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Prenton Park is a football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground of Liverpool Reserves and Liverpool Women. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report to become all-seater. The stadium now holds 16,587 in four stands: the Kop, the Johnny King Stand, the Main Stand and the Cowshed for away supporters.
Attendances at the ground have fluctuated over its hundred-year history. Its largest-ever crowd was 24,424 for a 1972 FA Cup match between Tranmere Rovers and Stoke City. In 2010, an average of 5,000 fans attended each home game.
Because the land was required for housing and a school, Tranmere were forced to move and the name went with them. The present Prenton Park was opened by the Mayor of Birkenhead, Councillor George Proudman, on 9 March 1912. Their first match was played against Lancaster Town in the Lancashire Combination. There were stands (also known as ) on both sides of the pitch, a paddock and three open terraces, the general format which remained until 1994.
Floodlights were installed in the ground in September 1958. The supporters' association raised the £15,000 cost of the new lights. When manager Dave Russell joined the club in 1961, one of his many influential changes was to take advantage of the lights, playing regular home games on Friday nights rather than the usual Saturday afternoon. This allowed supporters to watch Tranmere on Fridays and First Division sides Everton or Liverpool on Saturdays. The idea was successful and continued until the 1990s.
Over the years, various upgrades and repairs have been made to the stadium. By 1968, the old wooden Main Stand was in poor condition and in need of replacement. At a cost of £80,000, today's Main Stand was erected and opened by Minister for Sport and former referee Denis Howell. In 1979, the terracing on the Cowshed and Paddock was concreted. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with further bars and executive suites added soon after.
Many improvements to the ground were driven by changes in legislation. In 1985, the Safety of Sports Grounds Act led to a reduction in capacity from 18,000 to 8,000. The Kop End was closed, and the Main Stand capacity was reduced by 3,000, because there were insufficient access points. £50,000 was spent on safety work to maintain a capacity of 8,000, and the club were unable to afford any further refurbishment. But the biggest change of all took place during 1994 and 1995. The Taylor Report suggested that all stadia in the top two divisions of English football should no longer permit standing. The club's response was to redevelop three sides of the ground with entirely new all-seater stands created – the Borough Road Stand, the Cowshed and the new Kop. Capacity in the ground thus increased from 14,200 to the 16,587 of today. "Prenton Park - Tranmere Rovers". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
In 2009, Liverpool F.C. Reserves moved from the Racecourse Ground to Prenton Park. In 2018, Liverpool F.C. Women moved here as well.
The Main Stand houses the VIP area, directors box and various suites. The Tranmere suite was added to the Main Stand in 1988, with the Dixie Dean suite, Bunny Bell bar and Dave Russell restaurant added soon after. The 53-year-old structure is becoming increasingly expensive to repair.
After the war, the number of supporters rose, and by the early 1960s this number had increased to highs of 12,000. Attendances began to fall towards the end of the 1960s; this trend continued through the 1970s, though the decade did give Tranmere its largest-ever crowd: 24,424 on 5 February 1972, for a fourth-round FA Cup match against Stoke City. With today's capacity of under 17,000, it is unlikely that this record attendance will ever be broken.
The 1980s saw the number of supporters falling to some of the ground's lowest levels. The lowest ever attendance at Prenton Park was on 20 February 1984, when only 937 supporters watched a 2–0 victory over Halifax Town. However, the decade also saw a high number of supporters in the ground for other reasons. In the Hillsborough disaster, 97 Liverpool F.C. fans lost their lives on 15 April 1989. In the following days 12,000 people attended a memorial service at Prenton Park.
Tranmere's success in the 1990s led to improved attendances, rising to around 9,000 per game. By 2010, this had fallen to around 5,000 per game; however, 12,249 supporters took advantage of an offer of free admission to watch a replayed match against Notts County F.C., on 19 April 2011. In the season 2011–2012, there were two £5 administration offers available; one of them was on a Bank Holiday and the other was for a celebration of 100 years of Prenton Park 1912–2012 with an attendance of 6,824, with many events on before and after the game and at half time.
In 2024 the stadium will host the Wirral family festival with a main stage hosting tribute bands and a dance music stage hosting well known local house music DJs in addition to a kids stage featuring various acts for children.
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