{{Short description|Demolished football stadium in Northwich, Cheshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Use British English|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox venue | name = The Central Ground | fullname = The Central Ground | image = | caption = | location = Northwich, Cheshire, England | opened = 1910 | closed = 1 May 1989 | demolished = 1989 | owner = Witton Albion | operator = Witton Albion | tenants = Witton Albion (1910–1989) | capacity = | surface = Grass }}
The '''Central Ground''' was a football stadium in Northwich, Cheshire, which was the home ground of Witton Albion Football Club between 1910 and 1 May 1989. A Sainsbury's supermarket now occupies the site.
==History== Witton Albion's first ground was adjacent to the Parish Church Vicarage. In 1897 and 1910, the club moved to Magdala Place. By 1910, the club moved to a new site near the Victoria Saw Mills on Witton Street. Over the next ten years, the club leased the land for £15 per year, and in July 1920, the club purchased the land outright for £750, and was renamed as the Central Ground.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wittonalbion.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=509| work=Witton Albion official web site| title=Witton Albion: Full History| accessdate=27 July 2014| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227122246/http://www.wittonalbion.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=509| archivedate=27 February 2014}}</ref> In the 1960s, a small grandstand was constructed at the southern perimeter of the ground. The northern perimeter included a terrace area that ran the length of the pitch. The goal ends featured grass embankments with hooped metal railings.
Witton Albion sold the Central Ground to J Sainsbury PLC in 1989, and the football club moved to Wincham Park, a new ground in nearby Wincham later that year. The final match at the Central Ground was a 1–1 draw against Frickley Athletic on 1 May 1989. A new Sainsbury's store was erected on the site along with a new link road, Venables Road.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://northwich.daniel-clark.co.uk/index.php/the-central-ground-witton/| work=Daniel-clark.co.uk| title=The Central Ground, Witton| accessdate=27 July 2014| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811190633/http://northwich.daniel-clark.co.uk/index.php/the-central-ground-witton/| archivedate=11 August 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Witton Albion F.C. Category:Defunct football venues in England Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Cheshire Category:Defunct sports venues in Cheshire Category:Sports venues demolished in 1989 Category:Northwich Category:Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom