The Tower Athletic Ground was built by the New Brighton Tower company, and consisted of a football pitch surrounded by running and cycling tracks. There were covered seated stands on either side of the pitch and standing areas at each end.[1] It was the biggest sporting and motorcycling track in the North of England.
Hi folks and welcome to another video. This time we’re going to be looking at the Tower Athletic Ground which was a sports ground in New Brighton Mercuryside, England. It was the home ground of both New Brighton Tower and New Brighton AFC. The Tower Athletic Ground was built by the New Brighton Tower Company and consisted of a football pitch surrounded by running and cycling tracks. There were covered seated stands on each side of the pitch and standing areas at each end. It was the biggest sport in a motorcycleycling track in the north of England. The Tower Company set up a football club to play at the ground and the club was elected to the second division of the football league in 1898. The first football league match was played at the ground on the 10th of September 1898 with New Brighton Tower beating Gainesburgh Trinity 3-2 in front of 2,000 spectators. Later in the same season, New Brighton Tower’s record league attendance was set when 10,000 watched a 1-0il defeat to Manchester City on the 14th of January 1899. Despite finishing fourth in the second division in the 1900901 season, financial problems led the directors of the club to make a decision to withdraw from the league in September 1901. New Brighton Tower’s last match at the Tower Athletic Ground was a 1- nil win over Wulich Arsenal on the 27th of April 1901 in front of 2,000 spectators. The ground was subsequently used by Harabbe AFC but gradually fell into decline. However, it continued to be used for other sports. It hosted the World Cycling Championships in July 1922. In 1933, the athletics track was replaced for use every Saturday by Motorycle Speedway Racing. It was also used for stock car racing in the 1970s. During World War II, the site was used as a depot and by the end of the war, the pitch was covered in breaks and the stands were in a state of decay. However, due to the bomb damage at Sand Hayes Park ground and its subsequent requisitioning by the Wallis Corporation to build temporary housing, New Brighton AFC moved to the tower athletic ground in 1946. A new stand was built on the southern touch line. The terrace behind the western goal was renovated and the pitch was returfed. Later improvements saw some covered areas installed. New Brighton’s first match at the Tower Athletic Ground on the 4th of September 1946 was a third division north game against Bradford City watched by 7,500 spectators which finished nil nil. A derby match against Tramier Rovers later in September saw the grounds record league attendance of 14,291 set. At the end of the 1950-551 season, New Brighton were voted out of the football league. Their last league game at the Tower Athletic Ground was a 1-0il win over Chester on the 2nd of May. In 1954, the club was forced to leave the ground, but were returned a year later after being granted joint tenency of the site alongside Wallace Burough Council. The ground’s overall record attendance of 16,000 was set for an FA Cup third round match against Toki United on the 5th of January 1957. The club bought the ground in 1958, remaining there until 1977 when it was sold to the Wallacey Housing Corporation and is now the site of a housing estate. And that folks concludes this video on the Tower Athletic Ground. I would like to thank you for watching this video. Remember to like and share this video. It’s up to you whether you subscribe or not. It’s completely free. Uh do so if you want. If not, until the next video, take care of yourselves and goodbye for now.