Maine Road 100 – Day 10

Day 10 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today the original Platt Lane Stand can be seen in this image, taken in 1991. The stand was initially a terraced stand and the original terracing built in 1923. 8 years later the corner (on the left of this image) was roofed, extended a little on wood and the terracing re-profiled for seats. Then, in 1935 the rest of the Platt Lane was roofed and extended on wood but this remained a standing terrace.

The Platt Lane’s development was the first two phases in a planned development which was supposed to see the Main Stand/Scoreboard End corner roofed around 1939, then the neighbouring terracing (later North Stand) roofed to match the Platt Lane by about 1945 and then within about five years the entire Popular Side/Kippax was to be extended and roofed.

Apart from Platt Lane, none of those developments occurred due to the war.

Platt Lane was seated in the 1960s (you can read more on that and all the plans for the stadium in Farewell To Maine Road) and this images shows the steps that were built at the back of the Platt Lane when it was extended. I remember as a young boy climbing up those to get to the benches we sat on occasionally and I was always scared I’d fall through the gaps.

To help those unfamiliar with Maine Road locate the specific location of this post, the Platt Lane Stand is the one where the number 4 & 5 are on this plan.

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

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