The Shay
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F.C. Halifax Town (2008–present)
Rugby League Halifax Dukes (1949–1952, 1965–1986) |
The Shay is a multi-purpose sports stadium in
The stadium is owned by the Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council[1] and leased by the Shay Stadium Trust, a not-for-profit company set up to preserve the ground as a sports stadium.
The Shay lies on the south side of Halifax, about a quarter of a mile from the town centre. The four stands at the stadium include the North Stand, the East Stand, the South Stand and the Skircoat Stand. The North and South stands were built in the mid-1990s. The Skircoat Stand is the oldest stand in the stadium.
Etymology
'Shay' is derived from the old English word 'shaw', which means a small wood, thicket or grove. The two words are used interchangeably in ancient references to the property upon which the stadium was eventually constructed.
History
Earliest sources
Such references to the name Shay have been traced as far back as 1462,
John Caygil
John Caygill financed the construction of the Shay mansion and two other landmarks in Halifax. The first of these was the building of houses on a piece of land known as the Square. Construction was finished around 1758. Designed by John Carr of York. In 1923 the Halifax Corporation purchased the land and the buildings were demolished in 1959.[citation needed]
John Caygill provided the land and £840 for the construction of the
Ibbetson Family
John Caygill junior's only child, the aforementioned 'Jenny', became sole heiress to her father's estates, including the Shay. She would marry Sir James Ibbetson, Baronet of Leeds and Denton on 8 February 1768, and thus the ownership of the Shay Estate passed into the Ibbetson family. It is clear that the Ibbetson family did not live at the Shay - they did not need to, and so in the Halifax Journal of 18 April 1807, the mansion built by John Caygill was advertised for letting. The same advertisement in the Halifax Journal also gave details of the mansion itself. On the ground floor was a dining room 29 by 23 ft (8.8 by 7.0 m) and 13 ft high (4.0 m), breakfast room, and parlour, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, servants' hall, a large kitchen and gallery 'fitted with every modern improvement for cooking on the steam principle', a spacious passage 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) wide and 44 ft long (13 m), an elegant staircase with a double flight of stone steps. There was a landing 13 ft wide (4.0 m) and a spacious gallery on the second floor, while the drawing room and the five 'lodging rooms' with dressing rooms adjoining, were on the same scale as the rooms below. The doors were of solid mahogany and it was evidently well fitted for its purposes.
The addresses given to all the houses on the Shay Estate in the census returns.[citation needed] The Shay mansion's address is down as 'The Shay, Caygill's Walk' in two reports whilst addresses for the other houses are termed variably as the Shay, Shay Stable Yard, Shay Yard, Caygill's Walk and Shay Farm, though there is no doubt that they all refer to the same appropriate buildings, and are not new or separate ones. From the 1840s until 1903, there were six owners of the Shay Estate. William Boocock was the Shay mansion's last owner, though he only lived there for a few years up to 1903. By this time the Shay Estate was in the hands of the Halifax Corporation, and with the completion of the new Skircoat Road, the future of the Shay must have looked very much in doubt.
Redevelopment of the Shay Estate
Up until 1890 any traffic heading in the direction of Huddersfield travelled along the main route which ran from the town centre along the bottom of the Shay, up Shaw Hill to Huddersfield Road. It was the idea of John Booth to develop the pleasant Caygill's Walk, which ran along the top of the Shay, into what is now the busy Skircoat Road. At the time his scheme came under heavy criticism from local people. This dramatic period in the Shay's history continued when, two years later, on 29 August 1891, Skircoat Road was opened for traffic for the first time. In 1903, with the Shay mansion no longer being used for residential purposes, the Corporation saw fit to demolish it.[citation needed]
From the time of the demolition of the mansion, what was left of the Shay Estate became the object of many schemes. On 9 November 1898, it was announced that a proposal had been put forward to run goods trains to the Shay Estate and build a goods depot there. On 31 May 1902 an agreement was made by the Midland Rail Company for the purchase of the estate, the company having sought powers to construct a loop line at Low Moor railway station and to run a part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire line to Halifax. However, shortly after this, "owing to the present position of railways and the condition of the money market", there was no reasonable prospect of the proposed railway being constructed in the immediate future, and all plans were abandoned.[citation needed]
Work had actually been started on a tunnel to run under the newly constructed Skircoat Road,[
During the
Football ground
At a public meeting on 9 July 1920, the then Halifax Town chairman Dr A.H. Muir stated: "Speaking from inside information I know that if, in February 1921, we can produce a ground that will meet league requirements, and if we can show financial backing that is worthy of a town this size, our position as members of the English League with all that means, is absolutely secure."[citation needed]
In that same speech Dr. Muir announced that the Town directors were to meet members of the Corporation's Improvements Committee with a view to the leasing of the Shay, so that they could prepare it in time for the 1921-22 season. Halifax Town, formed in 1911, had earlier played at Sandhall Lane and then Exley – an unsuitable venue. On Wednesday 4 August 1920, a recommendation was put to the committee which was passed and the Halifax Courier set up a fund to help get the Shay ready. Timber was delivered to the Shay for work to begin on Saturday 16 October 1920.[citation needed]
An appeal was made in the Halifax Courier that night for people to help on the following Monday. Fans, players and directors worked together to get the ground ready, and on 7 December the first grass sods were laid on the playing pitch. It was a successful venture.[citation needed]
In March 1921, Halifax Town were elected to the
Whilst the club never reached the upper tiers of the football pyramid, the Shay has been the scene of some historic matches, not least its very first Football League game on 3 September 1921. It is history now, of course, that Town defeated Darlington 5–0 in front of a crowd of over 10,000,[citation needed] although as Town slipped towards the bottom of the table during the course of the season, attendances fell also.
The record attendance for the Shay was 36,885 on 14 February 1953[
The capacity stood at 16,500 until 1985 at which time the Popplewell Report into ground safety was released following the
Financial troubles
On 27 October 1986, then chairman John Madeley announced that the club was close to collapse.[citation needed] Many people looked to Calderdale Council to help save the club as it still owned the lease on the ground and any plans for the Shay from private companies would have to be given the council's go-ahead. However, on 17 November it rejected two plans to save the club. One proposal was from a London property firm wanting to build shops on the Shay.[citation needed] The other, involving the development of a sports complex, including a ground for the club, was turned down because of difficulties over the conditions demanded by the Edinburgh property firm behind the move. These 'difficulties' concerned the lease of the Shay. With the council unwilling to part with the lease, it came as no surprise when the Edinburgh firm pulled out of its bid to save the club. On 26 November, the Inland Revenue gave Halifax Town just six days to come up with proposals for paying the £76,000 tax debt.[citation needed]
The situation became so serious that Halifax Town manager
In February 1987 it came to light that this property company was a local firm, Marshall Construction of
2008 and new developments
Although Halifax Town went into liquidation in the summer of 2008, newly formed
Uses
Speedway
Before the Shay, the Halifax Dukes used a track at Thrum Hall, and on 8 February 1949 construction began on a new Motorcycle speedway track at the Shay.[3] This meant that the football pitch had to be reduced in size and each goalpost was moved three yards into the playing area so an agreement was reached by the speedway and soccer clubs whereby the Halifax Dukes had to pay the Halifax Town AFC 10% of all speedway gate receipts.[3]
The first speedway meeting was held on Wednesday 6 April 1949,[3] and the opponents were Yarmouth Bloaters. The track was officially opened by Major R.E. Austin, commanding officer of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment at Halifax. Speedway at the Shay was not popular and poor attendances saw the club struggling financially. On 10 November 1951 speedway promoter Bruce Booth brought midget car racing to the Shay to boost funds. 15,000 spectators attended this one-off venture; 3 times higher that the average speedway gate.[3] On 31 March 1952, Booth announced the end of speedway, "while rates and taxation remains at the present levels."[3]
In November 1962 Middlesbrough speedway promoter Reg Fearman saw the Shay for the first time, and in 1963 he made a formal application to Halifax Town for use of the ground to revive the sport. At the beginning of 1965 work began on constructing the ground and speedway returned. The second time around it proved successful, and remained at the ground for the next twenty years. By the 1970s people valued it greater than football for family entertainment, with the Dukes producing such renowned riders as Eric Boocock and Kenny Carter. Attendances became regularly higher than those of the football club and the Shay often hosted speedway internationals.
In 1986, after disputes over money with Halifax Town AFC, the speedway club moved out of town to neighbouring Bradford and the Odsal Stadium, becoming known as the Bradford Dukes.
The shale surfaced speedway track at the Shay was 370 metres (400 yd) long.
Rugby League
In 1998
There have been many top players for
During 2011 as a result of pitch renovation work at the
2013 Rugby League World Cup
The Shay played host to a Group C game as part of the 2013 World Cup between Tonga and Italy.[6]
No. | Date | Winners | Score | Runners up | Attendance | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 November 2013 | Tonga | 16-0 | Italy | 10,266 | 2013 World Cup |
Structure
North Stand
The North Stand was completed first (before the South Stand), which enabled Halifax Town to return to the Football League when it won the
South Stand
The South Stand is generally where the home fans stand. It was once the away stand. The stand has a bar in its concourse and catering facilities are situated outside.
East Stand
The East Stand is now the main stand at the Shay. In the past it has been the main problem at the Shay as when the Family Stand was demolished in 2000, construction on the new East Stand started but stopped when Halifax Town were relegated in 2002.The stand remained in this state until late 2008 when Calderdale Council agreed to put money into completing the stand. The stand was redesigned by Sheffield-based architects Ward McHugh Associates prior to the commencement of works. Main structural work on the stand was completed in December 2009, it then needed to go through safety checks and to be furnished inside. 28 March 2010; the new East Stand opened taking the overall ground capacity to over 10,000, as well as providing six executive boxes overlooking the pitch, which can accommodate up to 12 people per box and also new facilities as listed below.[7]
Skircoat West Stand
The stand used to be half-seating half-standing but became all-seater in 1998. It is the oldest part of the ground and is not the full length of the pitch. Like the North Stand it was built on the side of a slope and backs onto the main road.
Facilities
The East Stand will house new shops for the local football and rugby teams, as well as new home and away changing rooms, a physio room and new food and beverage kiosks for fans. The brand new East Stand, conference facilities and car park at Halifax's Shay Stadium place the venue back at the heart of Calderdale's sporting and community life. There are 11 function rooms, ranging in size to accommodate every type of event, from one-to-one interviews to larger conferences, weddings and meetings for up to 350 guests.[1]
There is also a 5-a-side pitch next to the southern turnstiles that can be hired.
Community usage
In June 2007, Shay Stadium Community Football was formed. The community scheme was set up as a non for profit organisation using the stadium as a main hub. The leader of the project was Lee Ashforth who drove the company forwards and set up a committee based on 4 directors who previously had been involved with the Shay Stadium Trust. The company started by delivering sessions aimed at primary school children and delivering holiday courses throughout every school holiday.
Since the company then grew and included nurseries and adult sessions aimed at fitness and socialising. The community scheme also delivers a BTEC education course at 16–18 years of age.
The future
Although no plans for future redevelopment have been confirmed, there has been talk of a new west stand, replacing the current Skircoat Stand.[citation needed] The plan was to build a two-tier stand with shops that backed onto Skircoat Road, however nothing has been officially announced.
Within the original East Stand designs there were plans for hospitality and media facilities in the south-east corner of the stadium. This stand (which is adjoined to the East Stand and of the same height) has been in a partially constructed state since work halted on the East Stand in 2002. This corner was omitted from the 2008 redesign and subsequent completion of the East Stand. Although there are no finances in place nor the demand to finish this corner, if there is ever the need many would imagine that this corner would be completed first as there would be less planning/construction issues, and would thus be a quick way of increasing capacity/facilities. Some might argue that the unfinished stand detracts from the overall look of the ground.
References
- ^ a b "Introduction: The Shay Stadium: Calderdale Council". 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Shay Name Meaning & Shay Family History at Ancestry.com". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ ISBN 0-7524-2210-3.
- ^ a b "Official Halifax RLFC Web Site". 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Huddersfield Giants". Giantsrl.com. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Sun 10th Nov 2013, 16:00 - Group C". Rugby League International Federation. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Yorkshire Post. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2017.