Book Description
Derby County enters a new millennium with a new home designed to take the national game on to the international stage and into the 21st century with style.
This books tells the story of Pride Park Stadium, charting its progress from dream to reality. With detailed accounts from those involved and dramatic pictures illustrating its progress, the book reveals, step-by-step, how a stretch of wasteland on the outskirts of the city was transformed into a theatre of football recognised as one of the finest in the country and chosen as a category A venue for England's 2006 World Cup campaign.
Rams manager Jim Smith, his players, the club's directors and fans offer their own reflections of Pride Park life. Packed full of facts, figures, anecdotes and superb colour photos, it offers a fascinating insight into the decision to leave the historic Baseball Ground after over 100 years of football and will prove to be invaluable reference material for students researching the machinations of the modern game and the dramatic effects of the Taylor Report.
For the first time there are frank accounts of the emotions surrounding the nightmare of floodlight failure during the first ever Pride Park league game. Tales of international football and giant-killing triumphs feature alongside memories of one historic summer's day when the Queen officially opened Pride Park Stadium and helped write a new chapter in the Derby County story. With a foreword by Tim Brooke-Taylor.
From the Publisher
Publisher's notes: Derby County Football ClubPride Park: The Story Of A Stadium is the second book to be published by Derby County since the club's return to English football's top flight. The Baseball Ground 1884-1997 was published to coincide with the club's move from their famous old ground to their new 'theatre of football' and featured fans' memories, archive pictures and a history of Derby County Football Club from its humble origins as an off-shoot of Derbyshire Cricket Club, encompassing its 1946 FA Cup final triumph, the championship-winning 1970s and the last-ever league game at the famous old ground. Pride Park: The Story Of A Stadium is written by the club's Press and Communications Manager Jim Fearn and Special Publications Editor Damon Parkin. Fearn is the managing editor of the club's award-winning matchday programme and Parkin edits the official club magazine Rampage.
