Filbert Street was a football ground in Leicester, England, that served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 to 2002. The club, founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse, played their first match at the ground on 7 November 1891 and remained there for 111 years, making it one of English football’s most enduring single-club homes. Although briefly branded the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, supporters universally knew it by its street address — a tradition common across the English game.
Over more than a century, Filbert Street witnessed promotion battles, FA Cup runs, and wartime hardship, including partial bomb damage during World War II. Its most iconic architectural feature was the double-decker South Stand, completed in 1927, which gave the ground a distinctive silhouette on the Leicester skyline. By 1994, following the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report, the stadium had been converted to an all-seater venue with a capacity of around 22,000 — a figure that could no longer meet the club’s Premier League ambitions and ultimately sealed its fate.
Stats at a Glance
- Team: Leicester City F.C.
- Location: Filbert Street, Leicester, England
- Opened: 1891 (first match 7 November 1891)
- Closed: 2002 (last match 11 May 2002)
- Demolished: 2003
- Capacity (at closure): 22,000
- Record Attendance: 47,298 — FA Cup Fifth Round vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 18 February 1928
- Years in service: 111 years
A Century of History on Filbert Street
Filbert Street grew steadily throughout the early twentieth century. The Main Stand was completed in November 1921, and the signature double-decker South Stand followed in 1927, becoming the ground’s defining visual feature. That same year the South Stand opened, the stadium recorded its all-time attendance of 47,298 for an FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Tottenham Hotspur on 18 February 1928. The following month, Filbert Street hosted an FA Cup semi-final between Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal, cementing its reputation as a venue capable of staging major occasions.
Floodlights arrived on 23 October 1957, with Borussia Dortmund providing the opposition for the first floodlit match. The Taylor Report prompted the club to remove the final terraced sections by 1994, transforming Filbert Street into an all-seater stadium — one that, at 22,000 seats, increasingly struggled to accommodate demand as Leicester competed in the Premier League era.
Final Match and Legacy
The curtain fell on Filbert Street on 11 May 2002, when Leicester City defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in a Premier League fixture. Matt Piper scored what proved to be the final goal ever struck at the ground. The club then relocated to the newly constructed Walkers Stadium (later renamed King Power Stadium), situated just a short distance away on Filbert Way.
Demolition of the old ground began in March 2003. The cleared site was subsequently redeveloped as Filbert Village, a student accommodation complex serving the nearby University of Leicester. The main access road through the development was named Lineker Road in honour of Gary Lineker, the Leicester-born striker who became one of the club’s most celebrated former players. The King Power Stadium — where Leicester City famously won their first ever top-flight title in 2016 — stands as a near neighbour, a deliberate echo of the street that shaped the club’s identity for over a century.
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Filbert Street FAQs
When did Leicester City leave Filbert Street?
Leicester City played their last match at Filbert Street on 11 May 2002, a 2–1 Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The club then moved to the newly built Walkers Stadium (now King Power Stadium) for the 2002–03 season.
What was the record attendance at Filbert Street?
The ground’s record attendance was 47,298, set on 18 February 1928 for an FA Cup Fifth Round match between Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
What stands on the Filbert Street site today?
The stadium was demolished in 2003 and replaced by Filbert Village, a student accommodation development. The main road through the site was named Lineker Road after Leicester and England striker Gary Lineker.
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Photo: Samlcfc at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.