Ewood Park

Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The stadium opened in 1882 and is an all seater multi-sports facility with a capacity of 31,367. It comprises four sections: Darwen End, Riverside Stand (named as such because it stands practically on the banks of the River Darwen), Ronnie Clayton Blackburn End, and Jack Walker Stand, which is named after Blackburn industrialist and club supporter, Jack Walker. The football pitch within the stadium measures 115 by 76 yards (105 m × 69 m).

History

Football had been played on the site since at least 1881; Rovers played four matches there when it was known as Ewood Bridge and was most likely little more than a field. Their first match was against Sheffield Wednesday on 9 April 1881.

Ewood Park was officially opened in April 1882 and during the 1880s staged football, athletics and some form of greyhound racing (not oval). Rovers moved back in in 1890, signing a ten year lease at an initial annual rent of £60. Their first match at the ground was against Accrington in September. The ground became a great success and was given the honour of hosting an international – England v Scotland in 1891. In 1893, Blackburn Rovers bought the freehold of the ground for £2500, but came close to disaster soon after when part of a stand collapsed under the weight of a 20,000 strong crowd for the visit of Everton.

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club /ˈblækbɜːrn ˈroʊvərz/ is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team competes in the Football League Championship from the 2012–13 season. They were relegated from the Premier League, the top tier of English football, at the end of the 2011–12 season.

The club was established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. It is one of only three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League and the Premier League (the others being Aston Villa and Everton). In 1890 Rovers moved to its permanent home at Ewood Park. Prior to the formation of the Premier League in 1992, most of the club's successes were before 1930, when it had gained league and FA Cup trophies on several occasions. Relegation in 1965–66 was followed by 26 successive seasons of football outside the top flight.

In 1992, Blackburn gained promotion to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local steel baron Jack Walker, who installed Kenny Dalglish as manager. In 1995, Blackburn became Premier League champions, having spent millions of pounds on players like Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. However, the title-winning team was quickly split up and, in the 1998–99 season, the club was relegated. It was promoted back to the Premier League two years later, in the 2000–01 season, just after Walker's death. During this time it has qualified for the UEFA Cup four times: once as League Cup winners, twice as the Premier League's sixth-placed team and once via the Intertoto Cup. The 2011–12 season marked the club's 72nd, non-consecutive, year in the top flight. Blackburn are currently one of only five clubs to have won the Premier League, along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City.

Park

A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil, and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. In North America, many parks have fields for playing sports such as soccer, baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses, and these parks may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest parks are in urban areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and they may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills. Parks have differing rules regarding whether dogs can be brought into the park: some parks prohibit dogs; some parks allow them with restrictions (e.g., use of a leash); and some parks, which may be called "dog parks," permit dogs to run off-leash.