Inside abandoned football stadium where Arsenal and Chelsea once played that had Lidl store built on flattened site
Scarborough's stadium that hosted Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea superstars in its latter days was left abandoned before being replaced by a supermarket.
It opened back in 1898 on Seamer Road after the club switched from playing at the town’s cricket club and was renamed The McCain Stadium in a pioneering sponsorship deal in 1988, with fans dubbing it the ‘Theatre of Chips’.
It was the venue for a number of memorable encounters including against Arsenal in 1992/93 when they lost 1-0 and in 2004 when John Terry's goal was enough for another 1-0 cup win for the visitors against the valiant hosts.
But The McCain Stadium closed its doors for good in 2007 when Sacrborough, who were one of the oldest football clubs in England, wound up with debts of £2.5million.
The ground, close to one of Britain's most iconic seaside resorts, lay abandoned for four years until demolition began.
A Lidl supermarket was then built on the site and eventually opened its doors in 2017. That year was also memorable as phoenix club Scarborough Athletic FC played in the town for the first time in a decade.
They now play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football, playing their home games at their new Flamingo Land Stadium and are managed by ex-Manchester United midfielder Jonathan Greening.