TOP 10 Stadiums Too Big For Their Non League Club

[@deathrider7]

Get your sound sorted you go from too loud to not loud enough. Are you walking around when you make the video?

[@26TANGOMIKE037]

Just what I was thinking........

[@alkanchannel5630]

I think he read the script & move his head up and down I guess

[@Isleofskye]

Well said m8...

[@b__c7538]

@Jamis Ins Thank you

[@b__c7538]

@Jamis Ins Thank you

[@daviddavies2742]

Queen park FC in Scotland get a few hundred and play in hampden park capacity 51,866.

[@thegoodgunner]

they own the stadium actually until few weeks ago, they just sold it to the FA

[@daviddavies2742]

@@thegoodgunner aye £5m for a 52 thousands seater bargain.

[@gordon1545]

Apparently the most they could have got for the site was £6 million, given the cost of clearing the site for other use. It's not like there's anybody out there looking to buy a 52,000 stadium in Glasgow. There's only one more stadium with over 50,000 seats in the whole of Italy than there is in Glasgow!

[@obsessedfans]

Could definitely say the sfa bullied us out for a cheap price but that's the modern game and the sfa for you. As long as we're still a football team after 2020 I'll be happy. Looking forward to seeing what we do with our new(ish) home Lesser Hampden. Hopefully two or three 600 seater stands and some terracing. Would hate to have just one main 2000 seater stand.

[@TheGroundHopper]

have you stopped playing at hamden already or at the end of the season? When will be your last game?

[@lordmalvada8212]

Maybe he is speaking while on a rocking chair ?

[@GreeveHD]

Grounds with running tracks need to be banned

[@blueman3666]

Agreed that include west ham then lol

[@Jie67]

Not banned just have grounds to run in and grounds to play football in. Hampden is a prime example of that, shape of stadium and race track means your further away from the pitch and the atmosphere is garabage, even if its Celtic V Rangers you can barely hear the fans at the opposite side from you.

[@baileypedder9030]

My teams ground have a running track and it’s not bad

[@xChipz]

Political correctness mate

[@aerarium]

Likewise cricket ground shouldn't ever be used for football, vsv stadiums in Australia.

[@Stampistuta]

Sorry but that audio is horrendous.

[@alameano]

You forgot Manchester City...

[@alkanchannel5630]

They play for Arab league

[@vxrdrummer]

Genius! Best comment ever.

[@bestrafung2754]

That joke is very old now. The Etihad Stadium is always almost full if not completly. Man City play in the Premier League anyway.

[@vxrdrummer]

@@bestrafung2754 it's been pretty empty lately. Even for premier league games it's only three quarters full more often than not. Watch back over the last few weeks at their home games. It depends on who they are playing as to who bothers going.

[@hashtagger8694]

its only full when they play united

[@BigDave15]

Darlo's stadium was oversized when they were in league 2. They gambled on building a big stadium to help them compete at a higher level, but it didn't pay off and then they couldn't afford it. A bit of a shame as it is a nice stadium.

[@IrwinM.Fletcher]

The Darlington story is sad. Would be nice to see them play League One or Two with a high attendance. Nice stadium.

[@HemingwayIGI]

Great vid. Thanks for putting it together. As others have pointed out, you need to stay a fixed distance from your mic to stop the undulating sound volume. A more expensive mic will do the job but if you are going to use a low end mic you need to make sure your recording level isn't clipping and stay the same distance from your mic whilst recording. Thanks again

[@shellsbignumber2]

Hopefully Spurs new stadium will be on the list in a few years, when they get relegated down to non league.

[@lioneldore9047]

What the heck is that at Wakefield Trinity? Looks like a block of flats a couple of yards behind the goal.

[@xavier3437]

I live near there. It's all hospitality/corporate boxes and also has the supporters bar in there too

[@lioneldore9047]

Looks bizarre, but if it pulls the cash in, fair play.

[@xavier3437]

They wouldn't fill it if it was a normal stand so it makes sense

[@MadeOfStone02]

Im a wakefield trinity fan myself and i was very surprised seeing our stadium on here ahahah, and its all hospitality that stand and it's actually one of the best hospitality in the league surprisingly

[@xavier3437]

Yeah, hospitality is pretty poor in Rugby League compared to football. I quite like it, gives the stadium a unique look. RL stadiums are going the same way as football; identikit and boring. Hate the new St Helens one.

[@Jake-qn4rf]

Stadium of Light, Sunderland AFC.

[@zargonthemagnificent330]

To be fair, AFC Varndeanians' ground at the Withdean Stadium is really primarily an athletics track (it was Steve Ovett's training track) and it's owned by Brighton Council who are happy to see it get used more frequently than just for occasional athletics meetings. It would probably be sold off for housing otherwise as it's in a nice area.

[@lewis72]

Audio is dreadful. It cycles between getting louder and quieter.

[@TU0399]

Lewis72 turn you’re sound up then

[@feedguygaming]

@@TU0399 then it's super loud his audio is all over the place

[@gamestation9437]

LEE GIT A MEANT COMPLAINT

[@ForeverSouthendUnited-fb2eb]

Moral of the story, stop watching Premier League support your local small team ✅ much more fun and you're helping the community and making sure the players get paid 😆

[@SaintsAwayOllie]

The Withdean stadium has had most of the stands dismantled now. It only has the permanent stand and the old away end left. The capacity is less than 3,000 now

[@leecollison7527]

Last time I was there for an athletics event (40ish days ago) it wasn't even that. Only the North stand remains so approx 1,100

[@C50Gaming]

Thanks to George Reynolds, we are where we are now. He resigned as chairman in the first season in the new stadium... Many Darlington fans would love to be still at Feethams but there has been housing built there - and Blackwell meadows has nothing to it, still feels much like a low level rugby ground and we are very much treat like tenants

[@Mr.A.Tatlock]

Reynolds gave them a 25,000 capacity stadium and promised premier league football. All the fans had to do was turn up and support the team. They didn't bother and Reynolds soon saw he was wasting his time.

[@C50Gaming]

Peter Bergman to break even with that stadium he would have needed nearly 5 figure crowds which we weren’t getting at feethams. He should have stayed at feethams, increased playing budget and we would be playing at a higher level that we are now. At the end of the day it was a pipe dream that was bound to not work

[@Mr.A.Tatlock]

​@@C50Gaming Yes that probably would have been a better idea but i think he genuinely wanted to help the club. Unfortunately the town is full of people who travel to support Newcastle instead of supporting their local club.

[@C50Gaming]

Peter Bergman He did pay off debts which I respect him for, but he should have stopped there and stayed as an investor if he wanted to help the club, however this is all in hindsight. Fans don’t come out of no where, let’s be honest Darlington didn’t have a huge fan base anyway so those who cared showed up. I agree that those who support near by prem clubs should be supporting their local.

[@Mr.A.Tatlock]

@@C50Gaming If they had got to the premier league i'm sure they would have found a few thousand glory hunters. Maybe he should have invested in players but it takes a long time to build a team capable of moving up three divisions and i think he wanted instant success.

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Quick correction: the team that became Wakefield FC were simply Emley, from a former mining village (famous for the TV mast) roughly equidistant between Huddersfield, Barnsley and Wakefield, and with a population of only around 2,500. They overachieved, reaching the FA Vase final in 1988 and gave West Ham a good match in the FA Cup 3rd round in the late 1990s. Around that time they were one game away from the NL but lost their play-off to Stalybridge. That game was played at Wakefield and the bumper crowd sowed the seeds of the ill-fated move. AFC Emley are the phoenix club that took over the Welfare Ground after the move, starting in the Huddersfield District League like the original club did.

[@caydensands4175]

If clubs wanna fill their grounds, they need to do more with the community, and even run free admission days from time to time. I know that would be difficult for lower level clubs,but it'd be worth a try.

[@DeniseFactor]

I remember going toThe Shay back in 1968 with my parents, it was a speedway match between Great Britain and Sweden. Tthe track, by the look of it is long gone now.

[@robertbowler9094]

Leicester road . Capacity 2500 AVG Attendance 80

[@liamrennocks5723]

Yes. The stadium was built by hinckley united though. Thatis why they went bust

[@benbuckley2540]

+Liam Rennocks darlington 20'000 seater avg att 2700 wtf

[@lennylaa1686]

That's 3.3%.

[@ForeverSouthendUnited-fb2eb]

Great video very interesting, 🌟✅

[@lr3521]

This was a great vlog, found it really interesting, thanks

[@toine8473]

L R apart from the fact it wasn’t a vlog

[@lr3521]

Toine well whatever the fuck it is, I enjoyed it

[@HamzaAhmed-go8cv]

@@toine8473 might as well be a vlog, audio kees going quiet to loud like he's walking around.

[@BostonUnitedFM]

Some of the temporary seating from the Withdean went to Whitehawk.

[@manning0]

I expected to see a few rugby league clubs and you didn't disappoint, but Leigh sports village is a stadium with load of teams playing there including Leigh Centurions and Man United ladies. Also Butt Lane in Coventry is home to the Coventry Bears rugby league team but I am not sure on their attendances as they've risen from nothing, as I watched them before, in a park, playing a game. A public park, let that sink in.

[@itsPrintNameHere]

Leigh RMI (Genesis) are no longer in existence also the stadium was built for Leigh Centurions (Rugby League)

[@Danpuffpuff65]

How about Steeton FC in the NWCL1 they play at Cougar Park which holds around 7-8000 but they get about 60 people

[@ManU898100]

What about Sutton Common Rovers who groundshare with Sutton United? And when Truro City played home matches at Torquay United.

[@lukedyer2000]

I’m from Widnes and despite their not being a big crowd the noise isn’t too bad actually.

[@derby1884]

Going back quite a bit - and they didn't exist for very long - but Thames FC might qualify (though, yes, they were a League club). And all 4 sides of their stadium were open to the public, unlike most of these grounds where just one small section is open on matchdays (eg Widnes). Back in 1976 or so, when Hampden could still hold 100,000, I saw Queen's Park play Alloa in front of about 350 people. And the whole stadium was open. It was a very unique experience!

[@fatbelly27]

Interesting video; well researched and narrated.

[@mrgreatbritain]

I was happy to see Leigh Sports Village! I was there on Thursday and although ineligible,my team Manchester United women would be on this list as only 2,003 turned up to watch their win over Sheffield United. Only 1 stand was open and not even full. Nice stadium but I wish we had more people to fill it!

[@burnleyfan11965]

I went there when Widnes played there in a Challenge Cup semi final against Castleford in, which they were well beaten. After the behaviour of some Widnes fans i doubt they would get another semi final there, as dozens invaded the pitch at the end to try and start trouble.Some say it was Everton fans hoping there would be Leeds fans in the other end. whatever it was it was disgraceful. Ashamed to be a Widnes fan that day

[@jf-0815]

I went there to watch united youth 17/18 season v reading they won 2 0, also its mad to think that I've been the Morrisons behind it within the last few months me and my dad had to queue up cuz of social distancing

[@mrgreatbritain]

burnleyfan11965 that’s a real shame, ruins the experience of enjoying the surroundings

[@BadgerOff32]

I think you might be a bit wide of the mark about the Withdean stadium to be honest. I worked there for a couple of years when Brighton played there and only one stand was permanent, and it only held about 1,000 people. All of the other stands were temporary and built out of scaffolding. They used to dismantle the largest stand (that held about 3,500) and use it for things like golf tournaments when Brighton weren't playing there. We didn't own them, we rented them. It's more than likely those stands are no longer erected at the ground. They were only there because Brighton had a desperate need for extra seats. I doubt Varndean have that problem, so they wouldn't need to rent them. The Withdean probably only has a capacity of 1,000 now, which is still probably too big for them, but it's certainly not 8,500 anymore lol

[@harryredshaw2114]

Sort the audio out

[@richardkail7976]

The Withdean had the supplementary stands removed though so now it's just that main stand on the side. Surely that's not 8000?

[@Franchez]

It has around 2000 seats now I believe

[@harrybroughton4999]

Thanks for the video but I do disagree at some parts. Halifax and Wrexham both examples of historic Football League clubs with traditional large fanbases and both stadiums were once regularly filled to capacity

[@stacey37m]

even lower league teams have fickle fans

[@danielchurch4715]

Very true, I'm a Halifax fan myself

[@ryandenoven3447]

We (Wrexham) have been averaging 5K a game this season. So we may only fill just under half of our ground but if we are getting this kinda support in non league then obviously in the football league it would be even more full..

[@lenoradharvey6876]

@@ryandenoven3447 th

[@winneryeahmate]

In Hong Kong - any HKPL local league team that plays out of Hong Kong Stadium. In this case, that's my team Eastern SC which gets ~1,000 on average in a 40,000 capacity stadium. Which is 2.5% of capacity.

[@aldhous]

Nice vid, but as discussed, Withdean doesn't hold that anyone. Also the Leigh v Salford sell-out you reference at the opening of the Sports Village was a rugby fixture (Leigh Centurions v Salford Red Devils) not Leigh RMI/Genesis v Salford City.

[@aldhous]

@Iain Botham Yes, Horwich RMI I think.

[@asalt7022]

Top content mate 👍

[@keithm737]

East Stirlingshire ( former SFL now Lowland League Scotland ) play at Falkirk Stadium... practically empty and would be included if percentage was taken into consideration..Good video but subtitles needed

[@Isleofskye]

Other than the audio, which you will learn from, a really good video so well done m8 :)

[@bowiesinspace7152]

Have you ever watched Sheffield shield cricket in Australia? Victoria play at the 100,000 seat MCG and get about 100-200 to most days

[@moynanplayz5379]

I’m sorry to correct you but the withdeans current capacity is now around 2350 as the 4500 south has been removed along with 3 separate stands on the east side of the ground with one holding around 950 the second holding around 875 and a third tiny stand holding around 175 and this mish mash of temporary seating comes to 8850. Sorry to go into such detail but we had to play there for 12 long years and as you like your stats and so do I and I’m happy to admit you know far more than me but as a Brighton fan I know the ground pretty well and I thought you would like to know only the North stand and the west side still remain.

[@JW-db4xk]

Halifax Town can't really help it as your not aloud to open stands without seats anymore e.g. (the one with the flags on)

[@TalesFromTheBlahSide]

Excellent and informative video.

[@portcullis5622]

York City are having a new stadium built at the moment, as they are playing their final season at Bootham Crescent. It is only a few years since they were in Division 2 of the Football League. They are currently in the bottom half of the National League North. It will be interesting to see what the capacity of the new stadium will be. Their crowds are around 1500 to 2000 at the moment. Hopefully, it will be shared with York (City Knights) Rugby League Club. The latter left their Clarence Street ground in 1989 to move to the brand new Ryedale Stadium, where they were tenants (not owners). That stadium has already been demolished to make way for the new one, potentially leaving York Rugby League Club without a home ground, despite winning promotion recently. All a bit bizarre really.

[@peterhewett7401]

To be fair to Varndeanians, most of the seating at the Withdean has been taken out so it’s definitely not 8k anymore.

[@julianmann215]

Peter Hewett most if it went to Whitehawk

[@peterhewett7401]

Julian Mann Yep and Newhaven

[@zargonthemagnificent330]

The Withdean Stadium now only has the single main stand that holds around 1200 at most The rest is just grass banking around the running track and no-one can stand on it.

[@paulwatson746]

That varying volume is doing my head in

[@tombardsley3081]

It's a bit harsh on Halifax cos the original club were in the football league for the majority of their history and they would probably start increasing their attendance if they got back to the football league with the new team

[@marcioduartef]

Why doesn't Halifax Town bring big crowds to The Shay anymore?

[@tombardsley3081]

@@marcioduartef probably because they've not made any progress since getting back into the national league. They did bring a decent turnout for the fa trophy which they won

[@marcioduartef]

@@tombardsley3081 It must be difficult for the players to play in an empty stadium, if they had more support they would have a better chance of reaching the Football League.

[@Btipton1]

It’s not the home of the Man City women’s and reserves sorry. They have their own stadium owned by city. The stadium is completely separate from the athletics track stadium

[@NonLeagueYT]

Ah, you are indeed correct sir👍

[@reecespicer2028]

They shared Leigh Sports Village with Leigh Centurions RL

[@sirwoollyjumper4893]

I don't want to make it seem I know a lot about this but, how about you put your script up on a screen directly in front of you? It sounds like you turn away from your microphone to read the script. Also, invest in a pop shield, they don't cost too much from Amazon or eBay. Good video though!

[@carljohnson4473]

Loock at the Stadium of Alemannia Aachen their stadium have 31.000 Seats but they only play in the 5th. german League

[@sheaz7553]

Part of the roofing at the Shay was actually part of Man Citys old,old ground Hyde road.

[@orinbeard7577]

What happened to gloucester city when they played at Cheltenham town? Good vid tho

[@lennylaa1686]

When are they moving back to their old stadium at Sudmeadow? The pitch level has been considerably raised to avoid heavy flooding.

[@craigmcvay1]

North Shields has a total capacity ground of2.500 we get average gates of 400 to 500 whats that a percentage of? I think its 8%/100?

[@lennylaa1686]

That is between 16% and 20%.

[@craigmcvay1]

@@lennylaa1686 ok thankx

[@HXfoyboy]

Shay looked fine when it had 8,000 + in for Bradford City and Chorley tbh...

[@tommcglone2867]

Coventry United having a 1 sided ground is odd. But Portugese Premiera Liga team SC Braga who are on average the 4th strongest team in Portugal have a stadium which is 2 sided. Two very large stands either side of the pitch with no stands behind the goals but the jumbotron on the rockface behind the one goal as the ground is cut into the side of a mountain.

[@AlexCraigGH]

Coventry united moved there in 2017

[@MattyTowcester]

Alex Craig and were formed in 2013

[@chrisdouse1502]

You should really look at Grantham Towns stadium, The Mears. Capacity of 5000, average attendance of 160.

[@davetherave1701]

So many mistakes, Darlington never went bust or reformed, still the same club, we played at feethams ffs not feelams. Had a few seasons with an average attendance of 5k as well... Still a stupid sized stadium tho

[@andersakalightsoutzeldamcf4740]

davetherave1701 just think yourself lucky you got a mention 😂

[@davetherave1701]

@@deeingalaplike nope, forced by the ass holes at the FA to change our playing name for 5 seasons and demoted 3 divisions but we kept our 130 years of history as we are still the same club... Would of been easier to start again tbh after all the debt we had to pay off....

[@davetherave1701]

@lee armstrong u can keep thinking that if you want but its still not correct... Same club with our history intact... Reynolds was caught money laundering but was years after we got rid of him. We shouldn't even be on this list tbh as we haven't played at the cursed White elephant arena since 2012

[@jonathanthorpe3037]

To clear things up officially Darlington are a new entity. Just look on companies house. They are a different business and therefore a different club. They claim to be the same but there is no legal basis for this.

[@davetherave1701]

@@jonathanthorpe3037 and your still wrong.... Just to clear things up 135 years of history as the same club... Company house names change all the time ffs

[@sisuout9359]

The reason the butts park is one sided is because they are legally not aloud to build opposite the massive stand and the 2 ends have no space to build a new stand

[@ethd4142]

Honestly I'm not at all surprised Wakefield had such a little attendance considering most of us are Leeds or Huddersfield fans.

[@kivoowl]

Parramore Sports used to play at Don Valley stadium (capacity 25,000) and averaged around 50.

[@lennylaa1686]

That is 0.2% or one fifth of one percent.

[@jonathanthorpe3037]

Non league microphone makes this video more authentic.

[@garybamford1066]

Halifax Town FC were formed in 1911 not as you state 1921, that's when they played there first league match.

[@slinkzer2592]

Best non league channel by far 💪🏼

[@ACBlackJ0ck]

Butts Park Arena? Best name for a stadium ever.

[@trickygoose2]

To be fair to Gateshead FC they didn't build themselves a stadium that's too big. It's an international athletics stadium that opened 4 years before they started playing there.

[@raymondbonington9355]

Went to Halifax in 1971 with Fulham ,looks a little better now .

[@LJW1912]

Surely Queen's Park playing in the Scottish National Stadium, Hampden Park, seating 50,000?

[@GenialHarryGrout]

Halifax Town would get higher crowds in their early days, especially during the 1970/71 season when they came so close to promotion to Division 2 (Championship)

[@derby1884]

Full house that season when they beat Manchester City in the Watney Cup!

[@Tom-nb6lj]

There’s now only one stand at withdean at around 2.5k seats

[@imaenglishman5471]

Big respect to the fans that actually do turn out for these small non league teams.

[@sionwilliams1314]

Interesting that a few of these stadiums are home to Rugby Super League teams.

[@jf-0815]

I watch super league, do u?

[@infrasleep]

I always think that if they'd had the right type of backer rather than the- shall we say- eccentric Reynolds, the Darlington Arena wouldn't have been such a white elephant. I think they could have equalled Wigan who built a new 25k ground and matched their gates (Yes I know they only get around 8k and only got 18k or so in the PL , but Darlington could have matched this if they climbed up in a similar fashion) Shame in a way as it's an excellent ground. Reading are another example of a well owned club that made a success of filling a big new ground

[@zakjaggs9761]

Oufc getting a mention. Decent

[@jacks1542]

Queen’s Park in Scotland only get like 150 fans and there in 51 thousand seater

[@C1dagoat491]

my team wingate and finchley has a 1,500 stadium but the attendances are so poor. Some games see us with 95 fans this season. that is 6 percent capacity. I am trying to get my club new fans to help counter this

[@chapeltom9424]

Pretty normal really, especially given Level 9 clubs must have 1,000 minimum capacity. Doesn't take much to get 1,000 capacity as long as there is access to all 4 sides of the ground.

[@C1dagoat491]

no my team in in the isthmian league premier division

[@chapeltom9424]

I know, I was making the point about minimum capacities. At Wingate's level, minimum capacity is 1950.

[@C1dagoat491]

@@chapeltom9424 oh sorry i thought u were saying that the attendance is normal, now i understand what u are saying

[@TheJMascis666]

TheLemonizer When I was Young, I fell in love, with the Wingate & Fincherley!

[@neilb229]

Interesting. You should take in a Queens Park home game. 500 odd people knocking about Hampden Park. Capacity 52000.

[@marcioduartef]

Why doesn't Halifax Town bring big crowds to The Shay anymore?

[@SwrveYT]

I’m going to bring a lawnmower to Darling Ground and cut the grass and then practise on it

[@DanFMDatabases]

Withdean Stadium only has the main covered stand now, all temporary stands have gone

[@tomjones9934]

Great research as ever, puts you above anyone else on this topic. But seriously if you have on average of 30 surely you should just play on a bog standard park pitch as the revenue must be less than the ground maintenance costs.

[@NonLeagueYT]

Thanks! And yes, I agree, costs will surely be much lower if the stadiums are a more appropriate size.

[@jakerudwick7853]

Doesn't hold 8,000 anymore due to stands going to Whitehawk. Only has one stand now and it's maintained by the council as it's council owned.

[@joshm3059]

Some of the seating also went to Newhaven FC.

[@calsmalley3278]

What about qpr and Hampden in Scotland

[@followthetrawler2800]

Great subject matter but the audio is a huge issue. Will check out future videos though.

[@kennylees2939]

If everyone was not watching sky may be few more in ground

[@dompne33]

Why would you add Darlo when they haven’t played there for years 😂

[@treycharlton7074]

What about Kidderminster Harriers?? 😉 😂😂 Only joking. Love the vids mate, keep them coming! 👊👍

[@harrisongreenslade4648]

What about chesterfield fc they get about 3000 and the capacity is 10000

[@jamiewilson6365]

Good stuff.👍

[@rajeedbelfort480]

Darlington had a nob of an owner and he was to ambitions, when he joined the club he said he wanted to get us to the premier league, we were in league 2 and had a 8000 capacity and moved to a 25000

[@sach845]

Do you still support Darlington fc

[@PaniniMattGFC1893]

Darlington well over ambitions with new chairman George Reynolds but that other story in itself as for Withdean I watched Three games with a pair of binoculars same as Don Valley Stadium which was home to the oldest club in the world Sheffield FC.Great Video and Great research

[@kinnorakinell]

New microphone needed me thinks, my ears got seasick.

[@tommyupstone2244]

Farnborough fc have a massive ground but not many fans at all

[@homesickgeordieashleyoutto1342]

Video just started please Sunderland AFC #1. HWTL, TOON TOON.

[@catpaco]

Where is the Emptyhad?

[@jf-0815]

Or the emptirates

[@furtherknight5739]

Great video

[@jonnicolajsen959]

Next time you make a top 10 be sure to write on screen the club and their logo, it was hard to hear which clubs you were saying because of the audio, and also write the list in the description

[@Jie67]

This is unrelated but i have to say i like MK Dons stadium, would never think it wasnt an EPL team stadium.