List of Sunderland A.F.C. Grounds
Grounds

Ground
Location
Date of First Game
Date of Last Game
Max. Capacity
Record Attendance
Notes
Blue House Field
Hendon
18 November 1880 (vs. Ferryhill)
12 November 1881 (vs. Elswick Leather Works)
unknown
unknown
First Sunderland game First Sunderland competitive game First Sunderland victory
The Cedars
Ashbrooke
unknown
unknown
unknown
unknown
Arthur Appleton, local Sunderland historian and author, records that after leaving Blue House Field, the club played at least four games in the Cedars area of Ashbrooke.
Groves Field
Ashbrooke
4 November 1882 (vs. North Eastern)
10 March 1883 (vs. Bishop Middleham)
unknown
unknown
Location of Sunderland's biggest ever competitive home win, 12 - 1 vs. Stanley Star on 20 January 1883 in the Northumberland and Durham Challenge Cup
Horatio Street
Roker
29 September 1883 (vs. Castle Eden)
26 April 1884 (vs. District XI)
unknown
unknown
First Sunderland home North of the River Wear Home of Sunderland when it won its first trophy; the Durham Challenge Cup in 1884.
Abbs Field
Fulwell
27 September 1884 (vs. Birtley Town)
13 March 1886 (vs. Middlesbrough St. Johns)
unknown
2,000 (approx) vs Port Glasgow Athletic on 1 January 1886
First Sunderland home where spectators were charged an entrance fee Home of Sunderland for its all-time biggest victory, a 23 - 0 win over Castletown on 20 December 1884 (in a friendly)
Newcastle Road
Monkwearmouth
3 April 1886 (vs. Darlington)
23 April 1898 (vs. Nottingham Forest)
15,000
24,000 (approx) vs Sheffield United on 5 March 1898
First Sunderland English Football League game First Sunderland FA Cup game Location of Sunderland's biggest ever home league win, 8 - 0 vs.
Roker Park
Roker
10 September 1898 (vs. Liverpool)
May 13, 1997 (vs. Liverpool)
60,000
75,118 vs Derby County on 8 March 1933
Location of highest ever Sunderland home attendance First Sunderland home floodlit match (v Dundee, 1953) Location of the first FIFA World Cup game to be held in Sunderland First Sunderland home EFL Cup game (v Bolton Wanderers in 1961) First Sunderland European home game (Vasas SC in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1973)
Stadium of Light
Monkwearmouth
30 July 1997 (vs. AFC Ajax)
-
49,000
48,353 vs. Liverpool on 13 April 2002
Home of Sunderland for its highest ever season points total (105 in 1998/99) Home of Sunderland for its most wins in a single season (19 in 1998/99) Home of Sunderland for its longest run of consecutive home defeats (9)

Question: What happened to the Sunderland A.F.C. in 1997?
Answer: The Roker Park stadium was the seventh home of the club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light.