So who's telling lies?

[Sheffsteel]

He’s probably just used to saying it over the years, since Mansfield wasn’t in the football league until a few years ago

He used to say “oldest major stadium in the world”
Then when Mansfield went in the non league, it became “oldest professional stadium in the world`’

And now that Mansfield are back in the league he’s gone back to
‘Welcome to Bramall Lane, the oldest major stadium in the world”.

 

[3-GBlade]

ermmmm
Brammall Lane - Its the oldest ground used for professional sports - and still used as such... Its not really THAT hard to work out.
Field Mill can be whatever it wants to be, its still in a shit hole.
Sandygate is almost next to 3 G towers, and that IS that oldest ground in the world.....DO I go on about it ? No, cos it dont matter at all really.

Anything else is taking a good dose of the deludamol - where being a bunch of itinerant amateurs for 20 years makes you Bigger Better and Older than something that was Professional from Day One.

 

[Maidenhead]

York Road Maidenhead??

I was going to say that, but I've been down this road before.

Maidenhead United certainly claim it as the oldest ground in the world in continuous use by the same club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Road_(Maidenhead)

 

[SRBlade]

I think The Lane is classed as the oldest MAJOR football stadium in the world.

Only difference being is that it has hosted a cup final (?).

 

[I should coco]

I think The Lane is classed as the oldest MAJOR football stadium in the world.

Only difference being is that it has hosted a cup final (?).

Sigh!

The first ever trophy final (the Youdan Cup)
An FAC final replay
And an England International
And a Test Match
And the first ever match under floodlights

and since football was invented in 1992.....

The first ever Premier League goal.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Genuine question: Is the Conference classed as being a professional league? I thought it was only Prem/Champ/1/2?

There is more money in that league, and certainly higher wages, than in L2. I know quite a few players who have dropped into it for a better wage.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Genuine question: Is the Conference classed as being a professional league? I thought it was only Prem/Champ/1/2?

I remember in the early days all the Conference League teams were amateurs/ semi pro.

However when clubs were relegated from league 2, most went semi pro, but others stayed professional.
My understanding is that over time more and more Conference teams are now professional.

 

[gordoncharles]

You are correctly pointing to what’s known as “a break in service”. So to be precise we should refer to our ground as “the oldest continuous professional football ground in the world”. But it’s not quite so “pithy” is it!

It's all semantics. It would depend as well on when a club turned professional.

On that basis the oldest continuous professional football ground in the world is probably Deepdale.

WGAF?

 

[Paulus]

Don't United claim Bramall Lane is the oldest professional sports ground in the world. This brings in the Cricket and means both SUFC and MTFC can be telling the truth.

Was cricket professional before 1861? I'd have thought it unlikely.

 

[mancunianblade]

Not into all these engineered titles. One of the reasons I hope Notts County go down

 

[bladesmanluke]

Maybe Sinclair needs to change it to;

“Welcome to beautiful downtown Bramall Lane, the oldest professional sports stadium that still hosts professional football, this side of the Nottinghamshire border, in the world!”
Or does that not have the same ring to it?

 

[Karaoke Blade]

I don't think Field Mill was a stadium as such when it first held sporting events, it was just a field.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Isn't it Bramall Lane is the oldest professional football ground in the world, and Field Mill is the oldest football ground in the world which hosts professional football but hasn't always?

Dems be some straws to be clutched at.

 

[Sheffsteel]

I don't think Field Mill was a stadium as such when it first held sporting events, it was just a field.

That’s my view too, it was a site where they regular played football, almost like a village green. It became a stadium much later.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

Wasn't Mill Field in the grounds of the Mill and used by the Mill's workers as a sports field for their team and also local teams?
The problem with this is we're going back to a time when things weren't regulated or recorded, before leagues and competitions, even officially registered clubs, and are trying to apply a very strict and specific criteria. The first game at the Lane was 1862 I think, Sheffield FC vs ?, but it's hard to believe there weren't football matches played before that between local teams but just weren't recorded anywhere. We're looking at a time when the difference between association football and rugby football hadn't been clearly defined, when teams were playing to rules that we probably wouldn't recognise as football today. As soon as you look into it in any detail you see that it's such a grey area that trying to make any clear claim is silly, in fact a bit embarrassing. The ground has a fabulous history, but it isn't an "est" and doesn't need to be.

 

[Droppingwell]

Was cricket professional before 1861? I'd have thought it unlikely.

just had a google, the Full England team was professional by 1859 and probably prior to that. However you raise a fair point as that doesn't mean Sheffield United CC or whoever was playing at the Lane at that point was professional.

 

[BushBlade]

One day we’ll win something and have something to be properly proud of instead of taking refuge in trivia

 

[Cerberus Blade]

One day we’ll win something and have something to be properly proud of instead of taking refuge in trivia

Like.. Hey! We’re the oldest “United” in the world?

 

[Cerberus Blade]

I think I’ve worked it out (or made it up). We ARE the oldest professional football ground in the world because even though Field Mill was built before us it didn’t host professional football before us. So there!

The problem is, Bramall Lane doesn’t look like the oldest professional football ground in the world because it’s so lovely and modern and clean and shiny. The oldest football ground in the world based on shabby appearance, decaying infrastructure and rust count, is Sheffield Wednesday’s ground obviously!

Always in their shadow eh?

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

I don't think Field Mill was a stadium as such when it first held sporting events, it was just a field.

I’m old fashioned and refer to both of them as football grounds.

 

[blade too long]

mansfield were formed in 1897 6 years after the league started

they only started playing at field mill in 1919

they were only elected to the league in 1931

so its not been a football league ground for 90 years yet

 

[Hamburg Blade]

mansfield were formed in 1897 6 years after the league started

they only started playing at field mill in 1919

they were only elected to the league in 1931

so its not been a football league ground for 90 years yet

It's the ground and not the club.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

I think I’ve worked it out (or made it up). We ARE the oldest professional football ground in the world because even though Field Mill was built before us it didn’t host professional football before us. So there!

But that would be "first to host professional football", which it isn't, so it would be "first to host professional football of the oldest grounds", which it isn't if you count anything in the 19th Century as one of the oldest, so it would be "oldest football ground that has hosted professional football for the longest", but I don't know if it is.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

mansfield were formed in 1897 6 years after the league started

they only started playing at field mill in 1919

they were only elected to the league in 1931

so its not been a football league ground for 90 years yet

But that would be "first to host professional football", which it isn't, so it would be "first to host professional football of the oldest grounds", which it isn't if you count anything in the 19th Century as one of the oldest, so it would be "oldest football ground that has hosted professional football for the longest", but I don't know if it is.

thanks for clarifying that!

 

[blade too long]

It's the ground and not the club.

But the ground has to be in use the whole lifetime possible as a league ground. Or a non league club who got in the league now could claim it

 

[ourbob]

ours is oldest sports ground isnt it?
Without trawling through all the posts.

 

[DJBlade]

Field Mill = oldest ground
Bramal Lane = oldest stadium
Hope this sorts the question out as a ground and a stadium are 2 differnt things. That's why Gary Sinclair say 'oldest stadium' And all the historical infomation states 'Stadium'.

 

[grafikhaus]

But that would be "first to host professional football", which it isn't, so it would be "first to host professional football of the oldest grounds", which it isn't if you count anything in the 19th Century as one of the oldest, so it would be "oldest football ground that has hosted professional football for the longest", but I don't know if it is.

Why are we even bothering about this? Whatever Sinclair says, at least we don't have endless lies on the pitch-side advertising, such as:



It's actually '90 years of Sheffield Wednesday' as they were called 'The Wednesday' up to 1929. And that's before we get to 'D Taxis', 'BK Balloons' etc. etc.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Bramall Lane; The oldest professional ground with more than 9,186 seat.....Voila!

 

[Old Programme seller]

The oldest football ground is Hallam Fc’s at Crosspool https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallam_F.C.they have a plaque somewhere at the ground I’ve seen it albeit a few years ago so please don’t ask me whereabouts I saw it but it’s not a big ground.