Valley Parade
The ground was built for rugby. Manningham RFC commissioned it in 1886, and it stayed a rugby ground until 1903, when Bradford City moved in and never left.
Archibald Leitch rebuilt it in 1908, and the crowd figures that followed tell you how much room he found — 39,146 packed in for a match in 1911, a record that still stands.
It is the fire of 11 May 1985 that defines Valley Parade now. The main stand burned during a match; 56 people died. The club played elsewhere while the ground was rebuilt from the ground up, reopening in December 1986. The capacity has sat near 25,000 since.
The pitch is grass, relaid in 2022 and again in 2024 after the surface gave trouble.
One oddity separates it from most English grounds of its size: Bradford City do not own it. In 2024 the club's owner, Stefan Rupp, said he wanted to buy the ground back.
Who plays here
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Bradford
182 matches
Recent matches here
| Date | Match | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug | Bradford — Burnley | 0:0 |
| 15 Aug | Bradford — Peterborough | 2:0 |
| 8 Aug | Bradford — Rochdale | 2:0 |
| 29 Jul | Bradford — Preston | 3:2 |
| 14 May | Bradford — Bolton | 0:1 |
| 25 Apr | Bradford — Bolton | 1:1 |
| 21 Apr | Bradford — Plymouth | 1:1 |
| 11 Apr | Bradford — Stevenage | 0:1 |