Roker Park
Sunderland, England | |
Owner | Sunderland A.F.C. |
---|---|
Capacity | 22,500 Record attendance: 75,118 |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Opened | 10 September 1898 |
Closed | 1997 |
Demolished | 1998 |
Architect | Archibald Leitch |
Tenants | |
Sunderland A.F.C. (1898–1997) |
Roker Park was a
History
In the 1890s, the then
Within a year of the land being bought, Roker Park had been built, with the wooden stands only taking three months to build. The Clock Stand had 32 steps, no seats and a
The stadium soon became famous for what was often referred to as the "Roker Roar", with then Tottenham and England captain Danny Blanchflower writing that “Nothing ever equalled the intensity of that wild roar at Roker Park”.[3]
The Roker End was concreted in 1912, and by 1913 the capacity had risen to 50,000. In 1929 the old wooden grandstand was demolished and replaced by a new Main Stand, which was designed by Archibald Leitch, whose influence, the criss-cross lattice work, can still be seen at Ibrox (Rangers), Home Park (Plymouth Argyle) and Goodison Park (Everton). Fragments of the iconic lattice work would later be used to separate parts of the car park at the Stadium of Light. The work on the new Main Stand nearly bankrupted the club. By this time the official capacity of Roker Park was 60,000 but at some matches they would have crowds as large as 75,000. More work continued in the 1930s and in 1936 the Clock Stand was rebuilt. The 114 m (375 ft) long structure was officially opened by Lady Raine, whose husband was Sir Walter Raine, the Chairman of Sunderland AFC at the time.
In 1943, during the
In 1955, Roker Park hosted an FA Cup Semi-Final replay, between (eventual winners) Newcastle United and York City, who were then in the third tier of English Football. Newcastle won the game 2–0 in front of a crowd of 55,239.[5] Sunderland were in the other semi-final, but lost out 1–0 to Manchester City.
During the 1970s, there were even more improvements to Roker Park. These improvements included installing underground sprinklers, upgrading the floodlights to European Standard Lux Value, installing electronic crowd monitoring systems, and re-sheeting the roof. In the 1980s, with a downturn in the club's fortunes (which included a season in the
In the early 1990s, new
The 1996–97 season was the last at Roker Park, which was also Sunderland's first ever season in the Premier League, ending in relegation for the club.[7] The last competitive match at the ground was a 3–0 victory over Everton.
Roker Park was also one of the most recent venues in the Premier League to feature standing accommodation. The only team to have had standing accommodation at its stadium since was Fulham, who still had terracing at Craven Cottage for one season after winning promotion in 2001, after which they ground-shared with QPR at Loftus Road for two seasons before returning to an all-seater Craven Cottage.
In a special ceremony after the final farewell game (coincidentally, also a 1–0 win against Liverpool in which Sunderland midfielder John Mullin scored the stadium's final goal at the Fulwell End) Charlie Hurley (voted the club's Player of the Century) dug up the centre spot of the ground for it to be planted at the new stadium. Following the move to the Stadium of Light, Roker Park was demolished and in its place was built a housing estate. To commemorate Roker Park, the streets were named Promotion Close, Clockstand Close, Goalmouth Close, Midfield Drive, Turnstile Mews and Roker Park Close.[8]
Fan reactions to the move
Following the demolition of Roker Park, playwright Tom Kelly and actor Paul Dunn created a one-man play called I Left My Heart at Roker Park about a fan struggling with the move and what Roker Park meant for him; the play had its first run in 1997, and has been revived since.[9][10][11][12]
Actor and Sunderland supporter Peter O'Toole described Roker Park as his connection to the club, saying that as a result of the change of grounds he was less of a fan.[13][14]
In 1998, the BBC broadcast a six-part documentary named Premier Passions, which included a chronicle of Sunderland A.F.C. during the 1996–97 season, in which the club was relegated from the Premier League the year after winning promotion from the Football League First Division, and moved to the Stadium of Light.[15][16]
International matches
Roker Park hosted the first of three full England internationals in 1899; a 13–2 victory over Ireland in the 1898–99 British Home Championship - the highest scoring game in the history of the tournament. Further Home Championship games were played at Roker Park in 1920 (v. Ireland) and 1950 (v. Wales), England winning both games. Three England B games were played at the ground, in 1954, 1980 and 1990. Roker Park also hosted four youth internationals - England U23 games in 1959 and 1970, and England U18 games in 1952 and 1956. The 1970 England U23 game against Scotland was abandoned due to snow after 60 minutes with England leading 3–1.
During the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Roker Park hosted three group stage games in Group 4 along with Ayresome Park, and a Quarter Final game between the Soviet Union and Hungary. The biggest World Cup attendance at the ground was 27,793 for the group stage game between the Soviet Union and Italy.
List of full and B-level Internationals
18 February 1899 1899 British Home Championship | England | 13–2 | Ireland | Sunderland |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Alexander Hamilton |
23 July 1920 1920–21 British Home Championship | England | 2–0 | Ireland | Sunderland |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Alexander A. Jackson |
15 November 1950 1950–51 British Home Championship | England | 4–2 | Wales | Sunderland |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 55,139 Referee: John Mowatt |
3 March 1954 Friendly | England B | 1–1 | Scotland B | Sunderland |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 21,048 |
13 July 1966 1966 World Cup - Group 4 | Italy | 2–0 | Chile | Sunderland |
19:30 BST |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 27,199 Referee: Gottfried Dienst |
16 July 1966 1966 World Cup - Group 4 | Soviet Union | 1–0 | Italy | Sunderland |
15:00 BST |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 27,793 Referee: Rudolf Kreitlein |
20 July 1966 1966 World Cup - Group 4 | Soviet Union | 2–1 | Chile | Sunderland |
19:30 BST |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 16,027 Referee: John Adair |
23 July 1966 1966 World Cup Quarter Final | Soviet Union | 2–1 | Hungary | Sunderland |
15:00 BST |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 26,844 Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay |
26 March 1980 Friendly | Spain B | Sunderland | ||
Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 14,807 |
24 April 1990 Friendly | England B | 2–0 | Czechoslovakia B | Sunderland |
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Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 15,080 |
References
- ^ "Roker Park". The Stadium Guide. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ Mason, Rob (13 September 2018). "Sunderland's Roker Park remembered - the roar, the stars, the big games 120 years after first match". Chronicle Live.
- ^ "McPheat's feat". The Northern Echo. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ISBN 9780750940313.
- ^ "Newcastle United v York City, 30 March 1955". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Previous grounds: Roker Park, Sunderland". SAFC.COM. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- ^ "Sunderland History 1990-1999". SAFC.COM. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- ISBN 1-902527-07-0.
- ^ "'I Left My Heart in Roker Park' - Roker Report Meets Paul Dunn". Roker Report. SB Nation. 11 August 2014.
- ^ "I Left My Heart in Roker Park by Tom Kelly". PaulDunn.co.uk. July 2014.
- ^ Lathan, Peter (2004). "I Left My Heart in Roker Park... (And Extra Time at the Stadium of Light)". British Theatre Guide.
- ^ "Share your Stadium of Light tales". Sunderland Echo. 12 May 2017 [11 May 2017].
- ^ Edmondson, Davey (19 September 2011). "English Premier League: Each Club's Most Famous Fans. Sunderland: Peter O'Toole". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Randall, Colin (14 September 2010). "Peter O'Toole and a lost Sunderland passion". SAFC.COM.
- ^ "Premier Passions (TV Series 1998– )". IMDb.
- ^ Hunter, James (11 June 2017). "Sunderland's Premier Passions remembered 20 years after fly-on-the-wall TV came to Roker Park". Chronicle Live.