County Ground

There are several stadiums in England called the County Ground:

County Ground (Swindon)

The County Ground is a stadium located near the town centre of Swindon, England, and has been home to Swindon Town Football Club since 1896. The current capacity of 15,728, all-seated, has been at that level since the mid-1990s. A record attendance of 32,000 was set on 15 January 1972, against Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. North of the football stadium is Swindon Cricket Club, with their pitch is also named The County Ground which was used for the football club from 1893 till 1896.

History

Thomas Arkell of Arkell's Brewery donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the 'Wiltshire County Ground', this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose built football ground. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. A covered stand on the Shrivenham Road side was erected in 1932, it was replaced in 1960 with one obtained second hand from Aldershot Military Tattoo. At a cost of £4,300 a roof was erected over the Town End, this was raised by the Supporters Club, and was opened on 27 August 1938 by local MP, W.W. Wakefield.

County Ground (Leyland)

The County Ground is a football stadium in Leyland, Lancashire, England which is owned and operated by Lancashire County Football Association (Lancashire FA). It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers reserves and both the Lancashire FA representative team and the Lancashire FA youth team.

History

The County Ground is located next to the Motor Vehicle Museum and was originally home to Leyland Motors FC who played in the Lancashire Combination from 1933 until 1980 when they joined the Cheshire County League, where they played for two seasons, before becoming founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982. In 1990 they changed name to Leyland DAF-SGL and in 1992 were demoted to the West Lancashire Football League, before another name change to Leyland Motors Athletic in 1993. Then in 2001 they left the league altogether.

The Lancashire FA moved their headquarters to the County Ground in 1998 from Blackburn.

The County Ground is the current home of Bolton Wanderers reserve team, who play in the Premier Reserve League and who, in the 2008-09 season, play in the North Division. The club also uses the ground for all their home matches in the Manchester Senior Cup.