Highbury Stadium

Highbury Stadium is the home of Fleetwood Town.

The ground is small. The Parkside Stand is the dominant feature, a concrete structure opened 16 April 2011 that replaced the old East Stand. It brought the capacity to 5,327 spectators. Before that, the Percy Ronson Stand was extended in February 2007, and the Highbury Stand followed in August 2008. The changes have been incremental rather than revolutionary, a series of repairs and extensions that keep the stadium functional without altering its character.

The pitch itself is natural grass, a fact that matters little in a town where the sea wind sweeps across the coast. The ground has hosted speedway racing from 1948 to 1952, a legacy that left a sunken area on the west side, cleared in 2008. That period belongs to the Fleetwood Flyers, a team that no longer exists, and the track is gone. Blackpool Reserves also used the ground between 2006 and 2014, but that is a detail that does not appear on any noticeboard.

The record crowd of 6,150 came on 13 November 1965, for an FA Cup match against Rochdale. The draw was 2–2, and the fixture remains the largest gate the stadium has ever seen. More recently, a 2011–12 FA Cup tie against Blackpool drew 5,094 spectators. Fleetwood lost 5–1, but Jamie Vardy scored their only goal. The stadium has seen better days, but it has also seen enough to stay open.