The Saffrons is a multi-purpose sports ground in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The ground is home to Eastbourne Cricket Club, Eastbourne Town Football Club, Eastbourne Hockey Club and Compton Croquet Club. There is also a sand dressed astroturf pitch. The sports ground is located on the edge of Eastbourne town centre, next to the town hall and is in easy reach of local transport links. The ground was first used in 1884. Sussex County Cricket Club played some of their matches there between 1896 and 2000, and recently from 2017.
The complex has:
Full name | The Saffrons Sports Ground |
---|---|
Location | Compton Place Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1EA |
Coordinates | 50°45′58″N0°16′35″E / 50.7661°N 0.2764°E |
Public transit | Eastbourne |
Owner | Saffrons Sports Club |
Capacity | 3,000 (200 Seated) for football |
Record attendance | 7,378 (Eastbourne – Hastings United 10 October 1953 [1] |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Built | 1884 |
Opened | 1884 |
Tenants | |
1886–present ?–Present 1892–1934 |
The Saffrons is home to Eastbourne Town F.C., who play in the Southern Combination Football League and who have played football here since 1886, when the then Devonshire Park Football Club moved grounds from their former namesake (now the venue for the Eastbourne International tennis tournament). Devonshire Park Football Club changed their name to Eastbourne in 1889 and the 'Town' suffix was added in 1971.
Eastbourne Town Women also play their home games here.
The Larkins Field End, where the clubhouse stands, was originally a wooden grandstand structure, built in the 1930s when attendances at the town club were increasing. The Town Hall side, now known as the East Terrace was asphalted at the same time. The wooden grandstand was destroyed by an arson attack in 1969. The stand was rebuilt but lost its roof in the 1987 hurricane. [2] The current stand today, known as the Taffy Jones/Sid Mayall stand was built in 1994, 25 years after the original grandstand was destroyed.
In 1946, the pitch was moved closer to the cricket ground to lay foundations for the East Terrace, which still remains today. The Meads Road side of the terrace had the covered stand built in 1962. There are wooden benches in this stand.
Floodlights were installed in 1994 and during the 1990s a clubhouse, new dressing rooms and a tea bar have been built behind the stand.
The West Terrace, where the team dugouts are situated once had a movable fence depending on when either the football or the cricket was playing. In recent years the cricket green was moved slightly away to allow a permanent fence and asphalt laid for spectators to stand.
The main turnsite was originally built in 1914 and was destroyed by a fire in February 2004 but restored before the new season started. [3]
The ground plays host to many county cup finals at youth and intermediate level. The capacity of the football ground is 3,000, with seating for 200 spectators.[ citation needed ]
As well as being home to Eastbourne Town, the ground has been used as training ground for the England National Football Team in May 1954. [4] And between 1955 and 1957, Manchester City visited Eastbourne and trained at The Saffrons in preparation for the FA Cup finals against Newcastle United (1955) and Birmingham City (1956). [5]
The Saffrons has hosted both amateur and county football events:
The highest attendance to date was 7,378, in a FA Cup qualifying game against Hastings United on 10 October 1953. [1]
Ground information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Eastbourne, East Sussex | ||||
Establishment | 1884 | ||||
Capacity | 4,500 | ||||
Operator | Eastbourne Cricket Club | ||||
End names | |||||
Larkins End Sea End | |||||
Team information | |||||
| |||||
As of 10 December 2016 Source: Cricinfo |
The cricket ground is home to Eastbourne Cricket Club, who play in the Sussex Cricket League. Formed in the 1750s, the club played at various venues in Eastbourne, before moving to the Saffrons. The venue saw its first game of cricket played in 1884.
The ground has also hosted a single Women's One Day International match between England women and New Zealand in the 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup. [6]
There was once a pavilion at one end of the ground which was destroyed by fire in 1947, a replacement was built which was also damaged by fire in 1977.
The ground has a capacity of 4,500. [7]
The Saffrons hosted 226 first-class matches between 1896 and 2000. Most of these involved Sussex County Cricket Club, but (especially in earlier years) a number of tour and invitational sides played here too. [8] The inaugural first-class match at the Saffrons was played in May 1896, when South of England drew with the touring Australians. [9] The ground hosted 32 List A matches between 1970 and 2000, [10] and one match each of Youth and Women's One-Day Internationals, as well as Sussex Second XI games.
County cricket returned to the Saffrons in May 2017 when Sussex played Gloucestershire in a Royal London One-Day Cup match. [11]
Eastbourne Hockey Club was founded in 1899 and 2024 will be its 125th year of existence. It moved from Devoshire Park to the Saffrons in the early 1900s. It also hosted one of the last international matches played on grass: England vs Wales in 1970. It has a sand dressed artificial grass pitch behind the Football Ground. Originally built in the 1990s, it was refurbished in 2014. [14]
Eastbourne Hockey Club currently have five men's and four ladies teams, as well as several junior teams.
Eastbourne Rugby Club played their home games here between 1892 and 1934 using both the football pitch and the field behind, known as Larkins Field. [17] The first recorded game was in December 1892 against Brighton Football Club.
The rugby club used the Saffrons Number 1 pitch on Wednesdays, where Eastbourne Town currently play their games, and other games on Larkins Field, behind the hockey pitch. In the 1894–95 season, the rugby club used "The New Inn", now called Bibendum, the opposite side of the road as their Headquarters and dressing rooms. [17]
In 1934 the rugby club moved to their present home in Hampden Park. Larkins Field is now a spare cricket pitch for local teams in the area.[ citation needed ]
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the ICC Europe and, until August 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is widely referred to as the Home of Cricket and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.
The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. The grounds consisted of a rugby ground, a cricket ground used by Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Bowling greens and a running track as well as a pavilion. It was the scene of many great games, including the Challenge Cup finals of 1908 and 1910, several Challenge Cup semi finals, John Player Cup finals and international matches.
Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United.
Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. With a capacity of 15,003, it is the 7th–largest football stadium in Scotland, and was first used in 1899, also having been used for concerts, rugby union and international football fixtures. The stadium underwent a major redevelopment in 1994–1995, becoming an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128. In 2002, the club constructed the Park Hotel, a 4-star hotel complex next to the ground.
North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer.
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football. The stadium is situated on Harry Potts Way, named after the manager who won the 1959–60 First Division with the club, and has a capacity of 21,944.
Eastbourne United A.F.C. is a football club based in Eastbourne, England. They were formed in 2003 after a merger between Eastbourne United F.C. and Shinewater Association. In 2009 they were the Sussex County League champions for the first time in 53 years, 18 years after leaving the Isthmian League. They are currently members of the Southern Combination Premier Division.
Eastbourne Town Football Club is an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and are currently members of the Isthmian League South East Division and play at The Saffrons.
The Pilot Field is a football stadium in Hastings, East Sussex. It is home to Hastings United men's and women's teams. The men's team currently play in the Isthmian League premier division, and the women's team currently play in the LSERFL division one south. The club have used the ground since 1985 after the old Hastings United folded, having previously used the ground between 1920 and 1948. The current capacity stands at 4,050 although over 9,000 have been known to attend events in the past and the closure of the grass bank has decreased the capacity.
Priory Lane is an association football stadium located in Langney, an eastern suburb of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. It is the home of Eastbourne Borough who play in the National League South. Eastbourne Borough have used this stadium since moving from the playing fields at Princes Park in 1983.
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no spectator car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby.
Cougar Park is a rugby league stadium in Keighley, England, which is the home stadium of the Keighley Cougars. Its capacity is 7,800 people. It also hosted a match during the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. From 1899 until 1995, it was known as "Lawkholme Lane". Football has also played at the ground, Silsden F.C. had played their home matches at the venue between 2003 and 2010. and Steeton A.F.C. played at the ground in 2018 and 2019.
Mount Pleasant Stadium, officially known for sponsorship purposes as Fox's Biscuits Stadium, is a rugby league stadium in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of the Batley Bulldogs and amateur club Batley ARLFC.
Park Avenue is a sports ground on Horton Park Avenue in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England that has been used for cricket, football and both codes of rugby. Yorkshire regularly played cricket matches at the ground between 1881 and 1996, while the site was also home to former Football League club Bradford, to which it lent its name.
College Grove sports ground is a multi sport facility in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It is owned and run by Wakefield Sports Club Ltd.
The Crabble Athletic Ground, also known as simply Crabble, or The Crabble is a football stadium located in the northern Dover suburb of River, Kent. It was the home of the various incarnations of Dover F.C. from 1931 until the club folded in 1983. Since then it has been the home of Dover Athletic F.C., and it was also the temporary home of Margate F.C. between 2002 and 2004, when the club's Hartsdown Park stadium was being redeveloped. The stadium has two seated stands and two covered terraces and holds a total of 5,745 fans, although in the past, crowds larger than that figure could be accommodated. It also has a clubhouse, which the club completely redeveloped in 2008.
Cressing Road, also known as the Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Braintree, Essex, and the home ground of Braintree Town, and formally their reserve side. It currently has a capacity of 4,222.
The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St. Mary's F.C."
Sport in Sussex forms an important part of the culture of Sussex. With a centuries-long tradition of sport, Sussex has played a key role in the early development of both cricket and stoolball. Cricket is recognised as having been formed in the Weald and Sussex CCC is England's oldest county cricket club. Slindon Cricket Club dominated the sport for a while in the 18th century. The cricket ground at Arundel Castle traditionally plays host to a Duchess of Norfolk's XI which plays the national test sides touring England. The sport of stoolball is also associated with Sussex, which has a claim to be where the sport originated and certainly where its revival took place in the early 20th century. Sussex is represented in the Premier League by Brighton & Hove Albion and in the Football League by Crawley Town. Brighton has been in the Premier League since 2017 and has been a League member since 1920, whereas Crawley was promoted to the League in 2011. Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. play in the FA Women's Super League from 2017. Sussex has had its own football association, since 1882 and its own football league, which has since expanded into Surrey, since 1920. In horse racing, Sussex is home to Goodwood, Fontwell Park, Brighton and Plumpton. The All England Jumping Course show jumping facility at Hickstead is situated 8 miles (13 km) north of Brighton and Hove.