Spotland Stadium
Spotland Stadium known as the Crown Oil Arena for sponsorship reasons, is located in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester England. It is the home if Rochdale AFC and Rochdale Hornets RFCL and has a capacity of 10,000. Spotland was originally known as St Clement’s Playing Fields, after the nearby St Clement’s Church. Having previously been used for cricket, it became the home of St Clement’s Rugby Club in 1878, until they disbanded in 1897. As well as staging local rugby competitions, the ground briefly hosted two short-lived football clubs – the original Rochdale AFC from 1900 to 1901 and Rochdale Town from 1902 to 1903, but both folded. The present Rochdale AFC was then formed to use the ground in 1907. By the time the club joined the Football League in 1921, a low wooden grandstand had been built on the south side of the ground, once the location of the cricket pavilion. Also by this time, the name of the surrounding area of the town, Scotland, had been adopted as the ground’s name.
Location: Sandy Lane, Rochdale, Lancashire, England
Public Transport: Rochdale train station is around 2.5 miles away from the stadium. It is a 40-45 minute walk. Taxis are available outside the station at a cost of around £7/£8.
Capacity: 10,000