The stadium is served by Charlton railway station, which is less than a five-minute walk away from the stadium. An alternative is to use the Jubilee line, exiting at North Greenwich, and changing for route 161, 472 and 486 buses, which stop outside the stadium.
History
Location of The Valley, Charlton Athletic's football stadium (Ordnance Survey map, 1920)
In Charlton's early years, the club had a nomadic existence, using several different grounds between its formation in 1905 and the beginning of World War I in 1914. The Valley dates from 1919, at a time when Charlton were moderately successful and looking for a new home. Fred Barned, the club’s honorary chairman, found an abandoned sand and chalk pit in Charlton, but did not have sufficient funds to fully develop the site. An army of volunteer Charlton supporters dug out a flat area for the pitch at the bottom of the chalk pit and used the excavated material to build up makeshift stands. The ground's name most likely comes from its original valley-like appearance.
The club played its first game at the ground before any seats, or even terraces, were installed. There was simply a roped-off pitch with the crowd standing or sitting on the adjoining earthworks. The unique circumstances of the ground's initial construction led to an unusually intense bond between the club's supporters and the site that still exists.
In the 1923–24 season, Charlton played at The Mount stadium in Catford but in a much more highly populated area. A proposed merger with Catford South End FC fell through and so Charlton moved back to the Valley.
In 1967, Len Silver the promoter at Hackney made an application to open Charlton as a British League speedway club, and plans were proposed to construct a track around the perimeter of the football pitch. The application was enthusiastically supported initially, but was eventually ruled out on the grounds of noise nuisance.
For many years, the Valley was one of the largest Football League grounds in Britain, although its highest maximum capacity of 75,000 was only half the capacity of Glasgow's Hampden Park.[1] However, Charlton's long absence from the top level of English football prevented much-needed renovation, because funds dried up and attendances fell. Charlton were relegated from the First Division in 1957 and did not return until 1986. In 1972, the club was relegated to the Third Division for the first time in the post-war era.
In the early 1980s, the club's debts led to it almost going out of business. A consortium of supporters successfully acquired the club in 1984, but the Valley remained in the possession of the ownership of the former owner, and the club was unable to finance the improvements needed to meet new safety requirements. Shortly after the start of the 1985–86 season, Charlton left the Valley, entering into an agreement with Crystal Palace to share the latter's Selhurst Park facilities, the first official groundsharing arrangement in the Football League in 36 years.
In 1988, the ownership of the club and the Valley were again united and, in a "grass roots" effort that harked back to the ground's initial construction, thousands of supporters volunteered to clean the venue, eventually burning the debris in a huge bonfire on the pitch. By that time, however, the large terraces were no longer seen as desirable or safe. Charlton Athletic supporters proposed to completely rebuild the stadium so that the club could return there at the beginning of the 1990s. However, the Greenwich Borough Council overwhelmingly turned down the plans to renovate the ground. Club supporters formed their own local political party, the Valley Party, in response to the council's decision. The party ran candidates for all but two Greenwich Council seats, sparing the two councillors who had approved the new stadium plans. The party won almost 15,000 votes in the 1990 local elections,[1] successfully pressuring the council to approve the plans for the new stadium.
In 1991, construction began on the new Valley, and the club moved from Selhurst Park to West Ham'sUpton Park. It was originally hoped that the club would return to the stadium before Christmas that year, but the re-opening faced a series of delays before finally occurring in December 1992. Since then, the ground has undergone some remarkable changes. The north, east and west sides have almost been completely rebuilt, which gave the ground a capacity of over 27,000 by December 2001, when Charlton were in the second season of a stay in the FA Premier League which would last for seven seasons. The club had ambitions to extend the ground's capacity to over 40,000 by expanding the east side and completely rebuilding the south side,[2] but these plans were abandoned after Charlton were relegated from the Premier League in 2007.[3]
In 2004, the Unity Cup was held at the Valley, with Nigeria winning the competition.
Charlton's former owner Roland Duchâtelet retained ownership of The Valley after selling the football club in 2020, but subsequent owner, Thomas Sandgaard, negotiated a lease for the club to use the stadium until January 2035.[4]
On 24 September 2022, the Valley hosted a charity match, in which the YouTube group Sidemen played against other major YouTube personalities who formed the YouTube All-Stars, which included Darren Watkins, also known as IShowSpeed. Mark Clattenburg was the match referee. The match, the Sidemen's third one at the Valley, ended 8-7 for the Sidemen and raised over £1,000,000 split between the Teenage Cancer Trust, CALM, Rays of Sunshine and M7 Education charities.
In March 2024, Charlton announced their intention to build a safe standing area which would be completed over the summer.[5] Additional to this, the club had worked worked alongside the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust to implement one of the UK's first 'Youth Specific Sections' for fans.[6] In 2024, it was also announced a new hybrid pitch would be installed as part of a six-figure investment by the club's owners, and a £750,000 grant from the Premier League Stadium Fund. As part of the investment, the Charlton women's team would play all of their home matches at The Valley for the first time.[7] Their first match at The Valley took place on 28 April 2024, ending in a 2–0 victory against Southampton in front of 985 fans.[8]
Stands
The Covered End
Capacity: 9,743
The North Stand
The North Stand was built as a replacement for the 'covered end', and is still called by this name. It was built during the 2001–02 season as part of the developments to bring the Valley's capacity to 26,500 after promotion to the Premier League in 2000. The North Stand houses the most vocal supporters in the ground in particular the upper tier alongside a drum, along with restaurants and executive suites.
A safe standing area will be installed in the Covered End Upper ahead of Charlton's 2024-25 season, it will have a capacity of 1,064. The club has also received provisional permission to install a safe standing area in the Covered End Lower.[9]
Alan Curbishley Stand
Capacity: 5,802
The Alan Curbishley Stand
The East Stand was constructed during the 1993–94 season and fully completed in 1994. As part of the first development to the ground since the return in 1992, it replaced the massive east terrace, which had remained closed and prohibited from use since the mid-1980s after the Bradford City stadium fire. The East Stand consists of a single tier of seats and houses the television gantry, and also has numerous executive boxes. Occasionally, for FA and League Cup matches, part of the East Stand is used to house away supporters if the demand for away team tickets is high. On 9 April 2021, the club announced that from the start of 2021–22 season, the stand would be renamed to the Alan Curbishley Stand in honour of the former player and manager, and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of when Curbishley was appointed manager of the club - a role he held from 1991 to 2006.[10]
West Stand
Capacity: 8,097
The West Stand
The West Stand was built in 1998 after Charlton's first promotion to the Premier League and is also two tiered. This is the main stand at the Valley with the largest capacity, and also houses the club's offices, as well as the director's box, board room dug-outs, changing rooms and the commercial centre (ticket office). There are also many conferencing rooms in this stand which are used for official and community events. There is a large statue of Sam Bartram, (considered to be Charlton's finest player) at the entrance of the West Stand.
Jimmy Seed Stand
Capacity: 3,469
The Jimmy Seed Stand
The Jimmy Seed (or South) Stand is the oldest part of the ground, and dates from the early 1980s. This stand is named after Charlton's manager, Jimmy Seed (1895–1966) – with whom Charlton won the FA Cup in 1947. This stand has a capacity of around 3,000 and hosts the away supporters at games. It is also the only part of the Valley with a supporting pillar.
The Valley's highest average attendance came in the 1948–49 season when crowds averaged 40,216, making Charlton one of only thirteen clubs in English football to achieve a seasonal average of 40,000+. The Valley's lowest average attendance is 5,108 from the 1984–85 season.
*Last 5 home matches played behind close doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
**Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all home matches were played behind closed doors except for two matches which had limited crowds.
Related Research Articles
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276 making it the fifth largest stadium in England. It was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1891, before they moved to Goodison Park after a dispute with the club president.
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. home matches. The stadium was named by chairman Bob Murray to reflect the coal mining heritage of the North East and the former Monkwearmouth Colliery site on which it stands. A Davy lamp monument stands at the entrance to reflect the coal mining industry that brought prosperity to the town.
Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international football, as well as games for the 1948 Summer Olympics. It was shared by Charlton Athletic from 1985 to 1991 and Wimbledon from 1991 to 2003.
Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Championship club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 13th largest football stadium in England.
Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is an association football stadium in Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second leg of the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football final.
The Madejski Stadium, currently named the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon. It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway and Reading Green Park railway station. The West Stand contains the Voco Reading Hotel.
Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively.
Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London Wasps from Aviva Premiership, and from 2016 to 2020 to the Reading F.C. Women football club. From the 2003–04 season to the 2005–06 season, the stadium was officially called Causeway Stadium, named after its sponsor Causeway Technologies.
The Brick Community Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Robin Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is used by Wigan Warriors rugby league club and Wigan Athletic football club. The stadium is owned by The Wigan Football Company.
Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the scene of one of the worst disasters in English football. The stadium was depicted in a 1953 painting by L. S. Lowry, Going to the Match.
Bloomfield Road is a football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the Athletic Grounds.
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.
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,052, after being made all-seater in summer 1995, reducing the number from around 27,000. Several relegations in previous years meant the expansion seating was also taken away; that reduced the capacity further from around 12,000 to what it is now.
New Meadow, also known as The Croud Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home ground of English football club Shrewsbury Town.
Cray Valley Paper Mills Football Club is a football club currently based in Eltham, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at the Badgers Sports Ground.
London Road, currently known as the Weston Homes Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Peterborough, England. The stadium is in Fletton, south of the River Nene. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Peterborough United. The stadium holds 13,511 and was built in 1913, though the present ground bears no resemblance to the original following several periods of redevelopment.
The Nest was the former home ground of Norwich City Football Club, used for 27 years between 1908 and 1935. Before The Nest, the team played at a ground in Newmarket Road. Today, the club plays at Carrow Road.
Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage since the early 1960s, and has a capacity of 7,200 people.
Huish Athletic Ground, more commonly referred to as Huish, was a football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. It was the second home ground of Yeovil Town Football Club, after the Pen Mill Athletic Ground which they left in 1920, until the club's departure for Huish Park in 1990.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Charlton 
