Bootham Crescent
York, North Yorkshire, England
Bootham Crescent, York, England — opened 31 August 1932, 64 rugby league games hosted, home of None (demolished 2022/23); previously York City Football Club, and York City Knights rugby league club as a regular tenant from 2016.
Ground facts
| Opened | 31 August 1932 |
| Home club | None (demolished 2022/23); previously York City Football Club, and York City Knights rugby league club as a regular tenant from 2016 |
| Closed | Early 2021 (York City FC's last season there); site handed to Persimmon Homes April 2022 |
| Demolished | Demolition followed in 2022, with the ground fully demolished by February 2023 |
| Site today | A Persimmon Homes housing development (93 residences), with streets and buildings named after York City figures such as David Longhurst, and small memorial elements (part of the former centre circle and a section of a stand) retained on site. |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 64 |
| Top recorded crowd | 11,347 |
| Capacity | 8,256 (3,409 seated) |
| Floodlights installed | Installed 1959 (cost 14,500 pounds); replaced 1995 with more powerful lights at reduced height |
| Surface | Grass |
| Years used | 1989–2020 |
| Location | York, North Yorkshire |
Name history
- Bootham Crescent — 1932–2004, 2010–2021
- KitKat Crescent — 2005–2010, Nestlé sponsorship
Rugby league history
Bootham Crescent was York City AFC's home football ground from 1932 until 2021. Its rugby league use is more sporadic. York's rugby league club (then York Wasps) played at Clarence Street from 1885, but with that ground sold for redevelopment and their new Huntington/Ryedale Stadium not ready until October 1989, the club used Bootham Crescent as a stand-in venue in early 1989, including a Challenge Cup first-round tie against Leeds on 29 January 1989 (attendance 11,347, the ground's rugby league record). The club, by then York City Knights, returned to Bootham Crescent as a regular tenant from 2016 and played there in League 1, the Championship, the Challenge Cup and other competitions until 2020, shortly before the football ground itself closed and was demolished.
Primarily and historically a football ground — home of York City AFC (later York City FC) from 1932 to 2021, when the club moved to the new LNER Community Stadium.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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