The Den facts for kids
View from the north stand in 2009
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| Former names | The New Den Senegal Fields The New London Stadium |
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| Location | Bermondsey London, SE16 |
| Coordinates | 51°29′9.43″N 0°3′3.42″W / 51.4859528°N 0.0509500°W |
| Public transit |  South Bermondsey |
| Capacity | 20,146 |
| Field size | 106 × 64 m |
| Surface | SISGrass (hybrid grass) |
| Scoreboard | 55sqm LED Display |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1992–93 |
| Opened | 4 August 1993 |
| Construction cost | £16 million |
| Tenants | |
| Millwall F.C. (1993–present) Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. (2015–2019) |
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The Den (also known as The New Den) is a football stadium in south-east London. It is the home ground for Millwall Football Club. The stadium is very close to the South London railway and not far from the Old Den. The Old Den was the club's previous stadium, which The Den replaced in 1993.
The Den was built on land that used to have houses, a church, and playgrounds. It has seats for 20,146 people. However, the number of fans allowed is usually around 18,100. This helps keep visiting fans separate and everyone safe. In the 2018–19 season, the most fans at a match was 17,195.
The Den is the sixth stadium Millwall has used since the club started in 1885. Millwall began in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs. Before The Den, their grounds included Glengall Road (1885–1886), Lord Nelson Ground (1886–1890), The Athletic Grounds (1890–1901), North Greenwich (1901–1910), and The Old Den (1910–1993).
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History of The Den
The New Den, as it was first called, was the first new all-seater stadium built in England. This happened after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which led to new safety rules. The stadium was designed to help manage crowds easily. It had short and direct ways for people to leave quickly.
Millwall's chairman, Reg Burr, decided in 1990 that rebuilding The Old Den was not possible. So, the club chose to move to a new stadium. This new stadium was planned for the Senegal Fields area in south Bermondsey. At first, they thought about building a stadium for 25,000 to 30,000 fans. But the club decided to keep the capacity at just over 20,000.
Millwall played their last game at The Old Den on 8 May 1993. They had been there for 83 years. Then, they moved to the new stadium, which was only a short distance away. The new stadium cost £16 million to build. John Smith, who was the leader of the Labour Party at the time, officially opened The Den. This happened on 4 August 1993, before a friendly match against Sporting CP. Sporting won the game 2–1. The Den was the first new stadium built for a professional football team in London since 1937.
Millwall has had good and bad times since moving to The Den. In their first season there (1993–94), they finished third in Division One. This was their best finish since they were relegated four years earlier. However, they lost in the playoffs and could not reach the Premier League. They were relegated to Division Two in 1996. They finally won promotion from that level in 2001. In 2002, they almost reached the Premier League again, finishing fourth, but lost in the playoffs once more.
In 2004, the Lions reached the FA Cup final for the first time ever. They lost 3–0 to Manchester United. But because they reached the final, they qualified for a European competition for the first time in their history. Millwall has been relegated twice since then, in 2006 and 2015. But they also won promotion in 2010 and 2017. The stadium has not yet hosted a Premier League match. Millwall played in the old First Division for two seasons from 1988, when they were still at their old stadium.
In October 2019, Lewisham Council made a decision that helped secure the stadium's future. This allowed Millwall to make their own plans for developing the area. In February 2020, Millwall announced plans to expand The Den in stages. They want to add upper levels behind the current seats. This would slowly increase the stadium's capacity to 34,000 seats.
Stadium Stands
The Den has different sections, called stands, named after important parts of Millwall's history. On 20 January 2011, the east stand was renamed the Dockers Stand. This name honors Millwall's early history and many supporters who worked as Thames dockers.
The south stand is called the Cold Blow Lane stand. This was the name of the road that led to The Old Den, the club's previous stadium. The north stand is usually where visiting teams' supporters sit. The west stand was renamed the Barry Kitchener Stand. It is named after Barry Kitchener, who played for Millwall for a very long time. This stand has the family area, the press box, and special executive seats.
Events at The Den
The Den has hosted more than just football matches. In 1994, a boxing match took place there. Local boxer Michael Bentt lost his World Heavyweight Championship.
On 1 May 2006, The Den hosted the FA Women's Cup Final. Arsenal L.F.C. played against Leeds United L.F.C.. Arsenal Ladies won the Cup with a score of 5–0.
The stadium has also held three international football matches:
- Ghana 1–1 Senegal (21 August 2007)
- Jamaica 0–0 Nigeria (11 February 2009)
- Australia 3–4 Ecuador (5 March 2014)
In the Australia vs. Ecuador game, former Millwall player Tim Cahill scored two goals for Australia. He became his country's all-time top scorer.
On 5 September 2015, The Den hosted a Rugby league game. The Wigan Warriors played against the Catalans Dragons. Wigan won 42–16 in front of 8,101 fans.
Celebrity Soccer Sixes
The Den hosted the Samaritans Celebrity Soccer Sixes on 18 May 2008. This event brings together film and TV stars to play football. It was the first time a Premier League Club did not host the event. Around 150 celebrities took part, including McFly, Tony Hadley, and Amy Winehouse. They raised money for the Samaritans charity.
The Den in TV and Movies
The Den has appeared in several TV shows and advertisements. It was used as "The Dragon's Lair," the home ground for Harchester United, in the TV series Dream Team. It also appeared in an episode of the ITV show Primeval.
The stadium was used to film an episode of The Bill in March 2008. Sportswear company Nike filmed their "Take It to the Next Level" advertisement at The Den in March 2008. In 2010, Kit Kat made their "Cross your Fingers" advert using clips from The Den, along with other stadiums.
Getting to The Den
The Den is easy to reach by public transport. The National Rail station South Bermondsey is only a five-minute walk away. On match days, visiting fans have their own special path to the stadium. There are no official car parks for fans.
Several bus routes stop close to the stadium. The P12 bus stops on Ilderton Road, which is a two-minute walk away. The 21, 53, and 172 buses stop on the Old Kent Road, about a ten-minute walk from the stadium.
The closest underground station is Canada Water on the Jubilee line, which is a 20-minute walk. The former East London Line stations of Surrey Quays and New Cross Gate (now part of London Overground) are both a 15-minute walk from the stadium.
A cycle route called Quietway 1 goes around South Bermondsey station and past The Den. However, this route is closed and changed on Millwall match days.
See also
In Spanish: The Den para niños
