Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by its address, like many English football stadiums.

History

Early years

Leicester City was formed in 1884. The club was then named Leicester Fosse, as its founders mostly lived in the west end of the city, through which the Fosse Way ran.

The first phase of ground development concluded with the covering of the East or Popular side in 1939.

Second World War and after

The middle section of the Main Stand suffered bomb damage in 1940, and was later further damaged by a serious fire. By 1949, the stand had been rebuilt, with much of the labour being supplied by German POWs at a nearby camp. The ground's maximum capacity was now around 42,000. Floodlights were installed and first used for a match against the German champions Borussia Dortmund on 23 October 1957.

After just surviving a council vote to terminate their lease in the late 1940s, City purchased the freehold of the ground in 1962, for the sum of £30,500. In 1971, the first moves towards an all-seater stadium were taken, as the North and East sides were converted to seating. Four years later, 20 basic executive boxes were added to the North Stand. A pioneering polythene cover was introduced to protect the pitch in 1971. The Air Dome covered an area of 90,000 square feet, weighed 24 cwt and took 15 men two hours to lay out and inflate using four electric fans. The Air Dome was removed in 1982.

Following the success of the club under Martin O'Neill during the later part of the 1990s, an expanded stadium was required for higher attendances and to provide better facilities. Expansion of Filbert Street would have been very difficult, as the North and East Stands backed onto housing which would have been expensive to place under a compulsory purchase order. Although expansion was considered, by 1998 the decision had been taken to move to a completely new stadium. After a failed attempt to build a 40,000 all-seater stadium at Bede Island South (on the other bank of the nearby River Soar), the club purchased Freeman's Wharf, a former power station site 200 yards south of Filbert Street. Work began on a 32,500 seater stadium during 2001 and it was opened in July 2002.

Filbert Street was sold to a development company for £3.75 million in March 2002, two months before the last game was played there. The last game to be played at Filbert Street was the last game of the 2001–02 season, a 2–1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur – one of just five league games that Leicester won during that season, culminating in relegation to Division One. Matt Piper scored the last goal scored at the ground, In the autumn of 2002, Rotherham United expressed interest in purchasing the Carling Stand and moving it to their Millmoor stadium, but these plans were soon abandoned and the decade-old stand would soon be demolished along with the rest of Filbert Street.

Demolition of Filbert Street was begun in March 2003. The rest of the site was meant to be developed for housing, but this work was cancelled due to the 2008 financial crisis.

References

;Sources

  • Filbert Street history
  • Filbert Street Gallery and Information at Worldstadia
  • Demolition of Filbert Street
  • Football Grounds Guide Article