The Pilot Field
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|
| Full name | The Pilot Field |
|---|---|
| Former names | Firs Football Centre |
| Location |
 Hastings
|
| Owner | Hastings Borough Council |
| Operator | Hastings United |
| Capacity | 4,050 (800 Seats) |
| Field size | 110 x 75 yards |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1921 |
| Opened | 1921 |
| Tenants | |
|
Rock-A-Nore (1920–1921) Hastings & St. Leonards Amateurs (1921–1948) Hastings United (Old) (1948–1985) Hastings Saxons (1948–1949) Hastings United (1985–present) |
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The Pilot Field is a football stadium in Hastings, East Sussex. It is home to Hastings United who currently play in the Isthmian League, the club have used the ground since 1985 after the old Hastings United folded.
Rock-A-Nore were the first club to play at The Pilot Field in 1920, which back then was merely a meadow situated on a large slope. The first game to be played at the ground was between Rock-A-Nore and Chichester in the Sussex County League. In 1921 the council laid out two pitches in a plan that was expected to cost £6000; however completion of the work cost closer to £32000, due to the amount of earth that had to be shifted to create two flat pitches. In 1923 the council spent a further £8000 on a grandstand, which was built on the site of where all the earth had been moved across to, the club moved to the lower pitch after drainage issues had been resolved.
In 1948 Hastings United, the newly formed professional club who had entered the Southern League, took over the Pilot Field, forcing Hastings & St. Leonards (Formally Rock-A-Nore) to move back to the upper pitch. It was also around this period that the ground started hosting greyhound racing and Speedway. The ground was used by Hastings United until 1985 when they were forced to fold, due to substantial debts.
By now Hastings & St. Leonards were called Hastings Town and were successful in applying for a place in the Southern League, moving back to the Pilot Field after a 37-year absence. By this time the ground had seen further development, including covered terracing at the Elphinstone Road end of the ground and partial concreting of the dirt track that surrounds the pitch.
In 2002 the club had changed their name to Hastings United, ensuring the ground received a major facelift to complement the new club colours of claret and blue. A new covered terrace, the ‘Cole Warren Stand’ was erected at the Wood End of the ground during the 2005/06 season, ensuring that three sides of the ground were now covered.
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