National Hockey Stadium
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| The Hockey Stadium | |
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| Full name | National Hockey Stadium and Conference Centre |
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| Location | Milton Keynes |
| Built | 1995 |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Owner | English Partnerships |
| Capacity | 4,000 all seated |
| Field dimensions | 100 x 64 m |
| Tenants | |
| vacant | |
The National Hockey Stadium is a former sports stadium in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, with a nominal capacity of around 4,000 seats (9,000 between 2003 and 2007). It was used by England Hockey as their national stadium from 1995 to 2003 and as a professional football stadium (for Milton Keynes Dons F.C.) from 2003 to 2007. As of 2007[update], the ground is unused following the Dons' move to stadium:mk but England Hockey retains the buildings as its national headquarters. As of October 2008, the stadium is slated for demolition, to be replaced by an office block.
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[edit] Hockey
The stadium was built in 1995 as a new national field hockey stadium, with a synthetic pitch. The ground was used for national and international (field) hockey until 2003. It had a covered main stand running the full length of one side of the pitch, opposite which was an unroofed stand running about one third of the length of the pitch, straddling the halfway line.
In 2003, the ground was leased to Milton Keynes Dons, a grass pitch was laid, meaning that the stadium was out of commission for hockey, and temporary stands were added at either end of the pitch. Hockey internationals and playoff matches were reallocated to various leading club grounds around the country. At the end of the lease (May 2007), the temporary stands were removed.
On 2 April 2007 the trustees of the National Hockey Foundation which owned the lease of the stadium announced that they had arranged to hand the lease back to English Partnerships as detailed study had shown that the stadium would no longer be viable as a hockey venue, particularly in light of the building of another hockey facility in Stratford, London, as part of the 2012 Olympics facilities.
Although England Hockey will continue to maintain their offices there for the foreseeable future, the Foundation will use the money raised from the release of the lease to pursue their charitable objectives.
[edit] Football
The stadium was the home of Milton Keynes Dons from September 2003 to May 2007. The club moved in during 2003, converted the synthetic pitch to grass and added additional stands and seating (with up to 9,000 seats). Adjacent to the Home supporters stand (known as "The Cowshed") sported a small herd of concrete cows 'grazing' .[1] As a result of the cow link, the team mascots are two pantomime-style cows named "Donny" and "Mooie". On several occasions, the cows were 'mooved' by jovial fans to make them look as if they were mating. In July 2007 the club moved to its new stadium:mk at Denbigh North, near Bletchley prior to the start of the 2007-08 season. The home supporters end at the Denbigh stadium is also known as the Cowshed.
Record attendance at the National Hockey Stadium: 8,306 v Tottenham Hotspur League Cup 3rd Round, October 25th, 2006.
Average Attendance At the National Hockey Stadium: 2006-2007: 6,034 (League Two) 2005-2006: 5,776 (League One) 2004-2005: 4,896 (League One)
[edit] Future: demolition
At end of October 2008, English Partnerships (owners of the site) announced agreement with Network Rail to make the site available for a new headquarters building, which means that the stadium will be demolished.[2]
[edit] Location
- The stadium is just beside Milton Keynes Central railway station, near the A509 exit from the A5.
- Nearest postcode for GPS: MK9 1FA
- 1:10,000 mapping
Coordinates: 52°02′16″N 0°46′30″W / 52.037739°N 0.775014°W
