Full Steam Ahead for LNER
Two views of the former Huntington Stadium
Photos : Andy Dakin
Knights RLFC . The City of York Council ’ s ambitious vision was to demolish Huntington Stadium and replace it with a major sports and leisure complex , the focal point of which would be a new shared stadium for York City and York City Knights . In preparation for the project , Huntington Stadium was cleared in 2015 / 16 , with York City Knights moving in with York City at Bootham Crescent a year later after a nomadic season , and City of York Athletics Club relocating to a new £ 2 million track at the York University Heslington West Campus . Holmes Miller , whose impressive sports portfolio includes work done at Windsor Park , Murrayfield , The Oval and Parc Y Scarlets , were contracted for the £ 47 million project as architects , with construction work on the new stadium and accompanying complex at Monks Cross commencing in 2017 . Though the stadium was mostly completed by 2019 , planning hitches and regulatory complications continually pushed back the opening date , but on 16 February 2021 York City ran out onto the reinforced natural grass at the LNER Community Stadium for the first time ( the naming rights having been awarded to the railway operating company in 2019 ), though the National League North fixture versus AFC Fylde was played behind closed doors because of Covid restrictions .
Below : A Google Earth timeline of the development of the stadium . From top to bottom , images dated 2007 , 2018 and 2021
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Left : The stadium being built in 2019