On this day in Yorkshire- 26th August 1995- The Riverside Stadium is opened in Middlesbrough

A bright new dawn for Middlesbrough FC was ushered in on this day in 1995, with the opening of their brand new Riverside stadium on the banks of the River Tees. The Taylor Report of 1990 had  accelerated the development of a new stadium and the closure of the aging Ayresome Park. At a cost of £16million, its completion was the final piece in the jigsaw in a complete transformation of the club from near extinction, just eight years earlier. The opening of this bright, new stadium co-incided with an upturn in fortunes on the field. Middlesbrough had been promoted to the Premier League and a rash of new signings followed, including Nick Barmby  and the Brazilian forward, Juninho. The first game at the new stadium saw the ‘Boro see off Chelsea 2-0 with goals from Craig Hignett and Norwegian, Jan Aage Fjortoft. Middlesbrough finished the season in 12th place after a promising start to the season.

Cover picture credit: Steve Daniels geograph creative commons.