The County Ground
Grace Road
Leicester
LE2 8AD
(Phone: 0116 2832128)
Also or formerly known as County Ground
Established 1878
Unused since 1901-1945
Capacity 12000
Floodlights Temporary
End names Pavilion End, Bennett End
Home team(s) Leicestershire
Current local time 04:45, Wed Oct 08, 2008 (UTC +0100)
External links Weather
Travel Train - Leicester is the nearest train station, 2 miles from the ground Car - Leave the M1 at Junction 21. There is a large car park at the Bennett End of the ground, entrance at Curzon Road, which can accommodate 300 cars and is signposted from both Saffron Lane and Aylestone Road. MapClick here HotelsClick here
Leicestershire Cricket Ground Co bought 16 acres of land from the Duke of Rutland in 1877 and spent the massive sum of £40,000 on developing a cricket club, athletic track and hotel. The first match was played on April 22, 1878 and three months later the venue staged a game against the touring Australians. In 1898, Leicestershire actually beat the Australians. In 1901, the county decided that the ground was too far from the town centre to be economically viable, and they switched to the more central Aylestone Road. They moved out in the war and never returned, instead reverting to Grace Road in 1946, but as tennants of the City Boys Grammar School who by then owned the land. Leicestershire finally reacquired the ground in 1966 and throughout the 1970s and 1980s the venue was improved. so much so that it was awarded two ODIs during the 1999 World Cup. The record attendance was not then, however, but the 16,000 who watched the match against the touring 1948 Australians.
Martin Williamson
