thumb|left|upright=0.7|A memorial in Bradford city centre
In 1986, Sir Oliver Popplewell published his inquiry into the fire, which led to the introduction of new safety legislation for sports grounds across England. Work did not begin until July 1986. and an annual Easter-weekend youth tournament, which is contested between Bradford, Lincoln and other European teams.
Other uses
Valley Parade was the headquarters of The 2nd West Riding Brigade Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force). The ground hosted its first international football game just two months after its first Football League match. The game's governing bodies wanted to promote football in the West Riding of Yorkshire and chose Valley Parade to host a game between an English League side and an Irish League side, despite the ground being below standard. An estimated 20,000 spectators attended the match on 10 October 1903, which the English League won 2–1. Over the next 20 years, the ground hosted a number of other representative games, including an England international trial, the 1904 FA Amateur Cup Final and an under-15s schoolboy international between England and Scotland. On 6 April 1987, the ground hosted another international when England under-18s drew 1–1 with Switzerland.
Other under-18 fixtures have been played since 1987, the last of which was between England and Belgium in November 2000. It hosted two England under-21 international friendlies; the first was against Denmark's under-21s side on 8 October 1999, which ended with a score of England 4–1 Denmark. The other was against Italy's under-21s on 26 March 2002, which ended in a 1–1 draw with 21,642 in attendance. Valley Parade's next international came seven years later when Bradford City hosted an under-19s European Championship qualifying game, in which England defeated Slovakia 4–1. The England women's team have also played at Valley Parade, including their 1994 first home match under the auspices of The Football Association (FA) against Spain.
Bradford (Park Avenue) have played 29 games at Valley Parade, including a 2–0 friendly victory over Swiss side AC Lugano in 1962, and all of their home fixtures in 1973–1974, their last season before the club's extinction. Bradford's rugby league side Bradford Northern played a number of fixtures at Valley Parade between 1920 and 1937, as well as three games in the 1980s and the 1990s. Bradford Northern became Bradford Bulls with the advent of the Super League, and played two seasons at Valley Parade in 2001 and 2002 while their home ground Odsal Stadium was redeveloped.
Records
left|thumb|[[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City's average and highest league attendances at Valley Parade, for full seasons, since the ground reopened in 1986]]
The record attendance at Valley Parade is 39,146 for Bradford City's FA Cup fourth round tie against Burnley on 11 March 1911. The record attendance since the Valley Parade grounds were rebuilt in 1986 with all-seated attendance is 24,343, which was set on 14 July 2019 during a pre-season friendly against Liverpool. exceeding the previous record of 23,971, which was set on 10 December 2012 in the club's 2012–13 Football League Cup quarter-finals win against Arsenal. The lowest attendance for a league home match at Valley Parade is 1,249, which occurred on 15 May 1981, for a Division Four fixture with Hereford United. although the club reported an average of 22,585 in 1920–21. After Bradford City were promoted to the Premier League in 1999, the club again recorded average attendances in excess of 18,000. City recorded an average attendance of 18,030 in 1999–2000, and 18,511 the following season.
During their two years at Valley Parade, Bradford Bulls recorded their highest attendance of 16,572 on 4 March 2001 against St. Helens. Bulls averaged 11,488 in 2002 for Super League VII. The highest crowd for a Bradford Northern fixture at Valley Parade was 20,973 on 13 February 1926 for a Challenge Cup game against Keighley, which finished 2–2. Bradford Interchange, which is also the city's main bus terminus, and from Valley Parade. The other is Bradford Forster Square, , no railway station had been built and a discounted bus route was withdrawn because of low patronage.
See also
- List of stadiums in the United Kingdom by capacity
- Lists of stadiums