The importance of a stadium

As we know Everton have this season played their final games at the grand old lady Goodison Park, however despite this it will still be used next season for their ladies' games, this made me think when a club leaves its spiritual home, is it better for supporters that it is pulled down rather than lay empty, I know that's not the case in this incident, but what can be an emotional time can play on the heartstrings if there are constant reminders & the venue is left to rot, I know when I worked at Millwall & they left the old Den, I hated it & I avoided going past the ground until it was erased from view, which even meant adopting a new route traveling to work because at the time the company I worked for was based only a couple of miles, away. I recently saw pictures of another stadium that has been left to rot, pretty much like what has happened to the old Hare & Hounds Ground former home of Leyton Wingate, that ground is Boston Utd, who left their York Street home, in 2020.

Despite the grand history surrounding York Street, the ground has been largely left to rot.
For nearly ninety years, York Street was the home of Boston United.
The venue was first used by the club in 1933 when it was known as Shodfriars Lane.
However, York Street was in use well before the Pilgrims had been formed as football had been played on the site since the late 1800s.

Football also was not the only sport York Street played host to.
Throughout the 1930s, greyhound racing took place around the pitches was the case with a number of grounds including Stamford Bridge & VIcarage Rd.
Over 1,000 people attended the first Greyhound meeting at York Street.
But when World War Two broke out, the greyhound track had to close and was never re-opened.
Unfortunately York Street was largely devoid of memorable football moments, but that changed in the 1950s.

As a result, York Street played host to attendances between 5,000 and 6,000 for league games and even attracted more than 9,000 fans when floodlights were used for a clash against Corby Town.

However, in 1977, the Pilgrims were left to fear for their future at the ground after it was deemed unsuitable for the Football League by inspectors.
As a result, Northern Premier League runners-up Wigan Athletic, who finished second to Boston United, were elected to join the league.
The inspectors' grading prompted a round of fundraising among the local community in 1978 as enough money was collected to build new terracing, stands, floodlights, toilets, turnstiles as well as areas to get food.
The most expensive part of the York Street redevelopment was the rebuilding of the Town End Terrace, which cost Boston United an estimated £200,000.

York Street eventually became a football league ground in 2002 when they were in the third division, which became League Two in the 2004/05 campaign.
However, the 2006/07 season proved to be the Pilgrims' last in the football league as they ran into serious financial difficulties.

The club copped a 10-point deduction for entering administration and was relegated to the sixth tier after they failed to pay creditors.
The 2019/20 season proved to be Boston United's last at York Street as they built a new ground outside the town, known as the Jakemans Community Stadium.
The dilemma we all face is old grounds really old grounds have a certain character,  they say they never forget your first love, this is the same with where ever you first watched, what became your club, for the first time. However, in the fast-evolving game, it is evident, like in the case of Everton that if you don't evolve with the others you fear getting left behind. Oxford UTD is another club that claims they need to move to yet another new stadium or fear ceasing to exist & this is in a stadium less than 30 years old. I suppose our first ground in some ways is like the home we grew up in.

That's why I think what Tottenham did was the best of both worlds totally rebuilding a new state-of-the-art stadium whilst staying within the boundaries of the old ground that really was a smart decision.