The Abbey | |
 | |
 | |
| Full name | Cledara Abbey Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Cambridge, England |
| Owner | Cambridge United F.C. |
| Operator | Cambridge United F.C. |
| Capacity | 7,937 (4,321 seated) |
| Field size | 110 x 74 yards[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1923 |
| Opened | 31 August 1932 |
| Tenants | |
| Cambridge United (1932–present) Cambridge Regional College (2006–2014) | |
The Abbey Stadium, known as the Cledara Abbey Stadium for sponsorship reasons or just the Abbey, is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 7,937 spectators.[2] Cambridge Regional College F.C., Cambridge United's feeder club, played their home games at The Abbey from 2006 until their dissolution in 2014.
The first match ever played at the Abbey was a friendly against a team from Cambridge University Press on 31 August 1932. The record attendance at the ground (14,000) was also for a friendly, against Chelsea to mark the first use of the ground's new floodlights on 1 May 1970. This was the first time an English League ground's record crowd had turned out to watch a friendly.
Until well into the modern era, the Abbey Stadium was the only Football League ground to be styled a stadium, and was second only to Wembley Stadium in so being named. However, more recent ground moves and name changes have meant that a number of league clubs now play at grounds styled stadiums. For sponsorship reasons, the ground was until 2017 officially named the Cambs Glass Stadium.[3] For similar reasons it has also previously been named the Trade Recruitment Stadium,[4] and the R Costings Abbey Stadium.[5] However, thanks to the cooperation of sponsors the ground has reverted to its original name of the Abbey Stadium.
- ^ "Cambridge United". Internet Football Ground Guide. conferencegrounds.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
- ^ "R Costings Abbey Stadium". Cambridge United F.C. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ Stewart, Tom. "CAMBRIDGE UNITED ANNOUNCE CAMBS GLASS LTD AS NEW STADIUM SPONSOR". Cambridge United website. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "£250,000 Stadium Deal Confirmed". cambridgeunited.com. 30 April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
- ^ "Legal eagles fly in to sponsor Abbey". Cambridge News. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.