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Dean Court
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dean Court | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bournemouth |
| Built | 2001 |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Owner | |
| Tenants | |
| A.F.C. Bournemouth | |
| Capacity | |
| 10,700 | |
| Dimensions | |
| 105 x 78 metres | |
Dean Court, currently known as the Fitness First Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home football ground of A.F.C. Bournemouth. It was completely rebuilt in 2001, with the pitch rotated ninety degrees from its original position. The stadium was also moved away from adjacent housing. The old stadium it replaced, had a record crowd of 28,799 for an F.A. Cup against Manchester United in 1957. It also had a stand, re-used from the Wembley Exhibition of 1924. [[1]]
The rebuilt ground was renamed as the Fitness First Stadium, as a result of a sponsorship deal with the health clubs chain Fitness First. Although it was rebuilt as a three sided stadium, seats were placed on the undeveloped South End in the autumn of 2005. The club sold the stadium in December 2005 in a sale and leaseback deal with London property company Structadene.
On Saturday July 1st 2006, Elton John played a concert in front of thousands of fans at the stadium.
Dean Court was originally named after the Cooper-Dean family of Bournemouth, who granted the land to the football club in c. 1910, albeit, retaining a covenant on the ground, restricting the use of the land.
From the M3 - take the M27/A31 to just past Ringwood. At the relatively new Ashley Heath interchange, get on the left hand lane, then come off and go left down the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road to Bournemouth.
From the M4 - at junction 15, come off the A345 to Marlborough and stay on this road, via Salisbury and Ringwood on the A338. Then, take the A31 to Bournemouth. 500 metres later, take left hand lane for the A338 to Bournemouth. (Alternatively, there is a route via the M3 and M27 via Newbury and Winchester)
From the West - take the A35 from Dorchester. At Bere Regis, take the A31 to Wimborne and turn right at Ashley Heath interchange onto the A338.
From the North and Midlands - head towards the M40. It will take just under two hours from Cherwell Valley Service station on the M40 at junction nine. Take the next exit towards Oxford on the A34 and follow signs to Newbury. Continue South and follow directions posted further up the page.
From the East - (north of London), head towards the M25 and then take the turn-off at the M3. Follow subsequent directions above from there.
As you approach Bournemouth, go over the Cooper Dean flyover (just after the "Welcome to Bournemouth" sign). You'll see a big sports complex (the Littledown centre) to your left together with a large green glass building (JP Morgan HQ). You want to take the next junction off the A338 (sign posted - football traffic).
The nearest train station is Pokesdown
