Maine Road : Ask Biography

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:This article is about the stadium; for the football club, see Maine Road F.C.Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003. The street was originally known as Dog Kennel Lane, but was renamed Maine Road after Maine law by the United Kingdom Alliance, consequently the ground became known as Maine Road. It is one of a select group of English football stadium to have hosted FA Cup semi-finals, Charity Shield matches, a League Cup final, competitive England national football team matches and, because of its high capacity, it gained the nickname Wembley of the North.

Manchester City and architect Charles Swain aimed for a 120,000 capacity 'super stadium', but these plans did not materialise. Nevertheless, when Maine Road first opened, the stadium was the largest club ground in England with a maximum capacity believed to be between 80,000 to 100,000 and the second largest in the country after Wembley Stadium. Maine Road's record attendance was set in 1934, when 84,569 people attended an FA Cup tie between Manchester City and Stoke City, a record for an English club ground (the 1923 FA Cup Final holds the world record). The following February the stadium recorded the highest Football League attendance. This stood at 79,491 for a game against Arsenal but has since been surpassed, although it does remain Manchester City's largest League crowd.

Upon demolition its haphazard design was clear due to the design of the ground being changed several times over its 80 year history. Prior to closure, Maine Road was an all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 35,150 and the 2002-03 season was Manchester City's last at Maine Road, with the last match played on 11 May 2003. The following season Manchester City moved to the newly-built City of Manchester Stadium east Manchester, a mile or so from Manchester city centre.