Goldington Road is a rugby ground in the De Parys area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It is the home stadium of Bedford Blues. As of 2019 the stadium holds 5,000 people (down from 6,000). The stadium also has two hospitality boxes, "The Larry Webb Room" and "The Lifesure Suite," which can cater for 12 to 20 people respectively in addition to "The Blues Marquee." There is one stand (the Charles Wells Stand) with the remaining areas being standing room - There is an uncovered temporary stand in the south east corner of the ground.
Following an amalgamation between Bedford Rovers (1876) and Bedford Swifts (1882), both with connections to Bedford School and Bedford Modern School, there were two main sites where pitches could be made available. One was known as 'The House of Industry' ground in Goldington Road. This was the field in front of the House of Industry -now known as the North Wing Hospital. This is approximately where Bedford play now. The other site was known as Midland Road Ground, an area near the Queen's Park railway bridge.
The first matches in 1886–87 were in Goldington Road, where the Bedford Swifts had played, but during the next few seasons several pitches near the railway station were used. The railway and industry required this land and Bedford Rugby returned to the Goldington Road area before an agreement in 1895 was reached with Bedford Cricket Club who actually held the lease. The pitch was laid out in virtually the same spot as it is now.
The First World War threatened the club's existence when the ground was taken over by the Military Authorities for use as an Army Camp.[citation needed]
Things did improve very quickly and by the late-1920s and early-1930s further improvements had been made at the ground, the biggest being the stand opened in 1933 which is still in use today.[citation needed]
Following intervention by the RFU in October 1999 a consortium of Bedford businessmen headed by David Ledsom (SDC), Geoff Irvine (Irvine-Whitlock), and David Gunner with assistance from Bedford Borough Council and other professional people, the transfer of the club to Bedford Blues Ltd. was organised.[citation needed]
Several thousand supporters and businesses in the town bought shares and the club is now viable.[citation needed]
Bedford have been playing on virtually the same pitch for over 100 years[citation needed] and 32 players have gained International honours whilst playing for the club at the time of being honoured.
Stands
The main stand at Goldington Road
Towards the end of the 2005–06 season, two new temporary stands were built for the big home tie against Harlequins, at one point these stands were made a long term part of the stadium, along with the grounds public house and original stand. As of the 2006-07 season the extra stands have been removed.
Future
With the introduction of the RFU Championship, clubs will benefit from financial input although it is unknown if Bedford will be in a financial situation to improve the ground or meet the entry requirements into the Premiership since its last entry in 2000.
Pitch
The pitch at Goldington road features a dip in the eastern corner which causes difficulties to visiting teams who struggle to read the surface. Furthermore, there is a gradient again going down from west to east.
goldington, road, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, addin. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed February 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Goldington Road news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Goldington Road is a rugby ground in the De Parys area of Bedford Bedfordshire England It is the home stadium of Bedford Blues As of 2019 the stadium holds 5 000 people down from 6 000 The stadium also has two hospitality boxes The Larry Webb Room and The Lifesure Suite which can cater for 12 to 20 people respectively in addition to The Blues Marquee There is one stand the Charles Wells Stand with the remaining areas being standing room There is an uncovered temporary stand in the south east corner of the ground Goldington RoadLocationGoldington Road Bedford EnglandCapacity5 000 1 700 seated SurfaceGrassConstructionBroke ground1886Renovated Construction cost TenantsBedford Blues 1886 present Contents 1 History 2 Stands 3 Future 4 Pitch 5 See also 6 ReferencesHistory EditFollowing an amalgamation between Bedford Rovers 1876 and Bedford Swifts 1882 both with connections to Bedford School and Bedford Modern School there were two main sites where pitches could be made available One was known as The House of Industry ground in Goldington Road This was the field in front of the House of Industry now known as the North Wing Hospital This is approximately where Bedford play now The other site was known as Midland Road Ground an area near the Queen s Park railway bridge The first matches in 1886 87 were in Goldington Road where the Bedford Swifts had played but during the next few seasons several pitches near the railway station were used The railway and industry required this land and Bedford Rugby returned to the Goldington Road area before an agreement in 1895 was reached with Bedford Cricket Club who actually held the lease The pitch was laid out in virtually the same spot as it is now The First World War threatened the club s existence when the ground was taken over by the Military Authorities for use as an Army Camp citation needed Things did improve very quickly and by the late 1920s and early 1930s further improvements had been made at the ground the biggest being the stand opened in 1933 which is still in use today citation needed Following intervention by the RFU in October 1999 a consortium of Bedford businessmen headed by David Ledsom SDC Geoff Irvine Irvine Whitlock and David Gunner with assistance from Bedford Borough Council and other professional people the transfer of the club to Bedford Blues Ltd was organised citation needed Several thousand supporters and businesses in the town bought shares and the club is now viable citation needed Bedford have been playing on virtually the same pitch for over 100 years citation needed and 32 players have gained International honours whilst playing for the club at the time of being honoured Stands Edit The main stand at Goldington Road Towards the end of the 2005 06 season two new temporary stands were built for the big home tie against Harlequins at one point these stands were made a long term part of the stadium along with the grounds public house and original stand As of the 2006 07 season the extra stands have been removed Future EditWith the introduction of the RFU Championship clubs will benefit from financial input although it is unknown if Bedford will be in a financial situation to improve the ground or meet the entry requirements into the Premiership since its last entry in 2000 Pitch EditThe pitch at Goldington road features a dip in the eastern corner which causes difficulties to visiting teams who struggle to read the surface Furthermore there is a gradient again going down from west to east See also EditList of rugby union stadiums by capacity List of English rugby league stadiums by capacity List of European stadiums by capacityReferences EditCoordinates 52 08 26 N 0 27 27 W 52 140424 N 0 457479 W 52 140424 0 457479 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Goldington Road amp oldid 957591814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
