Molineux Stadium

Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Molineux Stadium is an English football stadium and since 1889, the home ground of the Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is a few hundred meters north of the Wolverhamptoner city center.

The stadium is located in an area where the majority are low-rise buildings and has the following four stands: ( previously named after former chairman John Ireland ), the Steve Bull Stand, the Jack Harris Stand, the Stan Cullis - Tribune and the Billy Wright stand. Before the latter grandstand is in honor of Billy Wright - 105 -times English national team player and leadership of the most successful time of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1950s - a statue.

The now completely consisting of seating stadium has a capacity of 28,525 seats. After addition of a temporary grandstand device, known as the Graham Hughes Stand, which was come 2003, the capacity could be expanded to 2006 temporarily for another 900 spectators. The record number of audience was 61 315 and was the scene of a championship game against Liverpool on 11 February 1939 - long time before the restrictive requirements of the Taylor Report - materialize.

History of the stadium

Origins

The stadium name " Molineux " goes back to Benjamin Molineux, a resident in Wolverhampton businessman who in 1744 bought a plot of land and built a house on this - which is known as " Molineux House " property later became the famous " Molineux Hotel ". The Molineux family itself was one of the emigrants, which at the beginning of the 14th century in the wake of Princess Isabella of France - wife of Edward II - after England drew (Wolverhampton was after the influx of Flemish wool workers as a center of trade in this sector in the UK ). The elegant residence developed into a social gathering point and was 1792 refugee shelter for French families. In 1860, O. E. McGregor bought the land and made with the help of A. J. Brewster from the surrounding plants a public park, where she focused on public events taking place in the summer months. The " Molineux Grounds" were central meeting place within the city, and offered a range that was suitable for sports such as football next to an ice skating rink, a velodrome and a boating lake. As a permanent sports venue Croquetspieler used the area for the first time in 1869 on a regular basis.

The Northampton Brewery bought in 1889 on the site and leased it to the football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, who was looking for a new venue and had already played on 20 March 1886 in a regional cup competition at the Molineux Grounds. Within a few months made ​​zealous planners and gardeners from the green area a sports venue that could be used for a regular game mode. The official inauguration of " Molineux " took place on September 2, 1889 on the occasion of a friendly match against Aston Villa and a few days later, on September 7, 1889, The first championship game that ended in front of 4,000 spectators with a 2-0 win against Notts County. Through continuous improvement work 1889-1910 was the stadium as to its comfortable facilities at the beginning of the 20th century as the best stadium in English football.

For 5,607 pounds, the stadium was in 1923 in the possession of the " Wolves " across. Since no work had been made at Molineux since the First World War, the contemporary standard clearly fell behind the venues of other clubs. In particular, the severe shortage remained that large crowds no small share the view was completely obstructed on the pitch. With the help of the famous architect Archibald Leitch short time the construction of a grandstand on the Waterloo Road, to the completion and final release in 1925 began later. Thereafter, the club replaced the north side described as " barn " into a new covered grandstand. In 1932 came a new grandstand at the Molineux Street to and two years later covered the Wolves and the South Stand. In this form, with four stands now the Molineux Stadium in the next nearly 50 years, remained unchanged, while the south side was home alone in the meantime up to 30,000 spectators.

The first football club in the club for about 10,000 pounds of installing an extensive floodlighting and consecrated this on September 30, 1953 in a game against a selection of South Africa officially. It was the beginning of a series of famous " floodlit games " in the 1950s, when teams were known worldwide for friendly matches in Wolverhampton guest. The games were before the introduction of the European Cup of Champions considered very prestigious, attracted large crowds and the BBC sent them on TV. In preparation for the first European Cup games, the club 's facility in 1957 for 25,000 pounds upgraded again on.

Remodeling and demolition

The now completely consisting of seating grandstand at the Molineux Street fell through after the 1975 standards drawn up by the "Safety of Sports Grounds Act ". The club built directly behind it under the guidance of architect Atherden Rutter and a new grandstand for 9,500 spectators, tore the old, in front of it stands after the completion off and opened the new John Ireland- Tribune earlier in the season 1979/80 on 25 August., 1979 against Liverpool again. The new grandstand was now but very far away from the action, because the grass could not be moved. On top of that the entire construction project gobbling up tens of millions of pounds and the club drove deep into the red, which would have caused 1982 to the rescue by a cited by Derek Dougan consortium almost bankruptcy.

After the Valley Parade fire disaster in Bradford, the League Association stringent security measures tightened once more, and the Wolves, who were in 1986 crashed in the fourth division, the dilapidated grandstands to the north had to go and at the Waterloo Road close, so that only the South Stand and the John Ireland stand - use found. In step with the decline of the sporting achievements were at that time the audience massively. The difficult financial situation in the club did not allow repair or turf transplants and so the stadium looked forward to its further decline. The administration of the city of Wolverhampton saved the football club in August 1986 before his final ruin, by buying the club, the stadium and the surrounding land for 1.12 million pounds, but even though the stadium could be used, the closed bleachers remained unused.

Construction of a pure seat stadium

After the takeover of the club and the stadium by Jack Hayward in 1990 paved the way for a fundamental reconstruction was paved, which was inevitable in order to fulfill the requirements of the Taylor Report and not to endanger no later than the 1993/94 season the game operation. First, the entire North Stand the demolition of the victim and the new Stan Cullis - Tribune was in October 1991 at the same site was completed on time before the 1992/93 season. It was followed by the grandstand at the Waterloo Road, which was a few months later replaced by the Billy Wright Stand. The last phase began in November 1993, when the southern Jack Harris Stand was opened.

For the first game in the now fully renovated stadium occurred on 7 December 1993 Honvéd Budapest - an opponent of the famous time the floodlit games - in Wolverhampton on. The now completely consisting of seating stadium had a capacity of 28,525 and was at that time one of the largest stages in the converted venues.

In honor of the scorer of the club Wolverhampton Wanderers named 2003 John Ireland Tribune in the Steve Bull stand to. Added to this was a temporary bleachers in the south-west corner, which offered as Graham Hughes stand space for a further 900 spectators. It was intended primarily to take account of the expected increased demand by promotion to the Premier League and makes it possible that the record number of 29 396 spectators was achieved in the renovated stadium on January 17, 2004. As early as 2006, these "additional grandstand " again removed, leaving with a renewed Erstligaaufstieg re-commission was nor excluded, as well as other solutions for the other three "corners", whereby the capacity could increase to about 32,500 located. In addition, considerations to expand the Steve Bull and Billy Wright stand at a total capacity of around 40,000 visitors exist.

Special Events

The first discharged at the Molineux Stadium International Match ended on March 7, 1891 with a 6-1 victory of England against Ireland. Against the same opponent graduated from the English team at the same place on February 14, 1903 a further section ( 4-0); then defeated England on February 5, 1936, the Welsh selection with 1:2. A 5-2 win against Denmark in a qualifying match for the World Cup in Sweden in 1958 was the last appearance of an English national team in Wolverhampton. Nevertheless, the stadium home ground is still in internationals for England youth teams, including most recently in 1996 and 2008 two matches of the English U- 21 team scored.

In addition to other FA Cup semi-finals Molineux was also the venue for rugby union matches and a boxing tournament, as for example, Henry Cooper in 1967 fought against Jack Bodell to the British Heavyweight Championship. On 24 June 2003, the Molineux Stadium was home to about 34,000 spectators at a live concert by Bon Jovi, which was thus the live event with the most visitors in Wolverhampton.