Cassio Road, also known as the West Herts Sport Ground, is a multi use venue and sports ground in

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 ...

, England. It was the home ground of Watford Football Club from 1898 to 1922 and has been the home ground of West Herts Football Club since 2004.

History

In the early twentieth century, Cassio Road was used for athletics, cricket and football. By 1920 spectator facilities included a pavilion and covered standing areas on the western touchline, and a covered terrace behind the northern end of the pitch. When football was played at the ground, duckboards were used on the two sides left open for cricket.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p18, Watford were elected to

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 ...

in 1920, and the first League match at Cassio Road was a 2–0 defeat by QPR on 4 September 1920 watched by 10,466 spectators. The ground's highest League attendance was 13,000 for a

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 25 March 1921. In 1922 Watford moved to the

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of EFL Championship, Championship club Watford F.C., Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, w ...

ground. The last League game at Cassio Road was played on 29 April 1922, with Watford beating Gillingham 1–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. The ground remained open as a sports venue.

References

{{Watford F.C. Football venues in England Sports venues in Hertfordshire Watford F.C. English Football League venues