Deepdale began as a farm. On 21 January 1875 the town’s North End sports club leased the land, which was then used for cricket and rugby, and it was not until 5 October 1878 that the ground staged its first association football match. Preston North End have played there ever since, which is why Deepdale is recognised as one of the oldest continuously used football stadiums in the world — though the club’s stronger claim to being the oldest is contested.
It is also the home of the original Invincibles. The Preston side of 1888–89 were the first champions of the Football League, the first team to complete the League and FA Cup Double, and remain the only English team to go through a season unbeaten in both competitions. Deepdale sits high on any list of the oldest stadiums in the world still in use.
Key Stats
| Opened | Land leased 1875; first football match 5 October 1878 |
| Location | Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, Lancashire, England (PR1 6RU) |
| Capacity | 23,404 (all-seater) |
| Tenants | Preston North End (1878–present); Lancashire Lynx rugby league (1996–2000) |
| Sport | Football |
| Record attendance | 42,684 v Arsenal, First Division, 23 April 1938 |
| Pitch | 110 x 77 yd |
| Renovated | 1995, 1998, 2001 (Invincibles Pavilion 2008–09) |
Terraces, Fire and a Plastic Pitch
Deepdale had a hand in inventing the modern football ground. As crowds grew, raised viewing areas became necessary and the club built the West Paddock along the touchline in the 1890s, with a tent for changing rooms — an early version of what became football terracing. Gates were regularly over 10,000 by the turn of the century, and by 1921 the ground needed more space again: the Spion Kop was built and the West Paddock extended to meet it. The pitch was lifted to allow the Town End to be constructed, finished in 1928, destroyed by fire five years later and rebuilt. The two-tier Pavilion Stand, housing changing rooms and offices, opened in 1934.
The ground has an odd sideline in firsts. On 21 June 1890 Preston North End Baseball Club played the first professional baseball game at Deepdale, losing 9–6 to Derby. The pioneering women’s side Dick, Kerr Ladies used the ground and regularly drew crowds in the tens of thousands. In 1913, as part of the nationwide suffragette arson campaign, an attempt was made to burn the ground down — the same year suffragettes destroyed Arsenal’s stadium in south London and tried to set fire to Blackburn Rovers’ ground.
In 1986 Preston laid an all-weather plastic pitch, hoping to earn rental income from local teams, cut postponements and use the surface for training. It was one of four artificial pitches in the English league and thoroughly unpopular with supporters. It was finally ripped up in 1994, by which point it was the last plastic pitch left in the league.
Sir Tom Finney and the Rebuild
The redevelopment took inspiration from the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. It began in 1995 when the old West Stand was demolished for the £4.4m Sir Tom Finney Stand, followed by the Bill Shankly Kop in 1998 and the Alan Kelly Town End in 2001, which replaced the old Town End terrace. A 25-metre screen went on the Kop roof in 2008, and the Pavilion was rebuilt for 2008–09 as the Invincibles Pavilion, complete with executive boxes, a restaurant, the stadium control room and an NHS walk-in centre.
Capacity now breaks down as 7,893 in the Sir Tom Finney Stand, 5,933 in the Bill Shankly Kop, 5,859 in the Alan Kelly Town End and 3,719 in the Invincibles Pavilion. Outside the Finney Stand is “The Splash,” a statue by Preston-born sculptor Peter Hodgkinson commissioned for Finney’s 80th birthday and unveiled in July 2004. It recreates an award-winning photograph from a 1956 game at Stamford Bridge, taken after a downpour left the pitch under standing water — Finney bursting past a defender through a pool. As Finney himself put it, “the sculpture is a true likeness.”
Museum, Internationals and the Away End
Between 2001 and 2010 the National Football Museum occupied the Bill Shankly Kop. Part-funded by a National Lottery Heritage grant and started in 1995, it drew around 100,000 visitors a year and held the 1966 World Cup final match ball and a cap from the world’s first football international before relocating to Manchester.
Deepdale hosted three group games and a semi-final at the 2005 UEFA Women’s Championship, an England Under-21 match against Iceland in March 2011, and two England Under-19 Elite Qualifying Round games in 2011–12. Visiting supporters are housed in the Bill Shankly Kop behind the north goal, a steep stand with clean sightlines; away allocations are typically around 3,000 but the whole end, roughly 6,000, can be given over for big travelling followings.
FAQ
Is Deepdale the oldest football stadium in the world?
It is recognised as one of the oldest continuously used football grounds anywhere, having staged football since 5 October 1878 on land leased in 1875. Preston North End’s claim that it is outright the oldest is disputed by other clubs.
Who were the Preston Invincibles?
The Preston North End side of 1888–89, the first Football League champions and the first team to win the League and FA Cup Double. They are still the only English club to finish a season unbeaten in both competitions. The rebuilt Pavilion stand at Deepdale is named after them.
What is Deepdale’s capacity and record crowd?
The all-seater capacity is 23,404. The record league attendance is 42,684, set against Arsenal in the First Division on 23 April 1938, when much of the ground was terracing.
Photo: Hudson6dogs via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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