While the Premier League has seen some of the biggest and grandest stadia in world football, there have also been plenty of smaller and quainter grounds.
Here are the five smallest venues in PL history by capacity.
5. Bloomfield Road, Blackpool – 16,220
Blackpool only played one season of Premier League football but they will always be remembered for their fearlessness under Ian Holloway.
After a shock promotion in 2010, which secured top flight football for the first time since 1971, the Tangerines came within whiskers of survival but, ultimately, their inability to defend cost them dearly.
However, Bloomfield Road, first opened in 1899, always had a carnival atmosphere, with Liverpool and Tottenham both going down to defeats.
There was even a 4-3 triumph against Bolton – a repeat scoreline of the famous Stanley Matthews FA Cup final in 1953.
4. The Dell, Southampton – 15,200
The Dell was a classic, charming old football ground where the fans were virtually on top of the players and every word on the field could be heard.
Opened in 1898, the ground made history in 1950 by becoming the first to have permanent floodlighting installed.
#OnThisDay in 1996, The Dell witnessed this Matt Le Tissier special in @SouthamptonFC's 6-3 win over Man United
pic.twitter.com/5jg5ygwQgw
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 26, 2021
However, as the years wore on and ground standards increased, The Dell was looking more and more dilapidated and plans were launched in the 1990s to move into a new venue.
The curtain was closed in 2001 and, in one of those fairytale moments, it was club legend Matt Le Tissier who scored a left-foot stunner to end 103 years of football, with five apartment blocks replacing the stadium.
3. County Ground, Swindon – 14,700
Like Blackpool, Swindon and the County Ground only played host to one season of Premier League football.
Like Blackpool again, they were widely praised for their attacking football but a kamikaze defence saw them quickly relegated, with John Gorman’s men conceding 100 goals.
Swindon have never come close to the Premier League since with a 17th place finish in the Championship (then Division One) in 1999 their nearest miss.
Plans to expand the ground have been floated in the last 20 years but a lack of progress on field has shelved them for now.
2. Boundary Park, Oldham – 13,559
Notorious for being one of the coldest grounds in England, Boundary Park is also the second smallest to ever host Premier League football.
The Latics were there in the inaugural season of 1992-93, and were relegated a year after finishing second from bottom.
Prior to their promotion to the top flight in 1991, Boundary Park – certainly ahead of its time – had a plastic pitch but they were forced to go back to grass by the authorities.
Nowadays, the ground hosts League Two football, with the club seemingly in freefall and fans voicing their discontent.
1. Dean Court, Bournemouth – 11,364
It can be overlooked sometimes just how brilliant a job Eddie Howe did at Bournemouth, considering the lack of attainable matchday revenue.
Just over 11,000 fans could get into Dean Court (or as it’s known currently The Vitality Stadium), yet the Cherries held onto their Premier League status for five years.
Pluckiness has been a theme of this list and Bournemouth were another small club that showed big heart in their Premier League stint, with Howe’s reputation swelling throughout.
With the club gaining so much exposure from their years in the PL, changes were always planned and the club confirmed in 2017 they were hoping to move to a new ground at the nearby Kings Park site.
Current smallest – The Brentford Community Stadium – 17,250
Only opened in 2020, Brentford fans had to wait a long time before they could visit their new ground due to the Covid pandemic.
Replacing their old home of Griffin Park, the new ground is a much more modern upgrade as Brentford – an ambitious club on the up – look to defy the odds and extend their Premier League stay.
Sadly, this one doesn’t have a pub on each corner.
