St James Park (Exeter) facts for kids
|
The Park, SJP
|
|
 |
|
| Full name | St James Park |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 8,696 |
| Field size | 104 x 64 metres |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1904 |
| Opened | 10 September 1904 |
| Tenants | |
| Exeter City Football Club (1904–present) | |
St James Park is a football stadium in Exeter, England. It is the home ground for Exeter City Football Club. The stadium is very special because it has its own railway station right next to it! The train line runs behind one of the stands. The football club even helps look after the station, and its fences are painted in Exeter City's red and white colours.
After a big building project that cost £3.4 million, St James Park can now hold 8,696 fans. The most people who ever watched a game here was 20,984. That was in 1931, when Exeter lost 4–2 to Sunderland in an FA Cup match.
Contents
Explore the Stands at St James Park
Football stadiums have different sections for fans, called stands. Each stand has its own name and can hold a certain number of people.
For the 2017/18 football season, two parts of the stadium were closed. These were the Stagecoach Stand and the away fans' area. This was so that new building work could happen. During this time, away fans could only get about 200 to 1,000 tickets in the main seated stand. This meant the stadium could only hold about 6,000 people for a while.
In 2020, something unusual happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A big play-off match between Exeter City and Colchester United was played at St James Park. But there were no fans allowed in the stadium! To make it feel less empty, Exeter City supporters bought special life-size cardboard cutouts of themselves. They paid £25 each for these. A company called FaceInTheCrowd made 1,256 of these cutouts. They were placed in the Stagecoach stand for the game. The money from these cutouts, after paying for them to be made, was given to the club. Fans could even get their cutouts back after the play-offs!
Here are the main stands at St James Park:
| Stand Name | Other Names | Who uses it | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff Bastin Stand / Thatchers Big Bank | Big Bank | Home Fans | 3,971 (standing) |
| IP Office Stand | Cowshed / Doble | Home Fans & Away Fans | 2,116 (seated) 200-1000 (away seating) |
| Stagecoach Adam Stansfield Stand | New Old Grandstand | Home Fans | 1,599 (seated) |
| Marsh Kia St James Road Stand | Away End | Away Fans | 1,010 (standing) |
The History of St James Park
The land where St James Park now stands has a very long history. In 1654, a lady named Lady Anne Clifford owned the land. She rented it out for keeping pigs! The money from this was used to help a poor child from St Stephen's parish learn a trade. This arrangement was supposed to last "yearly to the world's end." Pigs lived on the land for almost 250 years.
Before 1904, another team called Exeter United FC played their games here. Then, Exeter United FC joined with another team, St. Sidwell's United. They formed the new Exeter City FC. The land was then rented to the new club. The contract for the land had a funny rule: "no menageries, shows, circuses or steam roundabouts" were allowed on the property!
In the early days, some visiting football clubs complained. They said the pitch was not long enough for official games. Teams like Stoke (in 1909) and Reading (in 1910) even refused to play their FA Cup matches there. This problem was fixed in 1920. The club bought more land next to the stadium. This allowed them to make the pitch longer and build the Big Bank stand.
In 1921, the club was able to buy the whole site. They got the money from selling a player named Dick Pym to Bolton. This was a record-breaking sale at the time! After buying the land, the club improved the stadium. They added a roof to the Cowshed stand. In 1926, they rebuilt the Grandstand, which had been destroyed by a fire the year before.
International Matches at the Park
St James Park has not only hosted club matches but also international games!
On 22 November 2006, the England Women's Under 21s played a friendly match against France here. The game ended in a 1–1 draw.
The stadium also hosted an England C international match. This was against Wales on 20 February 2008. England won that game 2–1.
Images for kids
-
The Adam Stansfield Stand, which replaced the Old Grandstand in 2018.
-
Old Grandstand.
-
Away Terrace.
-
Big Bank.
-
The entrance to the players' changing rooms in the Old Grandstand.
-
Panoramic view of St James Park, Exeter from the home dugout.
-
Panoramic view of St James Park, Exeter from the Doble Stand.
-
Panoramic view of St James Park, Exeter from the Old Grandstand.
-
Panoramic view of St James Park, Exeter from the Big Bank.
-
Panoramic view of St James Park, Exeter from the St James Road Terrace.
-
The Old Grandstand on 23 November 2017, a day before its demolition was completed.
-
The new "Stagecoach Stand" as it appeared from Well Street as the assembly of the steel structure reached its second day.
-
The new stand prior to Exeter City's match against Lincoln City on 17 May 2018.
