Broadhall Way

About

Broadhall Way, known as the SPORTA Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium located in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. Built in 1960 and opened the following year, it has been the home ground of Stevenage Football Club, formerly Stevenage Borough, since 1980. The stadium was previously occupied by Stevenage's former clubs: initially Stevenage Town from 1961 to 1968 and then Stevenage Athletic from 1968 to 1976. It has a capacity of 7,318, with a record attendance of 8,040 set during an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle United in 1998, when a temporary stand was erected to accommodate additional spectators. Broadhall Way was constructed on the site of a former sewage works and initially featured stands relocated from the club's previous ground. Following Stevenage Borough's tenancy, the stadium underwent incremental improvements. After winning the Football Conference in 1995–96, Stevenage were denied promotion to the Football League due to inadequate facilities and insufficient capacity, prompting further redevelopment in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Promotion to the Football League was eventually achieved in 2010, following the club's Conference Premier title in 2009–10. The North Stand, completed in 2019, increased capacity and modernised facilities.

In 1960, the Stevenage Development Corporation constructed Broadhall Way, financed through contributions of £12,000 from the Corporation, £4,000 from Stevenage Town, and £1,000 from the Football Association. The site, formerly occupied by a sewage works, hosted its first fixture on 26 August 1961, when Stevenage Town played Ware in a Delphian League match. In its early years, the ground utilised stands relocated from the club's former London Road stadium, which had been its home since 1900, before permanent stands were erected on both the east and west sides. The pitch was of particularly poor quality, consisting largely of mud and stones. Floodlights were installed in 1964, but few other improvements were made before the club folded in 1968.

The stadium subsequently became home to Stevenage Athletic, who played there from 1968 until their bankruptcy in 1976. Broadhall Way then remained unused for three years. In November 1976, the newly founded Stevenage Borough attempted to stage their first fixture at the ground, against Hitchin Town Youth, but the match was abandoned after Javier Revuelta, the former chairman of Stevenage Athletic and holder of the lease, had a trench dug across the pitch.

The Stevenage Borough Council repurchased the stadium in 1980 and installed Stevenage Borough F.C. as tenants. The club's first competitive match at the ground took place on 16 August 1980, a 3–1 victory over ON Chenecks in the United Counties League, attended by 421 spectators. The stadium remained largely unchanged during the 1980s, but in 1994 underwent renovations, including the construction of a terrace and a 460-seat West Stand, following three promotions in four seasons. Stevenage were denied promotion to the Football League after winning the Football Conference in 1995–96 due to insufficient capacity and inadequate facilities. Subsequent redevelopment in the late 1990s and early 2000s included the construction of a £600,000 South Stand incorporating an executive suite.

In January 2009, the club agreed a six-figure sponsorship deal with the Lamex Food Group, leading to the renaming of Broadhall Way to the Lamex Stadium. Following promotion as Conference Premier champions in 2009–10, the club dropped the word 'Borough' from its name, and the stadium hosted Football League matches for the first time in the 2010–11 season. Capacity stood at 6,722, including 3,142 seats (reduced from 7,100 following promotion), until the North Stand was completed in December 2019, raising capacity to 7,318. The naming rights agreement with Lamex Food Group expired in October 2025 when club chairman Phil Wallace retired from the company. The ground was subsequently known as the Stevenage F.C. Stadium until August 2026, when the club agreed a 10-year naming rights deal with SPORTA, a financial services company, and renamed it SPORTA Arena.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.