Valley Parade, also known as the University of Bradford Stadium, is a football stadium located in Bradford, England. It is the home of Bradford City.
📜 History
Valley Parade opened in 1886 as the home of Manningham rugby club, who switched codes to association football and became Bradford City in 1903. In 1908, renowned football architect Archibald Leitch was brought in to revamp the ground following Bradford's promotion to the First Division.
It remained unchanged after that for many years, despite Bradford becoming the sole owners of the ground in 1932, until redevelopment work carried out in the 1950s and 1960s.
On 11 May 1985, Valley Parade became the site of one of the worst disasters in sporting history, when a fire caused by a dropped cigarette killed 56 people and injured at least 265. The stadium reopened the following year following extensive redevelopment, with further work carried out throughout the 1990s.
