Priestfield Stadium

Priestfield Stadium stands in Gillingham, Kent, on a flat site surrounded by four modern all-seater stands. The ground has been home to Gillingham Football Club since 1893 and once hosted Brighton & Hove Albion for two seasons. It has also staged women’s and youth international football matches and a rugby league game. The stadium’s capacity fell from nearly 20,000 to 11,582 after late-1990s redevelopment. All four sides now carry seating, though one stand remains temporary. Conference rooms, a banqueting suite and a nightspot called The Factory sit beside the pitch. Gillingham’s club formed in 1893 and bought the land with 1,500 £1 shares. The first match drew modest crowds, with most fans standing on earth banks or along the pitch edge. Sheep once grazed the pitch during the week, and early stands were built with help from dock workers paid in beer and cigarettes. A 1924 FA Cup tie against Cardiff City drew 19,472, a record that lasted until 1948. Floodlights were added in 1963, but major work stalled for decades until new owner Paul Scally led a £2 million rebuild in the late 1990s. Visitors enter the Medway Stand, the largest two-tier structure on the northern side. It holds the dressing rooms, club offices, shop and twenty executive boxes. Opposite stands the Gordon Road Stand, seating 2,600 and capped by planning height rules. Behind one goal is the Rainham End, home to the most vocal supporters and seating 2,400. The temporary Brian Moore Stand occupies the fourth side, named after the late commentator. The pitch itself is levelled and framed by covered stands, with The Factory nightspot and conference rooms just beyond the stands.