Halesowen Town F.C. - Ground

Ground

The Grove
Location Old Hawne Lane, Halesowen
Opened 1871
Owner The Grove Trust
Operator The Grove Trust
Surface Grass
Tenants
Halesowen Town, Blackheath Town, Sporting Albion Ladies

According to the club's records, it has played at The Grove since its formation in 1873. The ground was originally a cricket pitch and was therefore a three sided stadium. In the 1930s, a small wooden stand was constructed along the perimeter of the James Grove Button Factory (now housing).

During the 1950s, the Old Hawne Lane end was constructed along with changing rooms, built on the site of former tennis courts. During this time players had to change in the Waggon and Horses public house on Stourbridge Road.

In the 1980s, the three sided ground was converted to four with the addition of the uncovered terracing along the Recreation Park side of the ground. In 1987, the 420 seater Harry Rudge Stand was completed on the site of the 1930s vintage wooden cover, whilst at the same time the rest of the ground received a face lift. The stand was extended in 1998 and again in 2000.

The floodlights which the club won in 1983 lasted until 2001 when a new set were installed and officially inaugurated at a friendly match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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