Saturday, March 06, 1999

Huddersfield Town FC

Huddersfield Town 3 Stockport County 0 - Football League, Division One



Huddersfield is near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. Located within the historic county boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire, according to the 2001 Census it was the 10th largest town in the UK. The town is known for its role in the Industrial Revolution, for being the birthplace of both rugby league and the British Prime Minister, Harold WilsonThere has been a settlement in the area for over 4,000 years. The remains of a Roman fort were unearthed in the mid 18th century at Slack near Outlane, west of the town. Castle Hill, a major landmark, was the site of an Iron Age hill fort. Huddersfield was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as Oderesfelt and Odresfeld.


During planning and construction, the Kirklees Stadium was referred to as the Kirklees Stadium. It was built by Alfred McAlpine, designed by HOK Sport and was awarded the RIBA Building of the Year award for 1995. The decision to build a new stadium for Huddersfield Town was made in August 1992. Construction began the following year and it was completed in time for the 1994–95 season, enabling the club to move to its new base after 86 years at Leeds Road. When the stadium opened only the two side stands (Riverside and Kilner Bank) were ready. The South Stand was opened in December 1994. Construction on the North Stand began in 1996 and it was completed in 1998, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to approximately 24,500. The estimated cost of construction was £40 million.



This Pieman made an unscheduled visit to this particular match. I had headed into Yorkshire intending to watch Barnsley v Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. The weather was not good and the snow that we saw from the train indicated that Oakwell would not be able to host our intended afternoon entertainment. On arrival at Wakefield we received the news that we expected. However all was not lost as Huddersfield Town playing in a brand new stadium were going to be able to stage their match with Stockport County. A short train ride later enabled us to enjoy a few pints of local ale before the short walk to the stadium.





A decent match on a cold day saw the hosts triumph 3-0 over their visitors from Cheshire. All three goals came in an 8-minute period towards the end of the match. A small band of Spurs fans headed away after the match content that they had seen a match and in some cases bagged a new ground for their collection!

Attendance: 11,914
Programme: £1.80
Goals: Stewart [64 (pen), 68], Jenkins [72]


_____________________________________________________________________________

Subsequent visit to this venue

29 September 2017 - Huddersfield Town 0 Tottenham Hotspur 4 - Premier League - Attendance: 24,169

Total - 2


No comments: