Oldham Athletic v Harrogate Town

RETRO LATICS
completely devastated.
After raising funds, repairs
were undertaken and
workers managed to return
the stadium to its former
standing.
By 1920, the West Stand was
expanded, only for the stadium
to suffer significant damage
due to a bomb explosion as
war broke out again. It meant
Albion heavily invested in
another reconstruction of the
ground, spending an incredible
£100,000.
The stadium hosted football
games for the 1948 Olympic
Games, being one of only two
venues outside of London to
host matches.
Its record attendance came in
December 1958, as a crowd of
36,747 watched a resounding
3-0 victory over Fulham.
In September 1992, it saw the
beginning of the career of
David Beckham, who made
his debut as a substitute
for Manchester United in a
League Cup tie.
The final match at the
Goldstone Ground took
place on 26 April 1997,
Brighton securing a narrow
1-0 victory over Doncaster to
help preserve their Football
League status.
The move from the old ground
was contentious. With the
club close to bankruptcy, the
freehold was sold by thenchairman,
Bill Archer, who
aimed to profit from the sale
of the lucrative development
land on which the Goldstone
stood on.
A proposed ground-share
with Portsmouth failed to
materialise, so the Seagulls
were forced to play in
Gillingham for two seasons
before being housed at the
Withdean Stadium, a local
athletics venue, from 1999
to 2011.
The Goldstone Ground was
demolished in 1997 and the
land was sold to property
developers who built the
Goldstone Retail Park, which
still stands today.
oldhamathletic.co.uk | @OfficialOAFC 29