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Chelmsford vs AveleyWed 01 Jan 2025 15:00
Established
0 (2023 years old)
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Country
England
Location
Chelmsford, England
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Chelmsford moved into New Writtle Street Stadium in 1922, having previously played at Broomfield Road, New Street and King's Head Meadow in the centre of the town.
After their establishment, Chelmsford City continued to play at the New Writtle Street ground, which the club purchased in 1939. During the early parts of World War II the ground was shared by Southend United, before it became a barrage balloon site in 1942. On two occasions (the 1930s and 1940s) the stadium hosted greyhound racing. The record attendance of 16,807 was set for a local derby with Colchester United on 10 September 1949. Floodlights were installed in 1960 and several plans were made to increase facilities at the ground, including installing a swimming pool and building office blocks or a hotel, but none came to fruition. The club's first floodlit game was against Wisbech Town on 21 September 1960, with the official opening coming in a friendly against Norwich City on 3 October 1960.
In 1997, the site was sold to developers and the club had to move out of Chelmsford. They initially shared at Maldon Town's Wallace Binder Ground, before moving to Billericay Town's New Lodge. In January 2006, the club moved back to Chelmsford when they became a tenants at the Melbourne Stadium, also known as Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre. The centre first had a track in 1934, before a cinder track was opened in 1962 alongside with two seated stands on one side of the track, together holding 700 spectators. It hosted Chelmsford City Ladies matches, as the pitch inside the track was too small for men's football. The Ladies team left the ground when the stands were dismantled, although a new 270-seat stand was built in the early 2000s.
Chelmsford City announced that they would be moving to the Melbourne Stadium in March 2004. Following the announcement another stand was built on the other side of the pitch. The first game back at Melbourne Park was against former landlords Billericay Town on 2 January 2006 and was played in front of a then-record crowd of 2,998. The club has plans to upgrade the stadium to a 5,000 capacity capable of achieving the necessary 'A' ground grading. The current record attendance at Melbourne Park is 3,201 for a game against AFC Wimbledon on 15 March 2008.
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