Blackwell Meadows

Blackwell Meadows is a multi-purpose sports ground in Darlington, County Durham, England. It provides facilities for both rugby union and association football, which provides the homes of Darlington RFC and Darlington F.C., with a capacity of 3,281 with 588 seats.

Blackwell Meadows
Full nameBlackwell Meadows
LocationGrange Road
Darlington
DL1 5NR
Genre(s)Multi-purpose sports ground:
Rugby union
Association football
Capacity3,281 (588 seated)
Record attendance3,000 (Darlington 1883 v FC Halifax Town, 26 December 2016)
Field size120 x 80 yards (109 x 73 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1994 (1994) (as rugby ground)
2016 (2016) (as football ground)
Construction cost£1.7 million (1994 opening)
Tenants
Rugby union:
Darlington RFC (1994–present)
Association football:
Darlington 1883 (2016–2017)
Darlington F.C. (2017–present)

Opened in 1994, it was initially constructed to house games for Darlington RFC, a grassroots rugby union team who were looking for a new premises after selling their McMullen Road location for retail development, the club committed £1.7 million to develop their new ground. From the ground's association to rugby union, they have also hosted an international game, first occurring in 2013.

In 2016, the ground was renovated in order to begin hosting matches for Darlington 1883, who were a continuation of Darlington F.C., which marked the club relocating to their hometown for the first time since their departure from the nearby Northern Echo Darlington Arena in 2012. The club would go on to return to their traditional Darlington name the following year, and gradually began to develop the facilities overtime.

History

Blackwell Meadows hosted their first international match on 3 March 2013, when the England under-18 rugby union team faced Scotland; England came out as 57–13 winners in front of 1,600 spectators.[1]

In December 2013, it was announced that Darlington 1883, a football club who at that point were a continuation of Darlington F.C., would move to Blackwell Meadows, returning to the town of Darlington for the first time since they left The Darlington Arena in 2012, after a prolonged period of financial difficulty.[2] Prior to their relocation to Blackwell Meadows, the club have agreed to ground-share with Bishop Auckland F.C. at their Heritage Park ground, where they played at for four years.[3]

The club announced their intentions to finally make the move at the start of the 2016–17 season, with expansion plans in place to increase the capacity of Blackwell Meadows to 3,000 in order to meet requirements to play in the National League.[4] They played their first game at the ground on 26 December 2016 against FC Halifax Town, which would be their record attendance as 3,000 spectators witnessed the club's return to their hometown.[5]

Despite finishing in the play-off places during their first season at Blackwell Meadows, Darlington were disqualified from competing in the play-offs for a chance for promotion to the National League due to an inadequate quantity of seats. As a result, the club expanded their seated stand to 588 in 2018 to avoid the same events occurring again.[6]

Having reverted to their traditional playing name of Darlington F.C. ahead of the 2017–18 season,[7] the club announced during the summer of 2017 that work had begun on a new playing area and a new seated stadium following the addition of further fundraising.[8] The club continues to explore further ways to improve Blackwell Meadows, including a stand at the currently empty west end of the ground.[9]

Attendances

Source:[10]

Club Season League League finish position Average attendance Capacity % full
Darlington 1883 2016–17 National League North 5th 1,739 3,000 58.0
Darlington F.C. 2017–18 12th 1,456 48.5
2018–19 16th 1,394 3,281 42.5

International matches
Date Sport Result Competition Attendance
3 March 2013 Rugby union England England 57–13 Scotland Scotland Under-18 rugby union international 1,600

References
  1. "England U18 v Scotland U18 - Sunday 3rd March 2013". Pitchero. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. Henderson, Vicki (13 December 2013). "Quakers coming home to Darlington – if funds can be found". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  3. Willis, Joe (30 May 2012). "Quakers latest: Darlington to play at Bishop Auckland, not Shildon". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  4. Willis, Joe (18 March 2016). "Video: They're coming home! Darlington Football Club to play at Blackwell Meadows from next season ... appeal to fans to raise at least £75,000". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. Stoddart, Craig (26 December 2016). "Darlington 3 FC Halifax Town 2". Darlington & Stockton Times. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  6. "Darlington FC's new Blackwell Meadows stand to open this weekend". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  7. Coney, Steven (4 April 2017). "Football Association approve Darlington's wishes to revert to historic Darlington FC name". The Non-League Paper. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. "A Brief History of Darlington FC". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  9. "Netcafe with the DFC directors - News". darlingtonfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  10. "Blackwell Meadows". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
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