THE SHAY

'The Shay' is a multi-use sports stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire near Shaw Hill. Halifax Town football club and Halifax RLFC both play their home games at the Shay. Its capacity is about 14,000, and is the largest stadium for a Conference club.
The stadium is owned by Calderdale Metropolitan Council after the football club sold it back in the 1980s in order to pay off a number of debts. The lease however is now owned by the Shay Stadium Trust, a not-for-profit company set up to preserve the ground as a sports stadium.
The stadium is now going under redevelopement and is restricted to using three stands. This has restricted the capacity to 6,561 but will increase on the completion of the east stand.

Contents

History

Speedway

Rugby League

External link

History

Like some other football grounds, The Shay was a council refuse tip. The ground has always been owned by the local council and when Halifax Town moved there in 1921, the rent in that first year was £10. By their third season, it had risen to £100.
The first fixture at the stadium took place on 3 September, 1921, when the Shaymen beat Darlington 5-0 in front of 10,000 spectators.
£1000 was spent on preparing the ground, a large proportion of that going towards the purchase of a stand from Manchester City's old Hyde Road ground. It still exists and is now the only part of the ground which dates back to the early years. Baseball was played at the ground just after the Second World War.
The Shay's highest attendance was 36,885, when Tottenham Hotspur were the opponents for an FA Cup 5th round tie on 14 February, 1953. Floodlights were first used in 1961 and cost £18,000 to install. Real Madrid were invited to be the opponents for the first game under lights, but The Shaymen had to be content with Red Star Belgrade.

Speedway

Originally, the Halifax Dukes speedway side used a track at Thrum Hall, but on 8 February, 1949 construction began on a new speedway track at The Shay. Speedway lasted for only a few years. The club folded due to poor attendances and financial struggles. On 31 March 1952, Dukes promoter Bruce Booth announced the end of speedway 'while rates and taxation remains at the present levels'. After a lengthy absence, the sport returned to The Shay in 1965. By the early 1970s, the Dukes were enjoying higher attendances than the Shaymen. However, by the mid 1980s, Halifax Dukes and Halifax Town had financial disagreements and in 1986 The Dukes left The Shay and Halifax, moving to Bradford.

Rugby League

In 1998, Halifax RLFC sold their traditional home, Thrum Hall, for £1.5 million and moved to the Shay Stadium.

External link

★ The Shay Stadium official website

★ Aerial view of The Shay

★ Halifax RLFC Virtual Stadium Webcam Tour

★ The Shay on Worldstadia.com