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Boothferry Park Stadium (Hull City, 1946-2002)

Boothferry Park

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Capacity: 40,150.
Club Nickname: The Tigers
Year Opened: 1946 (Closed in 2002.)
Pitch Size: 110 yards by 75 yards.
Address: Boothferry Park, Boothferry Rd, Hull HU4 6EU, United Kingdom
Shirt Sponsors: 12Bet
Manufacturer: Umbro
Home Kit: Orange and Black
Away Kit: Black and White
Last Update: September 13, 2024

Ground Opened: 1946

Ground Closed: 2002

Ground Demolished: 2008-10

Number of years at ground: 56

First Competitive Game Played: Hull City 0-0 Lincoln City, Division Three North, 31 August 1946. Attendance 25,586.

Last Competitive Game Played: Hull City 0-1 Darlington, English League Division 3, 14 December 2002. Attendance 14,162.

Record Attendance: 55,019 vs Manchester United, FA Cup 6th Round, 26 February 1949.

Club moved to: MKM Stadium in 2002

Distance from Highbury to new Emirates Stadium: 1.5 kilometres.

In the early years, the stadium was considered a marvel. It had a state of the art floodlighting system involving 96 lamps hung from two gantries on either side of the ground.

Boothferry Park even had its own train station – in 1951, Boothferry Halt opened and allowed supporters to travel directly from the city centre to right outside the ground.

In later years, the stadium unfortunately garnered a reputation of being a bit run down. Fans began to affectionately refer to the ground as “Fer Ark” because the rest of the letters on the Boothferry Park signed had fallen off.

Due to financial constraints, Hull City allowed supermarkets to be set up as part of the stadium. Initially in the 1980s, Grandways Supermarket became a part of the building. In the 90s, Kwik Save and Iceland set up shop there. However, the supermarkets were unable to save the stadium in the end – although the shops themselves stayed open five years after the team moved away from the stadium.

The North Stand was built and covered in 1951. It had two tiers – an upper tier with 3,000 seats and a lower tier with terraces for away fans to stand.

When the supermarkets had to be inserted into the stadium, it was the North Stand which had to give way. This meant a dramatic reduction in the stadium’s capacity.

The Kempton Stand was located on the east side of the stadium, and was originally just a terraced embankment, until 1952 when it was covered. This was originally just a temporary structure which would eventually be replaced by a new two-tier stand, but it remained until the ground was demolished.

It had a seating capacity of around 5,000, and included facilities such as a bar, restaurant, and the aforementioned Boothferry Halt station.

The Best Stand was located opposite the Kempton Stand, and was a covered terrace. So-called because the original plans for the stadium referred to the stand as the best one, it opened in 1946 and was the only stand completed at the beginning of the stadium’s lifetime.

It held both sets of changing rooms, the boot room, referee’s room, press box and directors’ lounge. It was also home to “The Well”, an area of the stand popular with many fans who wanted to be right next to the pitch.

The Boothferry End was located behind the other goal, and was another covered terrace. Completed in 1965, it was famous for it propped cantilevered roof which needed no supporting pillars and therefore did not restrict views.

It had an upper tier of 3,000 seats and a lower terrace with room for 4,000 standing supporters.

With the demolition of the stadium being completed in 2011, the site is now occupied by residential housing.

To honour the area’s history, the street names in the housing project include “Tigers Way”, “Legends Way” and “Jensen Mews”, the latter named after Hull City and Denmark icon Viggo Jensen, who played for the club between 1949 and 1956.

Boothferry Halt railway station closed in 1986, but the railway still runs through the area just as it used to.

25,586 people were in attendance at the very first match Boothferry Park on 31 August 1946, although its a miracle any of them came back after a 0-0 draw with Lincoln City in the pouring rain.

Just two years later, the terracing embankments were raised, allowing 40,179 people to attend a 3-1 defeat to Middlesborough in the FA Cup third round on 10 January 1948.

A year after, Boothferry Park saw its largest ever attendance. On 26 February 1949, 55,019 watched Manchester United beat Hull City 1-0 in an FA Cup quarter-final.

The stadium’s capacity was greatly reduced in 1982 when, in order to avoid bankruptcy, the North Stand was sold so that a supermarket could be moved in.

The 80s were a very difficult period for Boothferry Park, as capacity was reduced even further when the north-east and south-east corners of the ground had to be closed over fears they were unsafe. The capacity of the East Stand also had to be reduced to 1,500 while works to improve safety were carried out.

In a final blow, the East Stand was closed again in 1996, again because of fears over safety. It only opened again for the 1998-99 season.

The last game at Boothferry Park was a disappointing one for Hull City fans, as their side were beaten 1-0 by Darlington on 14 December 2002.

A single goal from Simon Betts just before half time was the difference, despite Darlington captain Craig Liddle being sent off.

Despite that, it was still a raucous occasion, with a Walk of Legends parade, Status Quo tribute band and more than 14,000 in attendance.

After the game, those fans gathered on the pitch to say their goodbyes to the stadium that had been the team’s home for 56 years.

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