Key information about Victory Park

Victory Park was built in 1919 and is now the home of National League’s Chorley FC. The ground is located just to the south of the town centre of Chorley and is the club’s fourth venue after they had previously played at three different stadiums.

Its current maximum capacity stands at 4,100, 900 of which are seated, and it has a pitch that’s covered with grass and is not surrounded by a running track.

The record attendance at Victory Park was set in a FA Cup clash against Darwen on 15 November 1932 when there were 9,679 supporters in the stands.

A history of Victory Park

Before actually moving to Victory Park in 1920, Chorley FC played their football first at Dole Lane, then at Rangletts Recreation Ground and finally, from 1905 until 1920, at St George’s Park, the home of defunct side Chorley St Georges FC. Interestingly, however, Victory Park was initially just an ash tip adjacent to the recreation ground that was their home for years when the club bought it for £868 in 1919.

That was also when the construction began and within a year, Chorley would have a brand new stadium to call home. The name of the ground, Victory Stadium, was given after the outcome of World War I and as a celebration of victory against the aggressors. And it didn’t really take them long to start redeveloping and improving their safe haven.

In August 1929, Chorley erected the first stage of covered terraces at the Pilling Lane end of the stadium, boosting the capacity and improving the general outlook of the ground. This would, in turn, help increase the overall interest from the crowds too, ultimately paving the way towards the highest ever attendance in the history of Victory Park.

On 15 November 1932, there were 9,679 fans in the stands for Chorley’s FA Cup clash against Darwen and for a while, life was pretty good for the club and the new stadium was certainly a hit. But, disaster struck soon after.

On 17 November 1945, the wooden main stand was gutted by fire after 4,000 people had watched the clash against Football League club Accrington Stanley in the first leg of an FA Cup first-round tie. The damage was huge as the seating, the boardroom, dressing rooms and all the equipment were lost.

Still, they managed to recover quickly and within two years of the incident, a new brick and wood stand was erected to go along with covered terraces on both ends of Victory Park. That new stand was built in May 1947 at a cost of £5,500.

Even today, the stadium is not exactly the most modern ground in the league but has that old-fashioned and traditional feeling about it with its floodlight pylons and the grass banking that surrounds it. In 2017/18, Chorley started work on their newest addition to the stadium, the 1883 Stand.

Tickets to watch Chorley FC at Victory Park

All tickets to watch Chorley FC play at Victory Park can be found and purchased on the club’s official website. The cost of an adult ticket is £15 while the price will drop for other age groups and over-60s, NHS employees, First Responders & Armed Services.

Chorley FC’s adult season tickets can be bought for £270 but there is a discount if you manage to snatch the early bird offer.

https://www.chorleyfc.com/ - Official website of Chorley FC

https://www.chorleyfc.com/victory-park/ - About Victory Park