore.
Stadium Capacity
Bloomfield Road Stadium has a seating capacity of 17,338.
Bloomfield Road Stadium Seating Plan
Bloomfield Road Seating Plan:
Notable Events & Records
Not Yet.
Upcoming Events
Not Yet.
Parking
There are three large car parks surrounding the stadium, and the largest is believed to have been the largest football car park in Europe at one time, which should make parking much easier. However, it is quite expensive to park at any of these and if you are trying to save pennies then there is street parking but you will need to be prepared to walk about 10 minutes to the stadium unless you get there early and find one of the few available closers.
The city has fantastic train and bus links to the main coach station next to the stadium, making access to and from the ground very easy if you choose not to travel by car, or even choose to park further afield.
