Don Amott Arena

The main stand at Don Amott Arena has 280 seats. He was a significant shareholder, and the funds to build the place were raised over ten years by the club’s committee. The old boys’ team became a proper football club in 1948, and the stadium is where they have played ever since.

There is a specific problem with the car park. In 2023, cars were reported sinking into the grass during wet weather, which forced the club to apply for planning permission for a new hard-surfaced area with 130 spaces. It is a practical detail that defines the daily life of the venue more than any trophy. The playing surface was updated in 2021 with a 4G artificial turf to prevent cancellations caused by waterlogging. This work cost around £750,000 and included new LED floodlights.

While the regular capacity sits at 1,500, the ground has hosted larger crowds. The highest official attendance was 911 for a Women’s Super League match between Leicester City and Derby County in February 2024. Before that, in 2017, the venue hosted a music festival that drew 4,000 people. That event was organized to raise money for the club’s redevelopment, showing how the space serves the town beyond Saturday afternoons.

There is no heating system for the pitch, which keeps the character of the ground grounded in its local context. The address is Station Road, Mickleover, Derby, Derbyshire, DE3 9FB. It is a functional space that has survived changes in management and surface technology.