Editing Swindon Town F.C. (section)

==Stadium==
{{Main|County Ground (Swindon)}}
[[File:Swindon Town Football Club ground at The County Ground - geograph.org.uk - 1619541.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|225x225px|The [[County Ground (Swindon)|County Ground]], taken from the Town End.]]
Swindon Town's original pitch was located south of Bath Road, in the region of Bradford Road, adjacent to the [[Okus Quarry]].<ref name = "ground"/> After a young spectator fell into the quarry the team decided to move first to Lansdown Road and then to a pitch near The Croft where they were to remain for the next 11 years.<ref name = "founded"/>

Swindon Town have been playing at the [[County Ground (Swindon)|County Ground]] since 1896. They played their games on the site of the adjacent cricket pitch also called the County Ground from 1893 until the ground opened.<ref name="founded">{{Cite web|url=http://www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk/InTheBeginning.asp|title=In the beginning...|access-date=14 January 2007|publisher=swindon-town-fc.co.uk}}</ref>

Thomas Arkell of [[Arkell's Brewery]] donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the 'Wiltshire County Ground', this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose-built football ground. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. A cover on the Shrivenham Road side was erected in 1932, followed by the current roof at the Town End. This cost £4,300, which was raised by the Supporters' Club, and was opened on 27 August 1938 by local [[Member of Parliament#United Kingdom|MP]], [[Wavell Wakefield, 1st Baron Wakefield of Kendal|W.W. Wakefield]].<ref name = "ground"/>

The War Department took over the ground in 1940, where for a while [[Prisoner of war|POW]]s were housed in huts placed on the pitch. For this the club received compensation of £4,570 in 1945.<ref name = "ground"/>

The addition of [[floodlights (sport)|floodlights]] in 1951 at a cost of £350, gave Swindon the honour of being the first League club to do so. These were first tried out ''v.'' Bristol City on 2 April 1951 beating [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] by six months.
These original set of lights were supplemented by lights on both side stand roofs, which were sufficient for the [[County Ground, Swindon|County Ground]] to stage its first floodlit league match on 29 February 1956 ''v.'' [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]. (seven days after [[Fratton Park]] became the first ground to stage a floodlit league fixture). The present pylons date from 1960.<ref name="ground">Inglis, Simon: "Football Grounds of Britain.", page 358. CollinsWillow, 1996.</ref>

The ground currently contains elements constructed between 1950 and 1995, with the latest addition being the large sponsored stand on the south side. The County Ground is also the only football stadium in the world with a [[Rolex]] watch acting as its timekeeper, the clock on the Stratton Bank stand featuring its name was erected to celebrate promotion in 1963.<ref name="swindonwebfacts">{{Cite web|url=http://www.swindonweb.com/stfc/facts&fig.htm|title=STFC Facts & Figures|access-date=15 January 2007|publisher=swindonweb.com|work=Swindon Town Football Club|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231091511/http://www.swindonweb.com/stfc/facts%26fig.htm|archive-date=31 December 2006}}</ref>

The ground itself was on land owned by [[Borough of Swindon|Swindon Borough Council]] to which the club pays rent. Swindon had in the past considered a move to a club owned stadium to generate more revenue, but did not have the financial backing to do so. In 2006 a redevelopment campaign for the County Ground began,<ref name="stadium development">{{Cite web|url=http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/staticFiles/19/12/0,,10341~4633,00.pdf|title=Stadium Development|access-date=15 January 2007|publisher=Swindon Town Football Club}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> with the club and TrustSTFC (the [[supporters' trust]]) raising a petition to 'Save Our Home' urging the Borough Council to "facilitate the redevelopment of the stadium and do everything they can to keep the club within the Borough"<ref name="stadium development2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/staticFiles/19/12/0,,10341~4633,00.pdf|title=Keep It Up!|access-date=15 January 2007|publisher=Swindon Town Football Club|work=Stadium Development}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> including the proposed upgrading of the adjacent Cricket Club to County standard and Athletic Club to Olympic standard.

On 24 March 2023, Swindon Town bought the County Ground for £2.3 million, as part of a joint venture with TrustSTFC, giving fans the opportunity to own a percentage of the Ground.<ref name="stadium purchase">{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-03-24/swindon-town-buy-county-ground-in-23m-deal|title=Swindon Town FC buy County Ground in £2.3m deal|access-date=14 August 2023|publisher=ITV|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714204627/https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-03-24/swindon-town-buy-county-ground-in-23m-deal|archive-date=14 July 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>