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The Hawthorns
The Shrine
Full Name	The Hawthorns
Location	West Bromwich, England
Built	1900
Opened	September 1900
Renovated	2001 East Stand
Demolished	Planned Halfords Lane New Stand
Owner	West Bromwich Albion
Operator	West Bromwich Albion
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	£7.5 Million for East Stand
Tenants
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
Capacity
28,003 all-seater, planned 33,000
Dimensions
115 x 74 m

The Hawthorns is the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England.

Contents 1 History 2 Stands 2.1 Halfords Lane Stand/West Stand 2.2 Birmingham Road End 2.3 Smethwick End 2.4 East Stand 3 Transport 4 Details 4.1 Address 4.2 Phone numbers 4.3 Records 4.4 Average attendances

Hosting Association Football since September 3, 1900, the ground was (depending on one's definition) either the first Football League ground to be built in the 20th century or the last built in the 19th century, the club moving there after the expiry of their lease on the old Stoney Lane ground. Concrete terracing was introduced into the ground in 1920, an electric turnstile aggregator for automatically calculating attendences in 1949 and the electric floodlights in 1957. In a more hi-tech move huge widescreen TV screens were introduced at the start of the 2002/3 season.

The ground used to be divided by the Birmingham/ Smethwick border, but was moved completely into the latter by a minor rationalisation of local government borders in the 1960s and is now entirely in Sandwell.

During the mid-late 1990s there were plans for Moseley Rugby Football Club to share the ground, but these never materialised.

Today, it is a 28,003 all-seater stadium. Its name derives from the hawthorn (Crataegus) previously sold from a nursery on the site. Notably, at an altitude of 551 feet, it is the highest ground among those of all 92 FA Premier League and Football League clubs.

In December 2003, the board of directors unveiled plans to increase the stadium's capacity to 40,000 all-seated. But those plans have yet to be materialised, as Albion slipped out of the Premiership in 2006, and are unlikely to go ahead unless Albion ever establish themselves as a Premiership club.

Constructed: 1979 - 1981
Capacity: 5,110 (seated)

Running along the west edge of the pitch, the Halfords Lane Stand provided VIP seating before the advent of the new East Stand. The stand houses the main TV cameras as well as the press and commentary area. Chairman Jeremy Peace has announced that there are plans for the Halfords Lane Stand to be demolished to make way for a single-tier, 10,000 seated stand within the next five years. This would raise the total stadium capacity to around 33,000.

Constructed: 1994 - 1995
Capacity: 6,000 (seated)

Better known to supporters as the Brummie Road, the traditional Birmingham Road End runs behind the goal, adjacent to the A41. Traditionally housing the core of the home support, its role has been somewhat stolen by the Smethwick End in recent years. Between this stand and the East Stand lies the Woodman corner, named after the Woodman pub which stood just behind it until its demolition in 2004. The Woodman corner is home to a large throstle mascot, which was originally perched above the old (terraced) Woodman corner, but was housed in the Halfords Lane stand for several seasons until the stadium redevelopments were completed.

Constructed: 1994 - 1995
Capacity: 5,816 (seated)

Running behind the goal at the southern edge of the pitch, the Smethwick End houses the away supporters though they are generally only allocated part of the stand, the remainder housing the most vocal of the home support. (If and when the new west stand is completed there may be a chance of the Smethwick End going to the visitors).

Constructed: 2001
Capacity: 10,000 (seated)

Replacing the old Rainbow Stand, the East Stand now houses the club's administration offices, club shop, club ticket office and corporate entertainment suites.

The stadium is served by The Hawthorns station, which is both a railway station and Midland Metro (tram) stop. The station is approximately 400 metres from the ground.

Bus routes 74 and 79 pass the stadium along the Birmingham Road, with services running between Birmingham and Dudley/Wolverhampton. The 450 bus stops on Halfords Lane but is rerouted approximately 1 hour before kick off as police close Halfords Lane.

Halfords Lane

West Bromwich

West Midlands

B71 4LF

Main Telephone: 08700-668-888

Main Fax: 08700-662-861

Ticket Office: 08700-662-801

Ticket Office Fax: 08700-662-800

• All-time Record Attendance: 64,815 v Arsenal, March 6, 1937 (FA Cup Sixth Round)
• Modern All-Seated Record Attendance: 27,751 v Portsmouth, May 15, 2005 (Premier League)

• 2002-03: 26,776 (Premier League)
• 2003-04: 24,765 (Football League Division One)
• 2004-05: 25,987 (Premier League)
• 2005-06: 25,404 (Premier League)
• 2006-07: 20,393 after 18 league meetings (Football League Championship)

Football League Championship venues, 2006-2007

Britannia Stadium | Carrow Road | Deepdale | Elland Road The Hawthorns | Hillsborough | Home Park | Kenilworth Road KC Stadium | Layer Road | Loftus Road | Molineux Stadium Ninian Park | Oakwell Stadium | Portman Road | Pride Park Stadium Ricoh Arena | Roots Hall | Selhurst Park | Stadium of Light St Andrews | St Mary's Stadium | Turf Moor | Walkers Stadium

Coordinates: 52°30′32.63″N, 1°57′50.21″W