Crabble Athletic Ground

Crabble Athletic Ground
The view towards the Town End in 2009
Map
Full nameCrabble Athletic Ground
LocationRiver, Kent
Coordinates51°08′17″N 1°17′06″E / 51.138°N 1.285°E / 51.138; 1.285
OwnerDover District Council
OperatorDover Athletic F.C.
Capacity5,745 (1,010 seats)[1]
Field sizeUnknown
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1931 (upper ground)
Opened1897
Tenants
Dover United F.C. (1931–1933)
Dover F.C. (1934–1947)
Dover F.C. (1947–1983)
Dover Athletic F.C. (1983–present)
Margate F.C. (2002–2004)

The Crabble Athletic Ground, also known as simply Crabble,[2] or The Crabble[3][4] is a football stadium located in the northern Dover suburb of River, Kent. It was the home of the various incarnations of Dover F.C. from 1931 until the club folded in 1983. Since then it has been the home of Dover Athletic F.C., and it was also the temporary home of Margate F.C. between 2002 and 2004, when the club's Hartsdown Park stadium was being redeveloped. The stadium has two seated stands and two covered terraces and holds a total of 5,745 fans (including 1,010 seats and 3,642 covered terracing), although in the past, crowds larger than that figure could be accommodated. It also has a clubhouse, which the club completely redeveloped in 2008.

A sports ground was first established on the site at the end of the 19th century and was used for both cricket and football as well as for other sports. This ground was used by Kent County Cricket Club for over 100 first-class cricket matches between 1907 and 1976 and is now the home of Dover Rugby Union Club.

  1. ^ Stuart Croll (25 September 2007). "Ground of the Week : The Crabble Stadium". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  2. ^ "Visiting Crabble". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  3. ^ "Dover 1-1 Morecambe". BBC. 20 April 2002. Retrieved 2008-04-14. The hosts, already relegated, showed plenty of spirit and enjoyed the majority of possession in an entertaining encounter at The Crabble.
  4. ^ "Coronavirus: Dover Athletic have five games postponed because of Covid-19". BBC. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-21. Dover were due to welcome Chesterfield to The Crabble in the National League on Saturday