England's lost football grounds - part II

England's lost football grounds - part II
By Andrew Dawkins and Chris Ellis

A BBC News article exploring the fate of England's lost football grounds last week drew an overwhelming response from readers and on social media. Here we look at some of the other clubs whose former stadiums are gone but certainly not forgotten.

Fan Gaz Stevenson has been back to Kippax Street, where the Kippax Stand once stood
When Manchester City left Maine Road in the city's Moss Side area in 2003, taxi driver Gaz Stevenson decided to take a bit of the old ground back with him.

He said: "I walked across the pitch and where Shaun Goater scored in the 3-1 win for City in the last derby at Maine Road. I stood just on the edge of the six-yard box.

"It was just a very strange feeling to walk in and out of the stands. Some seats had been ripped up… A few builders weren't doing too much… We took it all in.

"I went to my seat… my seat in the North Stand behind the goal. It was all bagged up for me… I got it bolted in the shed in the garden. You can go and sit on it."

He had bought his old seat online for £12.50.

Homes were built at the famous old ground with its wide pitch, but Mr Stevenson, 32, still has a family connection there.

Time capsule buried in Gibson's Green
Gibson's Green was named after Mr Stevenson's great-great uncle, long-serving head groundsman Stan Gibson
Gibson's Green, a "big circle of grass where the centre circle was", is named after his great-great uncle, long-serving head groundsman Stan Gibson.

He said: "Stan was a real big character. Mike Summerbee, at the opening of Gibson's Green, said Stan was one of the main reasons he signed for City.

"He came to see the club… [and] Stan really sold the club to him."

His father, Geoff, 59, was also a groundsman in the 1970s, "lucky enough to be at the big dinner in Manchester" after City won the 1976 League Cup.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-29706200

-- BBC 2014-10-25