Craven Cottage is the name of a
stadium in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham that has
been the home ground of FA Premier League football team Fulham
F.C. since 1896. The original cottage was built by Baron Craven
in 1780, and at the time was situated in forest. It burnt down
in 1888 and until Fulham's arrival had lain to waste.
Fulham's first match at Craven Cottage was played against
Minerva in the Middlesex Senior Cup, and shortly afterwards a
so-called 'Orange Box Stand' was built, making the original
attendance of the stadium 1,000. It was redeveloped in 1905
following an attempt by the London County Council to close it on
grounds of safety. It hosted an England vs. Wales international
match in 1907 and a Rugby League international in 1911. Fulham
became the first First Division club to erect floodlights in
their ground in 1962. The most recently built stand is the
Riverside Stand, officially named the Eric Miller stand, after a
former director, which was constructed in 1972.
Chairman Jimmy Hill was the first man to draw up plans for an
all-seater stadium at Craven Cottage, following the Taylor
Report into the Hillsborough disaster. They never materialised,
and current Chairman Mohammed Al-Fayed realised the need to
renovate the stadium as his plans to make Fulham a Premiership
side within five years began to materialise. It was decided a
groundshare with neighbours Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road
was necessary while refurbishments went on. By the time the last
league game was played, against Leicester City on April 27,
2002, no building plans had been made. Two more Intertoto Cup
games were played there later that year, before which a one year
stretch at Loftus Road started. This turned into two as the
Fulham Alliance, a small residents' pressure group, stalled new
stadium plans.
The current stadium is not the 33,000 state of the art ground
Fulham fans would like to see - it is a compromise at 22,000
capacity, which at least lets Fulham play at their spiritual
home. Much admired for its fine architecture, the ground hosted
its first game post-Loftus Road on Saturday 10 July 2004.
Craven Cottage is where most Fulham fans would like to be,
although the club might prefer a more lucrative situation - a
larger ground enabling greater ticket revenue. Whether the club
is looking for a new site for a stadium is unknown, but recent
comments from CEO Jim Hone suggest Fulham are back home for good,
probably. |
