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Feethams - Darlington FC
Darlington
FC were formed in 1883 and from that date until 2003, their home
stadium was Feethams. In 2004, The club moved away into a brand new
modern 25,000 arena, financed and named after local businessman
George Reynolds. The move pretty much bankrupted the club. The ambitious plans to climb the Leagues never
materialised and The club fell into Administration 3 times before in
2012, The FA relegated the club from the The National Conference (The National League today), to The Northern League. An
unprecedented drop of four divisions.
The Old East Stand at Feethams built in in 1903
Due to the Financial implications The New Supporters Trust owned Darlington FC left the Arena, as they simply couldn’t afford to stay there. They arranged a ground share at Heritage Park, home of Bishop Auckland, some twelve miles away. The club won The Northern League and with it promotion to The Evostik First Division North. A second place finish saw the club into the play off’s were they were beaten by Ramsbottom Utd. The following season however Darlington were promoted beating ourselves (Bamber Bridge) 2-0 in the Final at Heritage Park.
In 2016 Darlington FC moved again, this time back home to their own Town were they reached a ground sharing agreement with Darlington Rugby Club at Blackwell Meadows. The new ground has seen a number of improvements and works to bring the ground up to Football Association standards. The Capacity currently stands at 3,281.
West Stand at Feethams with The Tin Shed at the far side of the pitch
The Development of Feethams began at the beginning of the 20th Century with the building of a West Stand, and in 1905 the South Terrace or the Polam Lane end was built. When it was first constructed the terrace was called the Cricket Pavilion. Also around this time the Town End had terracing built to allow fans to stand behind the Town End goal.
Feethams, like Wembley Stadium also has it’s own “Twin Towers” built in 1913. They were still there when the club left the stadium in 2003. Fans had to pass through the Towers and walk around the cricket pitch to reach the Football Ground.
The Twin Towers at Feethams
In 1920 the club built offices and changing rooms under the new East Stand as well as putting a roof on the stand. Nothing much further changed at the ground until floodlights were installed in 1960. Sadly after the first match under lights, an electrical fault caused the West Stand to catch fire and it was completely destroyed. The club rebuilt the West Stand but instead of coming up with a modern design they simply built it as it had stood before the fire. This was apparently due to insurance issues.
In 1997 the stadium received it’s next major change when the club decided to knock down the old East Stand and build a new stand. The new East Stand was all seated and made the ground look much smarter. However the construction crippled the club and the afore mentioned local businessman George Reynolds came to the rescue. One of his first actions was to start construction of a new 25,000 all seated ground on the edge of town. This spelled the end for Feethams as the home of Darlington FC
Ariel view of Feethams, with the "New" West Stand in all its glory
The record attendance at Feethams was in the 1948-49 season when Hull City were the visitors and a crowd of 17,978 crammed in to the ground. In that same season The club saw a crowd in excess of 14,000 against Rotherham Utd and home games against Hartlepool Utd and quite surprisingly New Brighton FC drew attendances over 12,000 in the Old Football League Third Division North. That season was the only time in the history of Darlington FC that average home attendances topped 10,000.
All the more baffling that The new Stadium built in 2004 had a Capacity of 25,000. It was said at the time the club would need weekly crowds in excess of 6,000 just to break even in The George Reynolds Arena. A feat the club has only achieved 15 times since 1921. Feethams was demolished in 2006
The new home of Darlington FC at Blackwell Meadows.
The Arena, now known as The Darlington Arena still exists today and is owned and used by Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Union Club who bought the stadium for £2 million in 2012. They rarely attract crowds of more than a thousand, and the biggest ever attendance at the Arean was actually for an Elton John concert in 2008 with 17,000 in the Stadium. The areana has also hosted the likes of Tom Jones, UB40, Simply Red ans Steps, amomgst others.
The "White Elephant" of The Darlington Arena
With Thanks to darlingtonfc.co.uk and thenorthernecho.co.uk for much of the information contained in the article.
The Old East Stand at Feethams built in in 1903
Due to the Financial implications The New Supporters Trust owned Darlington FC left the Arena, as they simply couldn’t afford to stay there. They arranged a ground share at Heritage Park, home of Bishop Auckland, some twelve miles away. The club won The Northern League and with it promotion to The Evostik First Division North. A second place finish saw the club into the play off’s were they were beaten by Ramsbottom Utd. The following season however Darlington were promoted beating ourselves (Bamber Bridge) 2-0 in the Final at Heritage Park.
In 2016 Darlington FC moved again, this time back home to their own Town were they reached a ground sharing agreement with Darlington Rugby Club at Blackwell Meadows. The new ground has seen a number of improvements and works to bring the ground up to Football Association standards. The Capacity currently stands at 3,281.
West Stand at Feethams with The Tin Shed at the far side of the pitch
The Development of Feethams began at the beginning of the 20th Century with the building of a West Stand, and in 1905 the South Terrace or the Polam Lane end was built. When it was first constructed the terrace was called the Cricket Pavilion. Also around this time the Town End had terracing built to allow fans to stand behind the Town End goal.
Feethams, like Wembley Stadium also has it’s own “Twin Towers” built in 1913. They were still there when the club left the stadium in 2003. Fans had to pass through the Towers and walk around the cricket pitch to reach the Football Ground.
The Twin Towers at Feethams
In 1920 the club built offices and changing rooms under the new East Stand as well as putting a roof on the stand. Nothing much further changed at the ground until floodlights were installed in 1960. Sadly after the first match under lights, an electrical fault caused the West Stand to catch fire and it was completely destroyed. The club rebuilt the West Stand but instead of coming up with a modern design they simply built it as it had stood before the fire. This was apparently due to insurance issues.
In 1997 the stadium received it’s next major change when the club decided to knock down the old East Stand and build a new stand. The new East Stand was all seated and made the ground look much smarter. However the construction crippled the club and the afore mentioned local businessman George Reynolds came to the rescue. One of his first actions was to start construction of a new 25,000 all seated ground on the edge of town. This spelled the end for Feethams as the home of Darlington FC
Ariel view of Feethams, with the "New" West Stand in all its glory
The record attendance at Feethams was in the 1948-49 season when Hull City were the visitors and a crowd of 17,978 crammed in to the ground. In that same season The club saw a crowd in excess of 14,000 against Rotherham Utd and home games against Hartlepool Utd and quite surprisingly New Brighton FC drew attendances over 12,000 in the Old Football League Third Division North. That season was the only time in the history of Darlington FC that average home attendances topped 10,000.
All the more baffling that The new Stadium built in 2004 had a Capacity of 25,000. It was said at the time the club would need weekly crowds in excess of 6,000 just to break even in The George Reynolds Arena. A feat the club has only achieved 15 times since 1921. Feethams was demolished in 2006
The new home of Darlington FC at Blackwell Meadows.
The Arena, now known as The Darlington Arena still exists today and is owned and used by Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Union Club who bought the stadium for £2 million in 2012. They rarely attract crowds of more than a thousand, and the biggest ever attendance at the Arean was actually for an Elton John concert in 2008 with 17,000 in the Stadium. The areana has also hosted the likes of Tom Jones, UB40, Simply Red ans Steps, amomgst others.
The "White Elephant" of The Darlington Arena
By Alan
Bateson
With Thanks to darlingtonfc.co.uk and thenorthernecho.co.uk for much of the information contained in the article.
