Seedhill was a League ground for 11 seasons
from 1 Jul 1921 to 30 Jun 1931
The 119th ground used for a League game
Opened: 1881 • Closed: 1968
| Team | From | To | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Nelson | 1 Aug 1881 | 31 May 1968 | The club was a founder member of the Football League Division 3 North in 1921 and failed to gain re-election in 1931. |
Nelson FC moved to The New Park Ground, or The Seedhill Cricket Ground as it was later known, in 1889, the football pitch being accommodated on part of, and to the south of, the cricket square and some distance from the pavilion. This state of affairs continued until 1905 when part of the recreation ground, on the south side, was taken over. This enabled the pitch to be moved further south and a separate football ground was created utilizing the southern edge of the cricket ground and the northern part of the recreation ground. At the same time a small seated stand was erected on the south side of the pitch.
On their entry into the Football League in 1921 a new covered terrace was installed on the north side of the pitch and further improvements included the removal of the original stand, installation of a new 1,500 seat stand and additional covered accommodation (giving a capacity of 25,000) as well as enlarging the pitch to 110 x 75 yards.
Following their failure to gain re-election in 1931, Nelson FC continued to use the venue until moving to Victoria Park in 1971 - the last game taking place on Sunday 28th March 1971 when a crowd of over 1,000 gathered to witness the first and only Sunday fixture at the ground, with Nelson beating Clitheroe 5-3.
Seedhill had hosted the Nelson Admirals speedway team between 1967 and 1969 and from 1971 it hosted stock car racing until the site was acquired for the construction of the M65 in the late 1970s, the northbound carriageway passing over the east end of the pitch with odd bits of perimeter wall at the west end of the ground still extant in 1990.