Ground History
Club History 2 of 2

2. Ground History


1879-1960: Green Man Playing Fields
1960-2006: Harlow Sportcentre
2006-present: The Harlow Arena (formerly Barrow's Farm)

In their long history, Harlow Town have only ever had 3 home venues. From the club's formation right up until 1960, the club played their home games at the Green Man Playing Fields, with its first competitive game coming against Bishop's Stortford Nonconformist Grammar School. Harlow Town's last game at its original home was against East Ham United on 30 April 1960, with Harlow winning the game 2-1.

For the start of the 1960-1961 season, Harlow had moved to a new home on Hammarskjold Road, to the newly built Harlow Sportcentre, the first Sports Centre in England. The Town's first competitive game in their new home was against Epping Town in the London League on 27 August 1960, with the game finishing in a 1-1 draw. The Sportcentre hosted some of Harlow's greatest moments, most notably the FA Cup giant-killings of Southend United and Leicester City in the 1979-1980 season. Harlow's final season at the Sportcentre came in 2005006, with their last scheduled game their against Spalding United in the 2006 East Anglian Cup final, but due to delays at their new ground, their final game at the Sportcentre was on 2 September 2006 in an FA Cup Preliminary Round match against Saffron Walden Town, ironically the team Harlow faced in their first ever match.

Eventually, Harlow moved to their new home at Barrow's Farm in October 2006, with the opening match at the new ground on 18 October with Harlow defeating Ware 2-0. The official record attendance at the new stadium is 2,149, against Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup First Round Proper on 8 November 2008. The Football League Two side Macclesfield won the game 2-0. In the summer of 2013, following investment from the owners, a brand new 3G playing surface was laid to allow regular use of the pitch by the local community without impacting the turf. This coincided with the re-branding of the ground to The Harlow Arena, as a primary venue for Harlow and its residents.

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Harlow Town FC - Ground History

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