Holker Street Stadium

Holker Street, also known as The Dunes Hotel Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a sports stadium located in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Currently and originally used as a football ground, it has also been used in the past for Speedway. In addition, the ground once had some leisure centre facilities, including four squash courts, which have now been demolished. Its current owners, and tenants for the vast majority of its history, are Barrow A.F.C., who have played at the ground since 1909. Despite its current capacity being just over 5,000, some 16,874 people crammed the stadium in January 1954 when Barrow played Swansea Town in the FA Cup third round.

History

Early years

The site of Holker Street had previously been owned by the Furness Railway, which had used it as a rubbish tip. It was converted into a football pitch by Hindpool Athletic football club, though no stands had been built and the pitch had little grass — indeed, pieces of refuse on the site remained an obstacle for many years after the ground had been developed.Barrow, which had been founded in 1901, and had spent eight seasons playing at a variety of grounds in Barrow, moved there and took a five-year rent from Furness Railway in 1909. The first game played by Barrow at the ground was a Lancashire Combination league match against Eccles Borough, which finished in a 5–2 victory for Barrow.

The first structure built at the ground was a wooden all-seater stand in 1912. By 1921, when Barrow were elected into the new Third Division (North) of the Football League, Holker Street had been developed into an "excellent ground" with fully covered terracing surrounding the three remaining sides, changing rooms and turnstiles. The first match at the new level was against Stockport County, with an attendance of 9,750.

Football league period

Holker Street remained a good-quality ground during the 1930s, with further upgrades following the Second World War, which saw the wooden s