Bootham Crescent in
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, England, was the home of
York City Football Club and
York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it was near the city centre, just over a mile from
York railway station
York railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) serving the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the sta ...
. As of February 2023 the ground has been fully demolished to make way for the building of new houses.
York City leased land at Bootham Crescent from
York Cricket Club as a replacement for their ground at
Fulfordgate on the outskirts of the city. The ground was constructed in four months, and opened on 31 August 1932. In the Second World War, the Popular Stand was converted into an
air-raid shelter
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
, and the ground suffered slight damage when a bomb landed on houses along the Shipton Street End. York purchased Bootham Crescent for £4,075 in 1948. Floodlights were fitted at the ground in 1959, and replaced by ones twice as powerful in 1995. A number of improvements were made in the early 1980s, with a gymnasium, offices and a lounge for officials built.
The David Longhurst Stand opened in 1991 after a roof was erected on the Shipton Street End, named after the former York player
David Longhurst
David John Longhurst (15 January 1965 – 8 September 1990) was an English association football, footballer. During his career, he played for Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Halifax Town A.F.C., Halifax Town, Northampton Town F.C., N ...
who died during a match at the ground in 1990. Bootham Crescent hosted
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
matches from 1932 to 2004 and from 2012 to 2016, both spells ending after York were
relegated
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
into
non-League football
Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
. The
ground was renamed KitKat Crescent from 2005 to 2010 as part of a sponsorship deal with
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
. York City left Bootham Crescent and moved to the
York Community Stadium
York Community Stadium (known for sponsorship purposes as the LNER Community Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Huntington, North Yorkshire, Huntington, York, England. It is owned by City of York Council, and is shared by York City F.C., Yo ...
in
Huntington in early 2021, and the Bootham Crescent site will be used for housing.
Bootham Crescent comprised four stands: the Main Stand, the Popular Stand, the David Longhurst Stand and the Grosvenor Road End. The ground held a league representative match, neutral club matches, and schoolboy and youth international matches. Other than football, it hosted a concert, firework displays,
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, rugby league matches, and
beer festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
China
*Qingdao International Beer Fes ...
s. The record attendance of 28,123 was set in March 1938, for an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
match against
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football.
Huddersfield Town we ...
. The highest seasonal average attendance of 10,412 was achieved in
1948–49.
History
Construction and early years
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of the English football league syste ...
played at
Fulfordgate in
Fulford, on the southern outskirts of
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, from 1922 to 1932.
It was difficult for most supporters to reach, being a good distance from the
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
, and the tram service to Fulford only had a single track. Attendances declined in the club's
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and
third seasons in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
, which the directors blamed on Fulfordgate's location.
One director, G. W. Halliday, became convinced that the only solution was to move to a new ground.
York Cricket Club left Bootham Crescent, their home for around 50 years, for a
new ground at Wigginton Road in January 1932. Preliminary discussions and visits to Bootham Crescent took place,
and the directors believed that renting the ground would be cheaper than repaying the debts on Fulfordgate.
Further, Bootham Crescent was situated near the centre of the city, and the population living within a mile of the site was, at 30,000, 10 times that within a similar radius of Fulfordgate.
However, two former directors argued that attendances at many grounds had fallen during the Great Depression, and that the approaches and surrounds to Bootham Crescent were limited.

The directors were unanimous that a change should be made, and a special meeting of the shareholders was held on 26 April 1932.
The move to Bootham Crescent on a 21-year lease was approved by 115 votes to 37. The site of York's new home was of an irregular shape and was hemmed in from four sides, with a narrow track to the south, barracks to the west, a school and almhouses to the north and terraced houses to the east.
Nonetheless, the grounds of the city's football,
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
teams were now within a few hundred yards of each other.
The ground was renovated over the summer of 1932; the area was drained and then built to the design of local architects Ward & Leckenby.
The Popular Stand was erected on the west side using sections of the terrace cover at Fulfordgate, with the Main Stand built opposite.
Terraces were banked up in the wedge-shaped areas behind the goals.
After four months of construction, Bootham Crescent was ready for the
1932–33 season,
with an initial capacity of over 30,000.
The ground was officially opened on 31 August 1932, when York played
Stockport County in a
Third Division North match.
The club president, Sir John Hunt, marked the occasion by cutting a ribbon of the club's colours of chocolate and cream.
In attendance were the Lord Mayor of York, the Sheriff of York, the vice-president of the Football League, the treasurer of
the Football Association
The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
(FA) and the local Member of Parliament.
York player
Tom Mitchell scored the first goal at the ground in a 2–2 draw, played before 8,106 supporters. In the first four seasons at Bootham Crescent, attendances were not higher, and were sometimes lower than at Fulfordgate.
There were problems with the ground in its early years; the quality of the pitch was questioned,
and the ''
Lincolnshire Echo'' remarked in April 1937 that the pitch was "almost a morass, with extensive pools of water in front of the goals". There was an incident in March 1934 where the referee and linesmen were found unconscious in their dressing room, due to fumes from a faulty heater.
Improvements and cup runs
The ground first hosted a match against
First Division opposition on 12 January 1935 when York played
Derby County in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
third-round match, which set a new club record attendance of 13,612.
Attendance records were set at four successive stages of the
1937–38 FA Cup, culminating in the 28,123 attendance for the sixth-round match against
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football.
Huddersfield Town we ...
on 5 March 1938.
By now the ground's capacity was around 23,000, and seats were placed around the pitch to accommodate more fans. During the Second World War, the tunnel at the back of the Popular Stand was used as an
air-raid shelter
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
for pupils and staff of Shipton Street School.
The ground was slightly damaged after the
air-raid on York in April 1942, when houses along the Shipton Street End were bombed.
Considerable improvements were made in the immediate post-war period.
Deeper drainage and the concreting of the banking at the Grosvenor Road End were completed, and loudspeaking equipment was installed.

It was announced at the shareholders' annual meeting in September 1948 that York had purchased Bootham Crescent for £4,075, with the club's finances in a strong position at the time.
Bigger crowds were recorded around the country in the post-war period, and York achieved five-figure average attendances in 1948–49 and 1955–56. Over the late 1940s and early 1950s, concreting was completed on the terracing in the Popular Stand, due to the efforts of the supporters' club, and the Shipton Street End.
York reached the semi-final of the
1954–55 FA Cup, and two matches from this run were played at Bootham Crescent: the first-round match against
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, which York won 3–2, and the fifth-round match against
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, which was won 3–1 before a crowd of 21,000. During the summer of 1955, the Main Stand was extended towards Shipton Street, funded by profits gained from the FA Cup run and a stand extension fund.
A concrete wall was built at the Grosvenor Road End for over £3,000 in 1956, as a safety precaution and as a support for additional banking and terracing.
These improvements saw capacity extended to 23,600.
Two FA Cup ties against First Division opposition were held at the ground in
1957–58:
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
were beaten 3–0, followed by a 0–0 draw with
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
, which drew a capacity crowd of 23,600.
Floodlights were installed at the ground in the summer of 1959, costing £14,500, a substantial part of which was raised by a supporters' club.
They were officially switched on for a
friendly against
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
on 28 October 1959, which Newcastle won 8–2 before a crowd of 9,414.
Further improvements and a new stand
York reached the quarter-final of the
1961–62 League Cup, and in the earlier rounds beat
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
,
Leicester City,
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
and
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic at Bootham Crescent. The half-time scoreboard at the Shipton Street End ceased to be used by 1965, but remained as advertising boarding.
On 5 May 1969, referee
Roy Harper collapsed and died on the pitch during a match against
Halifax Town. Seats were installed in the Popular Stand for
1974–75, York's first season in the
Second Division.
This increased the ground's
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
to 2,762,
but meant the overall capacity was reduced to 16,529.
The floodlights were updated and improved for £20,000, and were officially switched on by former
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
player
Derek Dougan for a friendly with
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
on 1 August 1980.
A gymnasium was built at the Grosvenor Road End for £50,000 early in 1981, and to help towards this York received £15,000 from the
Sports Council and £20,000 from the Football League Improvement Trust.
In the summer of 1983, new offices for the
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, secretary, matchday and lottery manager were built, along with a vice-presidents' lounge.
The lounge was officially opened by
Jack Dunnett
John Jacob Dunnett (24 June 1922 – 26 October 2019) was a British Labour Party politician, solicitor, and football club chairman. He died in London in October 2019 at the age of 97.
Early life
Dunnett was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, to Jewish ...
, the chairman of the Football League, prior to a match against
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
in November 1983.
By the early 1980s cracks had appeared in the wall built at the back of the Grosvenor Road End.
The rear of the terracing was cordoned off, and the capacity of the ground reduced to under 13,500.
The Grosvenor Road End was segregated and allocated to away supporters, and fencing was erected for the first time before the FA Cup match against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in February 1985.
All the fencing had been dismantled by the early 2000s.
During the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, problems had arisen in handling big crowds, due to the ground having only two of four sides available for entry and exit, and the home supporters funnelling through the car park to the Shipton Street End.
Extensive improvements were made in the summer of 1985 for approximately £100,000, and eight new turnstiles were installed at the Shipton Street End.
Further, the dressing rooms were refurbished to incorporate new baths and showers, and a new referees' changing room and physiotherapist's treatment room were readied.
Hospitality boxes were built into the Main Stand during 1986–87, and video equipment was installed inside the ground.
Crash barriers were strengthened, meaning ground safety requirements were met.
These improvements meant that shortly before the
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
was published, the ground's capacity was 14,109, including 3,059 seats.
However, by September 1989, the capacity had been increased to 14,628.

The ground's major drawback was the lack of covered standing accommodation at the Shipton Street End, but the cost of erecting a stand had been prohibitive.
The Shipton Street Roof Appeal was launched in the spring of 1988 to raise money for a stand, and fundraising schemes were put into place.
On 8 September 1990, York player
David Longhurst
David John Longhurst (15 January 1965 – 8 September 1990) was an English association football, footballer. During his career, he played for Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Halifax Town A.F.C., Halifax Town, Northampton Town F.C., N ...
collapsed and died from heart failure during a match against
Lincoln City at Bootham Crescent.
With the approval of his family, the David Longhurst Memorial Fund was launched, and all donations were added to the monies already raised for the roof appeal.
The
Football Trust contributed half of the £150,000 cost of the stand, and it was constructed in the summer of 1991.
The David Longhurst Stand was officially opened on 14 October 1991 in a friendly match against
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
, which was watched by a crowd of 4,374.
1990s to 2022
The Family Stand was opened in the Main Stand in 1992, and manager
John Ward ran the
London Marathon
The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...
to help raise funds for the project.
Bootham Crescent first hosted a play-off match when York beat
Bury 1–0 on 19 May 1993 in the
Third Division play-off semi-final; the attendance of 9,206 was the ground's highest in seven years. During 1993–94 the Main Stand paddock was seated and covered, and the recent work to the stand cost £220,000.
The ground's capacity fell to 9,459, including seating for 3,645, after the renovations to the David Longhurst and Main Stands. In May 1995, a new drainage system was installed for £11,000, to improve the quality of the pitch during winter.
New floodlights were installed in June 1995 at a cost of £122,000, and despite being shorter in height were twice as powerful as the original floodlights.
A water tower was installed in the late 1990s, to further help the pitch quality.
In July 1999, York's
real property
In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...
assets, including Bootham Crescent, were transferred to a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
called Bootham Crescent Holdings (BCH) for £165,000. Chairman
Douglas Craig put the ground and the club up for sale for £4.5 million in December 2001. It was announced that the ground would close by 30 June 2002, and talks were held over a move to
Huntington Stadium
Huntington Stadium (formerly Ryedale Stadium) is the former stadium of England, English rugby league teams York Wasps, and York City Knights.
History
The stadium, which was financed by the Ryedale District Council and was initially named the R ...
. In March 2002, the club was bought by
John Batchelor; he said York could continue at Bootham Crescent until a new stadium was built,
when in fact the previous 25-year lease was replaced with one that would expire in June 2003. Batchelor spoke of building a new stadium at Clifton Moor, and
Persimmon
The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...
, who held 10% of the shares in BCH, submitted
planning applications for 93 homes on the site of Bootham Crescent.
In March 2003, York extended their lease of the ground to May 2004, and under the ownership of the Supporters' Trust proceeded with plans to move to Huntington Stadium. Planning problems arose with bringing the ground up to Football League standards, and the club preferred to stay at Bootham Crescent.
York bought Bootham Crescent in February 2004, after a £2 million loan from
the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) was secured.

York were
relegated
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
to the
Conference National
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
for
2004–05,
which brought an end to 72 years of Football League football at Bootham Crescent. In January 2005 the
ground was renamed KitKat Crescent, as part of a sponsorship deal under which
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
donated £100,000 to the club. This money went towards covering the shortfall the club faced paying BCH directors, Persimmon and stamp duty when buying the ground.
The ground was still commonly referred to as Bootham Crescent.
The deal expired in January 2010, when Nestlé ended all their sponsorship arrangements with the club. York returned to the Football League for
2012–13, and their first
League Two match at Bootham Crescent was a 3–1 defeat to
Wycombe Wanderers on 18 August 2012, before a 4,591 crowd. The club was relegated to the
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
for 2016–17, ending a four-year spell back in the Football League. The final game to be played at Bootham Crescent saw York City host
Guiseley AFC with York centre-back Josh King scoring the only goal of the game which unknowingly became the final goal there. A charity match played on 24 April 2021 raised £4000 for local charities. The ground had not been subject to any major investment since the 1990s, and faced problems with holes in the Main Stand roof, crumbling in the Grosvenor Road End, drainage problems and toilet conditions.
Bootham Crescent was officially handed to Persimmon Homes in April 2022 and demolition began within weeks.
Future
Football Club
The terms of the FSIF loan required the club to identify a site for a new stadium by 2007, and have detailed planning permission by 2009, to avoid financial penalties.
Once plans for a new stadium were in place, the loan would turn into a grant to assist in funding the relocation.
As part of the loan agreement, Persimmon have
first refusal on purchasing Bootham Crescent once York leave, for 10% lower than its market value. Persimmon still intend to build 93 homes on the site, and the proceeds of the sale would go towards building the new stadium. In March 2008, York's managing director
Jason McGill cited "the annual cost of £60,000 for the maintenance and upkeep of a 1932 stadium with few commercial and income-generating opportunities" as the reason for the continued need to move to a new stadium.
Despite the club failing to formally identify a site by the end of 2007, financial penalties were not incurred, as the FSIF were satisfied with the progress made. However, McGill said plans with the preferred site had ground to a halt by March 2008.
City of York Council announced its commitment to building a
community stadium in May 2008, which would be used by York and the city's rugby league club,
York City Knights. In July 2010, the council chose the option of building a 6,000-all-seater stadium at Monks Cross in
Huntington, on the site of Huntington Stadium. In August 2014,
Greenwich Leisure Ltd were named as the council's preferred bidder to deliver an 8,000-all-seater stadium, a leisure complex and a community hub. Construction started in December 2017, for completion in mid 2019. After a number of delays, the stadium was completed and handed to the operators GLL in December 2020, with the opening game in February 2021 seeing
York City take on
AFC Fylde ended in a 3–1 victory for Fylde,
Alex Whitmore scoring the opening goal at the stadium.
Site
Persimmon Homes are, as at May 2005, in the process of constructing 93 homes on the site, made up of 36 apartments and 57 houses. In recognition of the history of the site, the roads and apartment buildings are named as follows:
* Alf Patrick Court
* David Longhurst Way
* Keith Walwyn Walk
* Mitchell House
* Jackson House
* Sherrington House
* Lockie House
In addition part of the centre circle, a section of a stand and a York City Football Club flag will commemorate the history of the site.
Structure and facilities

The ground could accommodate 8,256 supporters, including seating for 3,409,
and comprised four stands; the Main Stand, the Popular Stand, the David Longhurst Stand and the Grosvenor Road End.
The Main Stand, which could seat 1,757 spectators, was an all-seated stand which ran around two-thirds of the pitch.
It contained the dressing rooms, club offices, ticket offices and hospitality suites, and had a number of supporting pillars. The stand had open corners to either side, the supporters' club located in one corner, and to the rear had windows to either side. At the front was the Family Stand, which offered adjusted rates for children and their carers. Opposite was the Popular Stand, a covered all-seated stand, which had a number of supporting pillars and a television gantry on its roof. It could seat 1,652 spectators.
The northernmost stand of the ground was the David Longhurst Stand, which was a covered terrace for home supporters and had a row of supporting pillars across its front. The stand was originally known as the Shipton Street End, but was renamed following the death of David Longhurst, and has a capacity of 3,062. Opposite was the Grosvenor Road End, an open terrace reserved for away supporters, which held a capacity of 1,785. As well as this, away fans were permitted to use 332 seats of the Popular Stand, in the section closest to the Grosvenor Road End. The toilet facilities for away supporters consisted of open air urinals and Portakabins.
The grass pitch measured . Head groundsman Bryan Foster was presented with a gold watch from the directors in March 1988, in recognition of his long and outstanding service. His successor, Bryan Horner, was voted the Second Division groundsman of the year in 1999. A club shop was situated just inside the car park, which also housed the commercial manager's office. Adjoining this was the social club, known as the 1922 Bar since August 2015, and the players' bar.
Transport
The ground is located just over a mile from York railway station, which is approximately a 20-minute walk. The station lies on the East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...
between London King's Cross railway station
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...
and Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...
, and has direct services from Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
and South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...
. Many of the roads near the ground are for residential permit holders only, meaning car parking at the ground is notoriously difficult. The author Simon Inglis pointed out the irony of the club leaving Fulfordgate because of its location, when "it is harder than ever for fans to drive ''in'' to Bootham Crescent". Parking on matchdays at nearby York Hospital
York Hospital is a teaching hospital in York, England. It is managed by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an NHS foundation trust, NHS Foundation Trust which also runs several other hospitals in North Yorkshire and ...
is available. A park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
facility operates in the city, and a number of lines drop off within walking distance of the ground.
Other uses
Bootham Crescent hosted a war-time representative match in which the Football League XI beat the Northern Command XI 9–2 on 17 October 1942, before a 5,500 crowd. It held a university representative match on 17 February 1976, when a FA XI drew 2–2 with the Universities Athletic Union; the FA XI included former England internationals and 1966 World Cup winners Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...
and Nobby Stiles
Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English professional footballer. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. I ...
. The ground hosted its first major neutral match on 7 February 1968, when Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
beat Hull City 1–0 in an FA Cup third-round second replay, in front of a crowd of 16,524. During 2012–13, Bootham Crescent held one fixture apiece for Harrogate Town and Gateshead
Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
, as the pitches at their grounds were unplayable. The ground hosted the 2013 FA Women's Premier League Cup Final on 5 May 2013, when Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
beat Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 extra-time draw.
The ground first held international football on 10 May 1952, when England schools, captained by future York manager Wilf McGuinness, beat Ireland 5–0 before 16,000 spectators. It has hosted a number of youth international matches, most notably the England under-18s' 4–0 win over Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
on 13 October 1996, in which 16-year-old Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Newcastle United ...
scored a hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
for England. Bootham Crescent hosted three matches in the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, including France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
's 2–0 win over Russia in the quarter-final on 30 April 2001, watched by 557 spectators.
The ground has also held non-football events. It hosted a music concert in September 1979 and a grand fireworks display in October 1982 to celebrate the centenary of the '' Yorkshire Evening Press''. Sporting events to have taken place include an American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
game in the summer of 1988, and a rugby league match between York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
in the Challenge Cup
The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
before a crowd of 11,347 on 29 January 1989, which was won 28–9 by Leeds. York City Knights have played at Bootham Crescent since 2016, ahead of the move to the Community Stadium. The ground hosted baseball, an exhibition game in May 1934 and in 1937 the home fixtures of York City Maroons in the 8 team Yorkshire League. In August 2017, the ground was transformed into the 1936 Berlin Olympics stadium for filming a Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film ''Gold'' (2018 film). Beer festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
China
*Qingdao International Beer Fes ...
s, organised by the York Minstermen supporters' group, were held at the ground's social club from 2008 to 2012.
Records
The highest attendance record at the ground was 28,123 for a match against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup sixth round on 5 March 1938. The highest attendance in the Football League is 21,010 against Hull City in the Third Division North on 23 April 1949. The attendance of 1,167 against Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the c ...
on 5 May 1981 is the lowest ever to see York in a Football League match. York were relegated to the Conference National in 2004, and their highest home attendance in this division was 6,660 for a match against Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whit ...
on 4 May 2007. The lowest was 1,567 for a match against Exeter City on 10 March 2008. The lowest attendance at the ground for any first-team fixture was 608 for a Conference League Cup third-round match against Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system.
The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
on 4 November 2008.
The highest seasonal average attendance for York at Bootham Crescent was 10,412 in 1948–49. York's lowest seasonal average was 2,139 in 1977–78, which came after two successive relegations from the Second Division. The most recent season in which the average attendance was more than 10,000 was in 1955–56. This season also saw York's highest total seasonal attendance at the ground, which was 236,685. The lowest total seasonal attendance was 48,357 for 1977–78 in the Fourth Division.
York's biggest margin of victory at Bootham Crescent was by eight goals, achieved with a 9–1 win over Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
in the Third Division North on 2 February 1957. Their biggest margin of defeat at the ground was by seven goals, when they were beaten 7–0 by Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
in a Third Division North match on 14 January 1939. The most goals scored in a match was 12 on 16 November 1935, when York defeated Mansfield Town 7–5 in the Third Division North.
References
{{York RLFC
Defunct cricket grounds in England
English Football League venues
Football venues in England
Defunct football venues in England
Sports venues completed in 1932
Sports venues in York
York City F.C.
Rugby league stadiums in England
1932 establishments in England
York Knights
Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom