Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a footballstadium located in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. It has served as the home ground of Stevenage Football Club (formerly Stevenage Borough) since 1980. Prior to this, the stadium was home to the town's former clubs: initially Stevenage Town from its opening in 1961 until 1968, and subsequently Stevenage Athletic, who used the stadium for eight years until the club folded in 1976.
Following Stevenage's 1995–96 Conference winning season, the stadium was deemed inadequate to meet Football League standards due to insufficient capacity and facilities. The stadium underwent significant renovations in 2001 and again in 2019 as Stevenage progressed through non-League football into the English Football League. The stadium holds a capacity of approximately 7,300 spectators.
History
Panorama view from the East Terrace
The club plays at Broadhall Way, which was previously the home to Stevenage Town and Stevenage Athletic. Following the bankruptcy of the town's former club, the stadium remained unused for three years.[3] The newly formed Stevenage Borough had planned to play a fixture against Hitchin Town Youth at Broadhall Way in November 1976 as a "curtain-raiser" for the new venture.[4] Volunteers prepared the pitch in anticipation; however, their plans were thwarted when the former chairman of Stevenage Athletic, and stadium lease-holder, vandalised the playing surface by digging a trench along the full length of the pitch.[4] The club eventually moved into Broadhall Way in 1980, following the local council's repurchasing of the stadium, and allowed the football club to become its tenant.[5][6][7]
Stevenage were denied promotion to the Football League after winning the Football Conference in the 1995–96 season because of insufficient ground capacity and inadequate facilities.[3] Consequently, in the early 2000s, the ground underwent upgrades, including the construction of a £600,000 stand,[3] and work on a £5 million training facility was announced for nearby Shephalbury Park, which subsequently opened in autumn 2002.[7] In June 2011, the club secured a 42-acre former sports ground in Bragbury End[8] with the intention of developing the site into a new training complex.[8] Construction commenced in the summer of 2011,[8] and club staff began using the complex towards the latter stages of the 2012–13 season.
In January 2009, Stevenage announced a seven-figure sponsorship agreement with the Lamex Food Group, resulting in the renaming of Broadhall Way to the Lamex Stadium.[7] Following the club's promotion as league champions during the 2009–10 Conference National season, Broadhall Way hosted Football League matches for the first time in the 2010–11 season.[9] Prior to the construction of the new North Stand the stadium had a capacity of 6,722 people, including 3,142 seats [10] reduced from 7,100 following the club's promotion to the Football League.[11] The capacity increased to approximately 7,300 following the construction of the North Stand in December 2019.[1]
Structure and facilities
The stadium's pitch has four stands: the East Terrace, the North Stand, the West Stand, and the South Stand.[7] The West Stand is fully seated and covered, extending the full length of the pitch with open corners to either side of the stand. It has a capacity of 1,800.[1] At the back of the stand are a number of glass-fronted areas, housing club offices and executive boxes.[3] The club shop is situated next to the West Stand, opposite the club's official car park.[12] Opposite the West Stand is the East Terrace, a covered terrace, which can hold approximately 2,700 home supporters.[7] The terrace features a gable with a clock positioned on its roof above the halfway line,[3] and also supports a television gantry on the roof.[5]
View from the South Stand prior to the 2019 renovation
The former North Terrace, located at the north end of the ground, was just seven steps deep.[3] Three-quarters of the terrace was covered, whilst the remaining quarter was left uncovered.[5] The stand had a capacity of 700,[13] and provided facilities for disabled fans.[3] In January 2013, the club announced plans to replace the existing North Terrace with a new £1.2 million, 1,700-seat stand,[14] although this did not materialise due to "numerous obstacles".[15] In July 2017, the club launched a mini-bond investment scheme through the sports investment platform Tifosy, in an effort to raise the remaining £500,000 required to fund the new stand.[15] The £500,000 target was met within five weeks, following investment from over 200 supporters.[16] A further £100,000 was raised in the days that followed.[17]
The North Terrace was demolished in January 2018.[18] Construction of the new North Stand was halted in June 2018, after UK Power Networks refused the club permission to build around the existing electrical substation.[19] Work resumed in February 2019, following the installation of a new substation.[20] The 1,428-seat, all-seater stand was officially opened in December 2019.[20][21]
Situated opposite the North Stand, the South Stand is a single-tiered, all-seated, covered stand. Constructed in 2001 at a cost of £600,000,[5] it is designated for away supporters and has a capacity of 1,390.[1][7] An electronic scoreboard is mounted at the centre of the roof, originally installed in 2001 and positioned to be clearly visible to home supporters.[3] This scoreboard was replaced in October 2011.[22] Behind the stand is the supporters' club.[7] A new set of floodlights were installed ahead of the club's 2007–08 season.[2]
Other uses
The stadium hosted the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, in January 2003, for a friendly match against an Italy XI.[23] The stadium was subsequently used for an England under-20 fixture against the Czech Republic under-20 team in October 2003.[24] The match ended 2–0 to England.[24] In July 2012, the stadium hosted a warm-up match between the Senegal under-23 and South Korea under-23 teams ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics, with South Korea winning 3–0.[25][26] For a five-year period, the ground also hosted the Tottenham Hotspur reserve team,[27] with the North London club opting to use Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road for the start of the 2007–08 season due to its more convenient geographical location.[28] Since September 2014, the stadium has again hosted a number of Tottenham under-21 matches each season.[29]
Stevenage's average league attendance at Broadhall Way since 1987.
The highest attendance recorded at the stadium was 8,040 for a match against Newcastle United in the FA Cup fourth round on 25 January 1998.[34] A temporary stand was erected to increase the stadium capacity to 8,100 in order to meet the Football Association's requirements.[35] The record attendance for a league match at Broadhall Way is 7,024, achieved during a Conference Premier fixture against Luton Town on 3 April 2010. The club's lowest attendance whilst playing in the highest tier of non-League football is 879 for a match against Stalybridge Celtic in March 1995.[36] The lowest attendance recorded at the ground for a first-team match is 152 for an Isthmian League match against Billericay Town in August 1987.[37]
Since Stevenage's promotion to the Football Conference in 1994, average attendances at Broadhall Way have demonstrated a steady overall increase.[38] The club's first season in the Football League saw an average attendance of 2,897, surpassing the previous high of 2,855 set during the 1996–97 season.[38] This figure rose significantly in the following season, with an average of 3,559 recorded during the club's first season in League One,[38] marking the first time Stevenage had averaged over 3,000 spectators and exceeding a cumulative home attendance of 100,000 across the season.[39] Attendances fluctuated during subsequent years, correlating with changes in league position and division.[38] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented supporters from attending matches in the 2020–21 season, figures began to rise again.[38] A new record seasonal average was established in the club's 2023–24 season, with 4,660 spectators attending League One fixtures on average.[38] Although this slightly declined to 3,989 during the 2024–25 season, it remained well above historical averages.[38] The club's lowest average attendance during their time in the top five tiers of English football was recorded in the 1994–95 season, their first in the Conference, with an average of 1,440.[38]
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