Creasey Park Community Football Centre

The ground at 7 Creasey Park Drive does not pretend to be anything other than a working facility. It replaced the old Brewers Hill, which had hosted the club since 1950 and saw a record crowd of 10,000 for a friendly against Manchester United in 1974 — a match Dunstable Town won 3-2 with a performance from George Best. That day stands alone.

The current centre opened in November 2011 after a rebuild paid for by the council and the Football Foundation. The capacity is listed as 3,200, though some accounts push it higher; the number 14,403 that appears in certain databases is simply wrong. AFC Dunstable moved here in 2009 before merging with the town side, and both clubs now share the dressing rooms.

What you notice first is the drainage. The system was designed to capture microplastics washed off the synthetic surface, an unusual feature for a ground of this level. It does not look different from the outside — just a flat rectangle of green surrounded by fencing — but the engineering sits beneath the pitch.

Dunstable Town Women F.C. also play here, using the same changing facilities. The site is functional, unromantic, and under no illusion that it will ever compete with the old grounds for history. It exists to serve the players and the community, nothing more.