Key information about Furness Building Society Stadium

Furness Building Society Stadium was opened in 1909 and is now the home of National League’s Barrow AFC. The ground is located in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and is now actually known as Progression Solicitors Stadium for sponsorship reasons, as well as simply Holker Street.

Its current capacity stands at 5,045, but with only 1,000 places being seated, and it has a pitch that measures 110 by 74 yards. The surface is covered with natural grass but it has no undersoil heating installed nor a running track surrounding it.

The record attendance of 16,874 at Furness Building Society Stadium was set in January 1954 when Barrow hosted Swansea Town in the FA Cup third round with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

A history of Furness Building Society Stadium

The current site of the stadium was first owned by Furness Railway and before it was actually converted into a football pitch by Hindpool Athletic football club, it was used as a rubbish tip. Still, originally, there wasn’t much to be seen of Holker Street back then since the ground could only boast a practically unfinished pitch with a bit of grass and no stands to speak of.

Barrow were founded in 1901 and they would spend the following eight years moving from ground to ground inside the city in a nomadic style before finally taking a five-year lease at Furness Building Society Stadium from Furness Railway in 1909. The first game to be played at their new home was the Lancashire Combination league clash against Eccles Borough and it finished in a 5-2 win for the home side.

In the following years, the first developments of the stadium started with the stand being erected in 1912 and further facilities following suit by 1921 with fully covered terracing for the three remaining sides, changing rooms and turnstiles. Even though by that point the stadium was already starting to look good, further improvements would have to wait until after the second World War.

This is when the wooden stands were replaced by terracing and Barrow’s attendance was also soaring. In fact, despite their capacity of just over 5,000, in 1954 there were around 16,874 people all crammed into the ground to watch the FA Cup clash against Swansea Town. Of course, this number hasn’t been eclipsed ever since and it’s highly unlikely that it will ever be.

In 1963 floodlights were erected but what followed were years of financial struggling and relegation, forcing the club to build a speedway track around the edge of the football field in an attempt to raise funds. This, of course, impacted the overall facilities at the stadium since the Steelworks End had to be demolished and other terraces also lost their front rows. Luckily for the club, the track would only last two years before it was removed.

The club’s non-league era brought more trouble for Furness Building Society Stadium as the remaining stands also had to be demolished for security reasons while the terraces were moved closer to the pitch once the speedway track was removed. The CrossBar leisure club and bar were built and still remain a dominant feature of the stadium.

Among other developments, the all-seater Main stand was erected and opened in 1998. Still, their financial issues were far from over and following some sketchy business and police interventions concerning money laundering and ownership of the ground, the club actually entered administration after their former owner withdrew all his financial backing as a result of being investigated by the police.

Needless to say, no further major refurbishments were done since then as Furness Building Society Stadium remains a modest, traditional and old-fashioned ground, much like it was throughout the years.

Tickets to watch Barrow AFC at Furness Building Society Stadium

All tickets to watch Barrow AFC at Furness Building Society Stadium can be found and purchased on the club’s official website. The price varies depending on the stand chosen and the age group of the buyer but the cheapest adult ticket costs £13.

Barrow AFC also offer a season ticket scheme and more information can be found on the aforementioned website.

https://www.barrowafc.com/ - Official website of Barrow AFC