Selhurst Park isn’t just a Premier League football ground, but the heart of a vibrant and diverse community, stretching back a century since Palace’s arrival in 1924.
It was on 30th August, 1924 – 100 years ago – that Selhurst Park formally opened ahead of hosting its first-ever football match, when Crystal Palace faced off against The Wednesday in Division Two of the Football League.
A proud century later, the ground has not only been a source of lifelong memories on matchdays, but stands all year-round as a hub for incredible events, charity drives, personal triumphs and tragedies – and much, much more.
Find out more about the incredible history of Selhurst Park below.
August 1924
Palace flew ‘The Nest’, a more modest ground based next to the site of the current Selhurst station, at the end of the 1923/24 season in search of a more permanent home.
It was on 30th August 1924 that Selhurst Park hosted its first-ever football match, as Crystal Palace faced off against The Wednesday, kicking off a century of football in our current home.
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March 1926
On 1st March 1926, Selhurst Park hosted its first international fixture, and only full England game to date.
England lined up at Selhurst Park to take on Wales in the British Home Championship, aware that only a win would keep them in contention to lift the trophy.
But Wales – on St David's Day – won the 'Home International Clash' by a scoreline of 3-1.
Summer 1935
New scoreboards were installed at Selhurst Park, and the ditch at the side of the cinder track was filled in.
A new 'water tap' was installed alongside the dugouts, in which to store the physio's sponge and bucket of water – back then, big news!
Summer 1948
The 1948 Summer Olympic Games were held in London, with Selhurst hosting two football matches: Denmark beating Egypt 3-1 (aet) on 31st July in a first-round clash, and eventual gold medallists Sweden beating South Korea 12-0 a few days later in their quarter-final on 5th August.
Summer 1953
The first basic floodlights were installed at Selhurst Park, strung along Park Road and the Main Stand roof.
1961
In 1961, improved floodlights were installed on four pylons around the corners of the ground – so to celebrate, Chairman Arthur Wait sought out a prestigious club to face in an official opening friendly.
He certainly found one the board, through some Spanish business connections...
April 1962
Palace hosted the mighty Real Madrid on 18th April 1962, arguably Selhurst's biggest-ever match-up.
The Real Madrid line-up to face Third Division Palace included all-time greats Alberto Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskás – and the latter dazzled under the lights.
But the scoreline was ultimately respectable – a 4-3 defeat – for Palace, whose supporters could scarcely believe they had witnessed the European champions in SE25.
Summer 1965
The dressing rooms were refurbished with a new lounge, games room and tea room for the players under the Main Stand. The ‘Glaziers Club’ was enlarged too. Two years later, a new club office block opened at the back of the Main Stand with a new Boardroom, offices and reception area.
Autumn 1968
Work commences on the new ‘Arthur Wait’ stand.
Summer 1969
The Whitehorse Lane end saw a ‘second tier’ of terracing constructed, complete with brick-built refreshments and toilets at the top. A new Supporters Club was built in the car park.
November 1969
Selhurst Park's second stand is opened: the Arthur Wait Stand, named after the Palace chairman and featuring 5,032 seats, with space in front for 8,000 standing.
It is opened officially with the playing of the ‘Arthur Rowe Testimonial Match’ when Palace took on an ‘International XI’.
The season would end with the club promoted to the top-flight for the first time.
December 1972
Manchester United visited SE25 only a few points ahead of Palace in the table, but still as favourites – and as one of the country's biggest clubs, whereas Palace had only recently scraped survival.
What followed was arguably the club's greatest-ever result, a joint-highest top-flight victory – 5-0 – in front of the Selhurst faithful.
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May 1979
On a Friday night in May 1979, the Crystal Palace squad faced their final and most important game of the Second Division season when Burnley travelled came to Selhurst.
Palace required a draw to clinch promotion, or a win to take the title – they achieved the latter, in dramatic fashion, in front of a Selhurst Park record crowd of 51,482.
Summer 1980
The Main Stand enclosure for standing was converted to seating, while the Whitehorse Lane end was demolished for Sainsbury’s.
New barriers fencing and sectioning were completed in the Holmesdale End. A year later, Executive Boxes were added to the Main Stand.
July 1983
Peter Gabriel, Thompson Twins and Undertones play a music concert on the Selhurst Park pitch.
July 1984
The ‘Reggae Sunsplash’, featuring Prince Buster, The Skatelites, Sly and Robbie, Black Uhuru, King Sunny Ade, Lloyd Parkes and We People, Leroy Sibbles, Dennis Brown and Aswad, takes place in SE25.
The success is repeated the following year.
September 1985
Palace's local rivals Charlton Athletic become tenants at Selhurst Park after getting into financial troubles. They would be based in SE25 until 1991.
April 1989
Businessman and owner of club sponsor Virgin, Richard Branson, launches a UFO from the Selhurst Park pitch as an April Fool's Day prank.
Branson's practical joke caught the country by surprise, and the prank was kept quiet even from Palace employees. So when staff arrived at Selhurst for work, none were prepared to see the balloon readying for flight on the pitch!
June 1989
Palace went into the 1988/89 Second Division play-off final 3-1 down after the first leg.
Somehow, seemingly impossibly, they emerged 4-3 winners on aggregate, one of the club's greatest-ever comebacks.
Supporters swarmed the Selhurst turf and Steve Coppell’s side were up.
Summer 1990
The Main Stand dressing rooms and players' exit onto pitch were moved to the Holmesdale Road end.
A new Player’s Lounge was built, and the main reception area extended. The Arthur Wait standing enclosure was converted to seating.
June 1991
Selhurst Park welcomed its second groundshare team, Wimbledon, who moved from Plough Lane due to financial issues, before leaving in 2003.
August 1992
The first-ever Premier League game took place at Selhurst Park, with Mark Bright opening the scoring in a 3-3 draw with Blackburn Rovers, a match which saw Alan Shearer – the current record holder – score his first Premier League goal.
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May 1994
It was always destined to be an emotional final day of the 1993/94 campaign regardless, with the Division One title – and an immediate return to the Premiership – already wrapped up.
What's more, the game would be the last in front of the iconic Holmesdale Terrace, set to be converted into the new stand.
Palace were greeted with a festival atmosphere in SE25, with Gareth Southgate lifting the trophy before the match which came to be known as 'The Last Stand'.
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September 1995
The new Holmesdale Road stand opened on 26th August 1995 when Palace faced Charlton.
The £5.5m structure was ready for use and welcomed fans in its 8,300 seats - with balloons released to mark the occasion and then Chairman Ron Noades cutting a ceremonial ribbon alongside manager Coppell.
Since 1995, the Stand has become an iconic part of the club's identity, housing many die-hard supporters and with its towering roof being seen across Croydon and its surrounding boroughs.
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June 2010
On 31st May, 2010, it was announced that if a deal wasn’t struck within 24 hours, Crystal Palace F.C. would be liquidated. What happened next was unprecedented, as protestors took to Selhurst Park in an effort to raise awareness of the club’s fate.
Their efforts prompted a response from Lloyds Bank of further talks with Steve Parish and the CPFC 2010 consortium, who managed to save the club at the last minute. The rest is history.
April 2024
In front of a record crowd for the team of 6,796 at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace Women clinched the Barclays Women’s Championship title with a 0-0 draw against Sunderland.
The result guaranteed the club promotion to the Women’s Super League (WSL) for the first time in their history.
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Summer 2024
Preliminary building projects relating to the first steps of construction of the new Main Stand at Selhurst Park are underway and progressing well, with a further range of steps undertaken during the summer period.
The Main Stand redevelopment project will overhaul Selhurst Park, which has been the club’s home since 1924, and transform supporters’ matchday experience, increasing capacity from 26,000 to more than 34,000 while providing new year-round community facilities.
Information and images collated with thanks to: Ian King, Peter Hurn, Andrew Carey, Alan Russell, David London, Andrew McSteen, Steve Martyniuk, Micah Crook & Sebastian Frej (Crystal Palace FC), Neil Everitt, Pinnacle Photo Agency Ltd (PPAUK), Christopher Sleet/Getty Images, Sunsplash Productions
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