Raikes Hall 3.61

Raikes Hall was a cricket and football ground in Blackpool, England. It was the home ground of Blackpool F.C. between 1888 and 1899, and it was the thirteenth ground to be used for a Football League game.HistoryThe Raikes Hall ground was located in Raikes Hall Park, a pleasure ground. It consisted of a covered seated stand on the northern touchline, but the remainder of the ground was undeveloped as the pitch was also used for cricket.Blackpool moved to the ground in 1888, and were elected to the Football League Second Division in 1896. The first League match at the ground was a 5–0 win against Burton Wanderers on 19 September 1896, with 3,000 spectators present. The record League crowd of 5,000 was set for a game against Newton Heath on 17 October 1896, and equalled for games against Grimsby Town on 1 January 1897 and Darwen on 16 April in the same year.During Blackpool's first season in the Football League, it became clear that Raikes Hall needed to be upgraded. The club moved to the Athletic Grounds for the start of the 1897–88 season to allow works to be undertaken at Raikes Hall. However, with the development works delayed and the Athletic Grounds being unpopular with supporters, due to the distance between the stands and the pitch, Blackpool returned to Raikes Hall midway through the 1898–99 season.