Hull City
Boothferry Park

  

With Wolves due to play Hull at their new KC Stadium, it gave the perfect opportunity to visit their former home, Boothferry Park. Unfortunately I never had the chance to see a match here, and with news that demolition may start some time in the summer, I was looking forward to having a good look round on the morning of our game.

On arriving in Hull and walking up to the ground, from at least a mile away you can see the six floodlights standing tall, guiding you towards the ground. Passing the KC Stadium on my way, when I arrived at Boothferry Park, it really was a good contrast of how grounds have changed in recent times, with BP not being the most modern of grounds.

The first end you come to is the North Stand, which has had a supermarket built into the back of it, but doesn’t look too bad because of it, with the football clubs colours still being a strong feature of the building, and the Boothferry Park sign, perhaps surprisingly, being dominant above that of Kwiksave and Iceland.

As with a lot of old grounds, it really is hemmed in by houses, with only small alleyways offering a glimpse of the West and South Stands. The East Stand was equally difficult to see, with a railway line running directly behind it, cutting off any access there. After looking around for a way to get in, I eventually found a bit of fence that had a panel missing, so was able to get in through there, and up through the West Stand into the ground itself. Having visited Feethams recently, it was good to see that this ground had remained relatively vandal free, with other than the overgrown parts and general wear and tear, it being pretty much as it would have been as when Hull left it 3 years previously.

Entering through the West Stand, to the left was the North Stand, which had been used for away fans. This was a small open terrace, with the supermarket behind it restricting any development. Opposite, was the East Stand, which was a good sized terrace, wrapping around both corners, but with the main part of the stand being under cover in the centre. Towering over the rest of the ground was the South Stand. I had for some reason expected this stand to be relatively modern, but on closer inspection, it was clear that it dated back to at least the 60s, with a sizable lower tier of terracing below an upper tier which featured wooden seating, with an excellent view. Finally, the stand that I’d come in through, was the West Stand, which again was two tiered, with a very small section of terracing at the front, followed by seats above that, which included the directors box and players tunnel.

Taking the time to go all around the ground, it was obvious as to why the club had chosen to move, as despite its character, it had seen better days, and with limited facilities, sadly it had been left behind by other more modern grounds. Overall though, it will be sad to see it go, as it is probably one of the few (if perhaps only) grounds left that give you a glimpse back to times gone by.





Rear of the North Stand


Visitors Turnstiles


My Garden Shed...


Side of the West Stand


Rear of the West Stand


Rear of the West Stand


Rear of the West Stand


Rear of the South Stand


The North Stand


Steps down to the North Stand from the Turnstiles


The East Stand


The East Stand


The North Stand


Looking across the South Stand Upper Tier


The South Stand Concourse


The West Stand


Looking across the South Stand


Seating in the West stand


The West Stand


The South Stand



Boothferry Park Panoramic 1


Boothferry Park Panoramic 2


Boothferry Park Panoramic 3


Boothferry Park Panoramic 4




January 2010

Following vandalism attacks and reports of people sleeping rough inside the stands then in January 2008, demolition of Boothferry Park finally began almost five years after the club had left the ground for the nearby KC Stadium. On re-visiting Hull in January 2010 I couldn't resist the temptation to have another look round, so along with visiting the Boulevard of Hull FC, then I made my way along Anlaby Road to see what  remained, only to be shocked to see that the Kwik-save supermarket, North Stand, South Stand upper tier and Main Stand had been completely demolished, along with the East Stand roof. The terracing from all three sides and the floodlights however remained with the shape of a football ground still clearly distinguishable amongst the rubble. It's a sad end to a ground that served the club well for so long, but even if it wasn't for a match, then I'd been glad to have taken the opportunity to have visited four years earlier and see it still as it once would have been when full of fans roaring on the Tigers.



Boothferry Park Panoramic 5


Boothferry Park Panoramic 6



 


 

11 comments:

  1. thanks for documenting the ground in its final days and not simply dismissing it as a dump (it would have been easy to!)

    She was magnificant in her day and had a unique atmosphere and energy even in before the ground's retirement (i.e. 14,000+ isn't bad for Division 3,League Two now, against the likes of Cheltenham and Rochdale!).

    I love Boothferry Park. The paint may have been flaky and the metal rusting in the stands but she was a beautiful old lady to me

    Love the blog btw, keep up the good work

    ReplyDelete
  2. The picture entitled "seating in the west stand" I sat in one of those seats to watch many games with my mom, it brings back great memories of two great ladies. I also saw Northern Ireland vs. Spain, with a young Irishman named George Best playing. Great memories, great games. Sad the ground is gone, sad my mom is gone. Maybe she is watching from the old stands, holding a little boy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That was a great set of photos. I used to sit in the West stand with my dad in the early to mid 90s..not the greatest of eras football wise but still those photos bring a lot of good childhood memories. Thanks

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  4. Used to attend in the late 70,s with my dad. This is fantastic work you do for all football fans & i'm so grateful because its brings back so many memories for me. I even got to be a ball boy ( like they needed them haha ). Got to see some great players back then. Watching Kenny Wagstaff from Bunkers , what an atmosphere for a little kid like me. well thanks again , this is fantastic. Tigers Forever :)

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