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Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which was the home of Hull City from 1946 until 2002. The ground's capacity varied throughout its history, but stood at 15,160 at the time of its closure.
The Tigers moved into the newly built MKM Stadium in the middle of the 2002–03 season. Following this, Boothferry Park was occupied solely by supermarkets Iceland and Kwik Save, both of whom had opened stores inside the ground's structure in the 1990s when the football club was struggling financially. The first parts of the stadium were demolished in early 2008, more than five years after the last professional game was played there. The demolition was completed in 2011, with residential housing now standing on the site of the old ground.
The record attendance at Boothferry Park was set on 26 February 1949, when 55,019 spectators watched Hull face Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final. This remains the highest-ever attendance for a home match in the club's history. The stadium also occasionally hosted England youth internationals, as well as a singular senior international between Northern Ireland and Spain in 1972.
The onset of the Second World War was to again frustrate the development of the football ground, as during the war, the ground was used by the Home Guard, and was, for a period, used to repair tanks. This, not unexpectedly, had an adverse effect on the playing area – following the end of the war, the pitch was in very poor shape and prone to waterlogging.
Building materials were hard to come by in the post-war years for something as "frivolous" as a football stadium in the Hull Blitz, this and the state of the pitch meant that the ground was still not in a usable state by the 1945–46 season, so the club was forced to return to playing its matches at one of its former homes, the Boulevard, the then home of rugby league club, Hull F.C., one of the city's two major rugby league clubs.
In 1948, the attendance record had swelled to 40,179 as the stadium hosted visitors Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. The terracing embankments were raised and by February 1949 a ground and club record which still stands was hit as 55,019 spectators turned out to watch Hull City play Manchester United. The locally famous Boothferry Halt opened in 1951. The ground now had its own railway station, its first use being a fixture against Everton when six trains ran the football service between Paragon Station, Hull's central railway station and Boothferry Park. At the same time, work proceeded on the covering of the North Stand.
The East Terrace was the next to be covered, albeit with a temporary structure. Despite being temporary, it was never replaced, and stood throughout the years of the ground. The popular East Terrace became known as the Kempton Stand after Kempton Road on the other side of the railway station. With the three stands completed, the ground was now suited to a floodlight installation. Two gantries housing 96 lamps were built, one on the west and one opposite on the east following a licence being granted. Although this lighting system was the envy of many clubs, advancements in stadium lighting came rapidly, and the system soon needed replacement. A six pylon system replaced the old gantries in 1963.
The new lights were used for the first time in 1964, using four of the six available, in an evening match against Barnsley which ended in a 7–0 win for the Tigers.
In 1965 a new South Stand was built over the Bunker's Hill Terrace. The new two-tiered structure included a propped cantilever roof, 2,500 seats in the upper tier and terracing for 4,000 more in the lower tier. The new stand was arguably the best stand at Boothferry Park, and a reminder of the golden days in the declining years to come.
On 20 March 1967, Boothferry Park hosted an FA Cup 2nd replay between Leeds United and Sunderland. Over 40,000 fans attended and Leeds United won 2–1. It was standard procedure in the pre-penalty shoot-out days for second and subsequent replays to be held on neutral grounds. England's under-23 football team also played at Boothferry Park in 1967 where they beat Austria 3–0. England's under-23s again played at the stadium in 1970 against Sweden, where they won 2–0.
On 16 February 1972, Boothferry Park hosted a full international match between Northern Ireland and Spain due to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland featured George Best, Martin O'Neill, Pat Jennings, Sammy McIlroy, Pat Rice and Hull and Northern Ireland's player/manager Terry Neill. The result was drawn at 1–1, with Sammy Morgan scoring the equaliser in front of a crowd of just under 20,000.
In October 1977, England's under-21 football team recorded their biggest ever win at the stadium, beating Finland 8–1, with a hat-trick from Tony Woodcock.
The final football match to be staged at Boothferry Park saw Hull City lose 0–1 to Darlington in December 2002. The goal was scored by Simon Betts; it would be his only goal in Darlington colours. Darlington goalkeeper Michael Ingham played in both the final match at Boothferry Park and the first match to be played at Hull City's new home (in Sunderland colours).
Boothferry Park was also the scene of a rugby league international when it hosted the first Ashes series test of the 1982 Kangaroo tour between and on 30 October. The Aussies ran in eight tries to nil in a 40–4 thrashing watched by a vocal crowd of 26,771.
In January 1990, the Taylor Report required all clubs in the top two divisions of English football to have an all-seater stadium by August 1994. Hull were in the Second Division by this stage, but their relegation at the end of the 1990–91 season meant that the club was not covered by these requirements. Attendances fell throughout the 1990s as Hull suffered a further relegation in 1996 and financial problems almost put the club out of business, with strained finances meaning that Boothferry Park was not properly maintained and fell into increasing disrepair. By 1998, however, a move to an all-seater stadium elsewhere was in the pipeline, and Hull left Boothferry Park in December 2002 after 56 years to play at the new Kingston Communications Stadium.
Other than the five internationals, Boothferry Park also hosted a further five top grade rugby league games.
Demolition
Demolition of the ground eventually started on 10 January 2008, over five years after the final game was played there, and was completed during March. The North Stand and the terracing on the South and East Stands were eventually demolished in January 2010 after years of vandalism and arson attacks. Humberside Fire and Rescue Service had to be called out nearly 100 times during 2009 to deal with the situation.
Other sporting events
Rugby league
Boothferry Park hosted nine top grade rugby league matches, including five internationals, from 1980 to 1985. Boothferry Park @ Rugby League Project
1980 European Rugby League Championship 1981 European Rugby League Championship 1981 Great Britain vs France 1982 Ashes series – 1st Test 1983 Great Britain vs France 1980 New Zealand Kiwis tour 1984 Yorkshire Cup Final 1984–85 Regal Trophy Semi-final 1984–85 Regal Trophy Final
Records
The highest attendance before the new stand was built was 40,179 in 1948 when Hull City played Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. After the height of the terracing had been increased, 55,019 spectactors witnessed the visit of Manchester United in 1949. The highest scoring game came in a friendly match in 1950 when Hull City played Nuneaton Borough. The game ended 8–6 to the Tigers, who had been 1–0 down at half-time.
Nicknames
The stadium became affectionately known by supporters as "Fer Ark" in its later days, due to the lack of finances for maintenance which meant that only those letters were illuminated on the large "booth FERry p ARK" signage. When Saturday Comes – The Half Decent Football Magazine – Hull on earth Before this it had been known as "Bothferry Park" when one of the illuminated "O"s fell off. Soccerprint Football T Shirts – Hull City B'othferry Park T Shirt
It was also known simply as "BP".
External links
Categories: Defunct Football Venues In England, Defunct Cricket Grounds In England, Hull City A.f.c., Sports Venues In Kingston Upon Hull, Cricket Grounds In The East Riding Of Yorkshire, Defunct Sports Venues In The East Riding Of Yorkshire, Sports Venues Completed In 1946, Sports Venues Demolished In 2010, English Football League Venues, Demolished Sports Venues In The United Kingdom
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