Bramall Lane
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Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, England that has successively been the home first of Sheffield F.C. and since 1889, of Sheffield United F.C.. It was also used for some games in the 19th century by Sheffield Wednesday F.C.. It is the oldest major football ground in the world; the ground hosted its first football match - Sheffield F.C. v Hallam - on 29 December 1862. It has held as many as 68,000 fans in the past, the record attendance being set for a Fifth Round FA Cup tie against Leeds United in 1936, but was extensively renovated in the wake of the Taylor Report, and now has an all-seated capacity of 30,936.
Bramall Lane was first opened in 1855 as a cricket ground. Yorkshire County Cricket Club played regularly at the ground, their last match at the ground occurring on 7th August 1973, a drawn game against Lancashire. The construction of the South Stand began soon after, finally enclosing the football pitch.
The first ever floodlit football match took place at Bramall Lane on 14 October 1878.
Bramall Lane is one of only two grounds (the other being the Oval) which has hosted an England football international (five games prior to 1930), an England cricket test (in 1902 against Australia), and an FA Cup Final (the replay in 1912, when Barnsley F.C. beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0). The ground also hosted about fifteen FA Cup Semi Finals and Replays between 1889 and 1938.
The ground has been all seated since 1994 and is now made up of four stands: the John Street Stand (sponsored by HFS Loans), the Kop Stand (sponsored by Hallam FM), the South Stand (sponsored by Global Windows), and the Bramall Lane Stand (sponsored by Gordon Lamb). The John Street stand, completed in 1996, is used as a family enclosure for home fans and is situated alongside the pitch, whilst the Kop, seated since 1991, is the area in which the most dedicated and boistrous home fans sit and is situated behind the goal. The South Stand, opened in August 1975, is situated alongside the pitch and is for home fans who wish to have a side-view when watching the match, whilst the Bramall Lane Stand, opened in 1966, is situated behind the other goal and is made up of two tiers, generally occupied by away fans although occasionally home fans occupy the bottom tier.