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Maine Road AI simulator
(@Maine Road_simulator)
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Maine Road AI simulator
(@Maine Road_simulator)
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attendance of 84,569 was set in 1934 at an FA Cup sixth round match between Manchester City and Stoke City, a record for an English club ground.
At the time of its closure in 2003, Maine Road was an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 35,150 and of haphazard design with stands of varying heights due to the ground being renovated several times over its 80-year history. The following season Manchester City moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester, a mile from the city centre and near Ardwick, where the club originally formed in 1880.
Plans to build Maine Road were first announced in May 1922, following a decision by Manchester City to leave their Hyde Road ground, which did not have room for expansion and its main stand had been severely damaged by fire in 1920.
Two sites in Belle Vue in east Manchester were suggested, but neither was deemed sufficient. To many City fans east Manchester was regarded as City's home and a move to Belle Vue seemed right. But the site was just 8 acres (32,000 m2) and an available lease of fifty years was deemed too short by the club, so it was decided that City would move to Moss Side. The move to a larger stadium at Maine Road was backed by then manager Ernest Mangnall.
Many were disappointed when a site in south Manchester was chosen. A City director, John Ayrton, resigned from the board later in the decade and helped to form a breakaway club, Manchester Central, which played at Belle Vue.
A 16.25 acre former brickworks on Maine Road was purchased for £5,500. The road was originally known as Dog Kennel Lane but renamed Maine Road (after the Maine law) during the 1870s at the insistence of the Temperance movement which owned land on Dog Kennel Lane and the local authority accepted its request.
During construction, the stadium was reputedly cursed by a Gypsy when officials evicted a Gypsy camp from the area. This curse was allegedly removed on 28 December 1998. However, the Gypsy curse is likely to be an urban myth, as such stories are endemic to a number of Football League grounds. Construction took 300 days at a total cost of £100,000. The initial layout of the ground consisted of one covered stand with a seating capacity of 10,000, and uncovered terracing on the other three sides, with gentle curves connecting the corners.
The first match at Maine Road took place on 25 August 1923 when 58,159 fans watched Manchester City beat Sheffield United 2–1. The first changes to the ground took place in 1931, when the corner between the Main Stand and the Platt Lane end at the south of the ground was rebuilt to incorporate a roof. This renovation was the first of many, as Maine Road's layout and capacity was varied throughout its lifespan.
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attendance of 84,569 was set in 1934 at an FA Cup sixth round match between Manchester City and Stoke City, a record for an English club ground.
At the time of its closure in 2003, Maine Road was an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 35,150 and of haphazard design with stands of varying heights due to the ground being renovated several times over its 80-year history. The following season Manchester City moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester, a mile from the city centre and near Ardwick, where the club originally formed in 1880.
Plans to build Maine Road were first announced in May 1922, following a decision by Manchester City to leave their Hyde Road ground, which did not have room for expansion and its main stand had been severely damaged by fire in 1920.
Two sites in Belle Vue in east Manchester were suggested, but neither was deemed sufficient. To many City fans east Manchester was regarded as City's home and a move to Belle Vue seemed right. But the site was just 8 acres (32,000 m2) and an available lease of fifty years was deemed too short by the club, so it was decided that City would move to Moss Side. The move to a larger stadium at Maine Road was backed by then manager Ernest Mangnall.
Many were disappointed when a site in south Manchester was chosen. A City director, John Ayrton, resigned from the board later in the decade and helped to form a breakaway club, Manchester Central, which played at Belle Vue.
A 16.25 acre former brickworks on Maine Road was purchased for £5,500. The road was originally known as Dog Kennel Lane but renamed Maine Road (after the Maine law) during the 1870s at the insistence of the Temperance movement which owned land on Dog Kennel Lane and the local authority accepted its request.
During construction, the stadium was reputedly cursed by a Gypsy when officials evicted a Gypsy camp from the area. This curse was allegedly removed on 28 December 1998. However, the Gypsy curse is likely to be an urban myth, as such stories are endemic to a number of Football League grounds. Construction took 300 days at a total cost of £100,000. The initial layout of the ground consisted of one covered stand with a seating capacity of 10,000, and uncovered terracing on the other three sides, with gentle curves connecting the corners.
The first match at Maine Road took place on 25 August 1923 when 58,159 fans watched Manchester City beat Sheffield United 2–1. The first changes to the ground took place in 1931, when the corner between the Main Stand and the Platt Lane end at the south of the ground was rebuilt to incorporate a roof. This renovation was the first of many, as Maine Road's layout and capacity was varied throughout its lifespan.