Fulham FC is the oldest London club professionally. It has a great history along with its stadium – Craven Cottage. Let us talk about 10 interesting facts about Craven Cottage Stadium.
Built date
Craven Cottage belongs to the English club Fulham FC. It was built in 1780 as a cottage. In 1896, it was built again into a stadium. Its field size is 100 x 65 metres.
Capacity and ownership
Craven Cottage is a normal size stadium. It has a capacity to host 29,600 fans. This stadium is owned by the club itself.
Work on the field
In 1894, when Fulham representatives first came to this ground, it was so overgrown that it took them two years to make it playable for Football. The owners agreed to do the work in exchange for gate receipts.
Construction
The cottage stadium wasn’t built in a single swoop but little by little. Until 2003, it wasn’t up to Premier League standards and then £8 million were used for the redevelopment. Finally, Premier League approved them as a standard stadium.
Other events
Craven Cottage was also used for many other purposes, like a 5-a-side football matches, weddings and Sunday lunch spot.
Modernisation
The Fulham is trying to modernise the stadium but they are also trying their best to maintain the original heritage of Craven Cottage.
First match
The first match hosted by Craven Cottage was on October 10, 1896. In this match, Fulham beat Minerva by 4-0.
Redevelopment
On Wednesday 22nd May 2019, the club has signed a deal with Buckingham group for the renovations and many projects regarding the stadium. According to reports, this renovation will increase the capacity as well as the beauty and will give structural benefit too.
Record attendance
The record attendance recorded in the history of the stadium was in 1938 when 49,335 people attended the match between Fulham and Millwall.
International matches
This stadium along with other events and league matches have also hosted many international matches, a feat many giant stadiums haven’t achieved and this adds to the heritage of the stadium.