Maine Road was a large football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F.C. from when it was built in 1923 until 2003. It takes its name from the street it was built on which also had a remarkable history. The street was first known as Dog Kennel Lane. It formed part of an ancient route south of Manchester.
When first opened, the stadium was the largest club ground in England 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. It is the 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. The record has since been beaten for the League, but it is still Manchester City's largest League crowd. The design of the ground changed several times over its 80-year history. Before it closed, Maine Road was an all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 35,150.
The 2002-03 season was Manchester City's last at Maine Road. The last match was played on 11 May 2003. The following season Manchester City moved to City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester. Maine Road was torn down in 2004.
Construction
Plans to build Maine Road were first announced in May 1922. It came after a decision by Manchester City F.C. to leave their Hyde Road ground. Hyde Road did not have room for expansion and had been damaged by fire in 1920. Two sites in Belle Vue, East Manchester were suggested, but neither was considered good enough. To many City fans east Manchester was thought of as City's home. Many were disappointed when a site in south Manchester was chosen. A City director, John Ayrton, resigned from the Board later in the decade and helped to form an alternative MCFC, Manchester Central F.C., playing at Belle Vue.
A sixteen and a quarter acre former brickworking on Maine Road was purchased for £5,500. Maine Road had first been known as Dog Kennel Lane. It was renamed Maine Road during the 1870s because of pressure from the Temperance Movement.
Stadium construction began late in 1922. Plans by architect Charles Swain proposed a 120,000 capacity ground based on the design of Hampden Park. These plans were reduced to give a capacity of 80,000. However, this figure was still the second largest in the country, behind Wembley Stadium, leading to a label of "The Wembley of the North". Wembley had opened in London only a few months earlier. This made a source of rivalry between the northern and southern divisions of builders Sir Robert McAlpine, who built both stadia. During construction, the stadium was supposedly cursed by a gypsy when Manchester City officials evicted a gypsy camp from the area. This curse was allegedly removed on 28 December 1998. However, the gypsy curse is likely to be an urban myth, as such stories are endemic to a number of football league grounds. Construction took 300 days. The total cost £100,000. The first layout of the ground was one covered stand with a seating capacity of 10,000. It had uncovered terracing on the other three sides, with gentle curves connecting the corners.
Early years
The first match at Maine Road took place on 25 August 1923, and saw 58,159 fans watch the home side beat Sheffield United 2-1.
The first changes to the ground took place in 1931, when the corner between the Main Stand and the Platt Lane end at the south of the ground was rebuilt to incorporate a roof. The highest attendance at an English football game of any type at a club ground was at Maine Road on the March 3, 1934, when Manchester City played Stoke City in front of 84,569 fans in the 6th round of the FA Cup. Changes at the Platt Lane end took place in 1935, extending the terracing and providing a roof for the full stand. This marked the peak capacity of the ground, estimated at around 88,000. Further changes were planned, but were suspended when Manchester City were relegated from Division One in 1938, and abandoned when World War II broke out.
The stadium was shared by Manchester United for a period after the Second World War, since Manchester United's Old Trafford ground had been partially destroyed during the Manchester Blitz. United paid City £5,000 per season, plus a share of gate receipts. The highest attendance for a League game at Maine Road occurred during this period, when 83,260 people watched Manchester United play Arsenal on January 17, 1948. This figure is a national record for a League game.