The Sands Venue Stadium

Glanford Park, currently known as The Sands Venue Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and is the current home of Scunthorpe United.

Opened in 1988 at a construction cost of £2.5 million, it was the first new purpose-built Football League stadium to be built in England for 33 years, since Southend United moved to Roots Hall in 1955.

The stadium is Scunthorpe's second ground, with the Iron having previously played at the Old Show Ground from 1899 to 1988. The ground's record attendance was set at 9,077 for a Carling Cup Third Round tie against Manchester United on 22 September 2010.

On 30 July 2019, the club signed a stadium naming-rights deal, and the stadium was renamed ‘The Sands Venue Stadium’ for the 2019/20 League Two season.

History

Scunthorpe United originally played at the Old Show Ground, which was located towards the centre of the town at the junction of Doncaster Road and Henderson Avenue. In the wake of the Bradford City disaster of 1985, it was determined that substantial improvements would have to be made to the Old Show Ground in order for it to meet new regulations, improvements which the club could not afford. Ultimately it was decided that the best course of action was to relocate to a new out of town site, with the sale of the land occupied by the Old Show Ground being used to raise much needed revenue for the club. After the club relocated, the Old Show Ground was demolished and replaced by a Safeway supermarket, which was subsequently sold to Sainsbury's in 2004.

Construction began during 1987 on a site located on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, close to the start of the M181 motorway and approximately 1.5 miles West of the Old Show Ground. The ground was fully completed prior to the commencement of the 1988–89 season and was officially opened at the start of the season by Princess Alexandra. Upon its completion, it was the first new Football League stadium in England for 33 years.

Glanford P