Leicester City Football Club were originally formed as Leicester Fosse in 1884. They originally played at Victoria Park and had a brief spell at Belgrave Road before returning to Victoria Park in 1888. In 1891 they moved to their new Filbert Street ground (which was also called the City Stadium) where the Club were to remain for 111 years, before moving to the new Walkers Stadium in 2002. The Filbert Street ground was demolished in 2003 and has been re-developed as the 'Filbert Village' - accommodation for students of the nearby DeMontford & Leicester universities.

The Main Stand
(Photo Taken In 1992)

The Main Stand as pictured above was originally opened on November 24th 1921 and was subsequently replaced by the new Carling Stand in the 1993/94 season. Note the 'pigeon loft' (as Simon Inglis describes it in his book 'Football Grounds Of Great Britain') on the roof of the stand, which housed the media and cameras. Interestingly, part of this stand was damaged by a bomb in World War 2, which landed nearby on November 14th, 1940.

Spion Kop (South) Stand
(Photo Taken In 1992)

The Spion Kop (South) Stand was originally built in 1927 and was known as the 'double decker stand' with seating above and terrace below. It was made all seated in the Summer of 1994, giving the ground an all seated capacity of 22,517.

The Old Entrance To The Club Offices
(Photo Taken In 1992)

Notice the terraced housing to either side (very similar in appearance to Luton's present entrance to the Oak Road Stand) - It was this that was a factor in the club not being able to expand Filbert Street further and taking the decision to move to a new stadium.

Popular Side (East) Stand
(Photo Taken In 2001)

The Popular Side was at one time an open terrace which was covered in the late 1920's and then made all seated in the early 1970's. It was also noted for having a clock perched on its roof.

The South & Carling Stands
(Photo Taken In 2001)

The Carling Stand was opened in 1994. The stand which cost in the region of £5m to construct, was a great looking two tiered stand, with 28 executive boxes running across its middle. However, with the move to the new Walkers Stadium, the stand was to be demolished just nine years after it was built. Probably making it one of the best and most expensive stands to end up being bulldozed in modern times.

Filbert Street End

I always though the Filbert Street (North) Stand, was one of the oddest looking stands in English football. The former small covered terrace, was made all seated in the early 1970's and then in 1975, the Club made the decision to replace its roof, with a new structure incorporating a row of 20 Executive Boxes. An electric scoreboard was added to its roof in the 1980's. I always wondered whether any of the Executive Box windows had ever been damaged or broken by a wayward shot.

Looking Towards The South Stand
(Photo Taken In 2001)

Notice in the photo above, how the lower tier of this stand had been made all seated.

The first game played at Filbert Street, was a reserve game against Melton Swifts on October 17th, 1891. When the ground was first opened it was called Walnut Street, to be renamed at a later stage. In 1919 the Club dropped the Fosse suffix from its name and replaced it with City. It is interesting that there have been recent discussions as to whether the Club should return to the Fosse name (Fosse came from 'The Fosse Way' was an ancient Roman Road, near to which the Club played its first game in 1884).

Record Attendance at Filbert Street: 47,298 v Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup 5th Round, February 18th, 1928.

First game under floodlights at Filbert Street: October 23rd 1957 v Borussia Dortmund (friendly).

Last game played there: May 11th, Premier League v Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester won the game 2-1 . in front of 21,716 fans. Leicester took the lead on 60 minutes through Paul Dickov, with Teddy Sheringham equalising for the visitors from the penalty spot on 54 minutes. Leicester's Matt Piper became the last player to score a goal at Filbert Street, when he grabbed the winner, 19 minutes from time.

 Return To The Old Grounds & Stands Menu
Return To The Leicester City Page Of The Football Ground Guide