The oldest stadiums still in use
Ten grounds that have been hosting matches for over a century, from a Sheffield meadow dating to 1804 to the ballparks that survived everything.
A stadium's age is a slippery subject: almost none keeps its original structure and many dispute their founding date. We use the most widely accepted criterion — how long football has been played continuously on that ground — and order from oldest to newest.
1.Sandygate Road
Sheffield, England · 1804
Recognised by Guinness as the oldest football ground in the world still in use. Home of Hallam FC, which in 1860 played here what is considered the first derby in history against Sheffield FC.
2.Bramall Lane
Sheffield, England · 1855
The oldest professional stadium in the world still in operation. It began as a cricket ground, staged the first floodlit match in history in 1878 and today is home to Sheffield United.
See stadium guide →3.Deepdale
Preston, England · 1878
The oldest ground in the world used continuously by the same professional football club: Preston North End has not moved in almost 150 years. Its four stands are named after club legends.
4.Anfield
Liverpool, England · 1884
A historical curiosity: it was built for Everton, who left after a rent dispute and thereby triggered the founding of Liverpool FC in 1892. The current Kop dates from 1906.
See stadium guide →5.Goodison Park
Liverpool, England · 1892
The first purpose-built football stadium in England, with stands on all four sides from the very beginning. It hosted 1966 World Cup matches, including a semi-final.
See stadium guide →6.Stadio Luigi Ferraris
Genoa, Italy · 1911
Italy's oldest active stadium and one of the few English-style grounds in the country: four straight stands, no track, and square brick towers at the corners. Shared by Genoa and Sampdoria.
7.Fenway Park
Boston, United States · 1912
The oldest park in Major League Baseball and probably the most beloved. The Green Monster, its 11-metre left-field wall, exists purely because Lansdowne Street left no room.
See stadium guide →8.Wrigley Field
Chicago, United States · 1914
Ivy on the outfield walls, a hand-operated scoreboard and neighbouring rooftops turned into private grandstands. It had no floodlights until 1988, the last park in the league to install them.
See stadium guide →9.Gran Parque Central
Montevideo, Uruguay · 1900
Home of Nacional and the setting for the very first match in World Cup history, in 1930. One of the oldest club stadiums in the world outside the British Isles.
10.Old Trafford
Manchester, England · 1910
Bombed in 1941 and rebuilt in 1949, forcing United to play eight years at Maine Road. It is the largest club stadium in England and, perhaps, the next one to disappear.
See stadium guide →Visiting a century-old ground is the most direct way to understand why football looks different in every country. Find these grounds in the catalogue, mark them as visited and add them to your traveller level on Staddius.