page_title: Bloomfield Road
section_title: Jimmy Armfield South Stand
hierarchical_section_title: Bloomfield Road / Stands / Jimmy Armfield South Stand
caption_attribution_description: English: The old Bloomfield Road stand at Blackpool FC
context_page_description: Bloomfield Road is a football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901.
  The record attendance at Bloomfield Road is 38,098, when Blackpool played Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 1955.
  The stadium hosted three matches of the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship. It has also been the venue for the final of the Northern Rail Cup, a rugby league tournament.
context_section_description: The previous 1925 main stand was demolished in 2003. This is the two-tiered stand that abutted Bloomfield Road.
  On 14 January 2003, Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston promised the redevelopment of the South Stand would go ahead but insisted he would not be pressured into making any rash decisions. He revealed that he spent the previous day in talks about the project but vowed he would make an announcement only when the time was right and all plans had been finalised.
  In the summer of 2006 the club announced that building of the South-West Corner of the ground, which would seat 582, would begin on 23 September 2006. Whilst the central corridor redevelopment has been completed, including the demolition of the Bloomfield Road bridge (which was located to the west of the ground, towards Bloomfield Road's junction with Lytham Road) and the construction of Seasiders Way, building work did not commence. Work did eventually begin on the hotel on land formerly occupied by the Tangerine Night Club, which had been announced by the club to be built at the same time as the South-West Corner. It is leased by Travelodge and opened in May 2008.  The original supporters' social club, which later became known as "Morty's Bar", was built adjacent to the ground and opened in 1966. The location was a temporary measure until more suitable accommodation could be found. Land subsequently became available across Bloomfield Road and, after much delay, was purchased from British Rail in early 1973. After months of negotiations with various national breweries by both the directors and representatives of the supporters' club, Watney Manns agreed to finance the project. Plans were submitted to Blackpool Corporation and final approval was given in April 1974 and work commenced in September. A fire ripped through the building in November 2002, and its demolition was discussed.
  The continued delays for building work to commence became a source of controversy with the club's fans. In a radio phone-in on BBC Radio Lancashire on 6 February 2008, Karl Oyston stated that, "The South will be built as and when it is right for the football business. I know we need to progress as a club and it is top of our agenda, believe me, but it wasn't right to do it now." He also confirmed that the club had no immediate plans to start building the stand. On 14 May 2008, Blackpool-based radio station Radio Wave 96.5 announced on their website and news bulletin that work was to commence on the South Stand in the summer. However, this prompted an immediate response by the football club, who issued a statement on their official website expressing their disappointment that a local Press agency had issued a media report about the development. And they denied the report was true, stating that "the story about the South Stand developments is a complete fabrication", adding that "any future communications and announcements to be made with regards to the South Stand will come from the club itself." A week later it was claimed that the club looked certain to begin building work in summer 2008 and it was confirmed that the club had a number of options, including building a temporary stand, a permanent stand or a mix with a permanent South-West Corner and a temporary South Stand, with Karl Oyston stating, "I've made it very clear to the board that if we don't increase our capacity by one of the scenarios that I've outlined to them – and I've outlined every scenario that I believe is available – then we will struggle." Adding that "The preferred option is obviously to build a permanent South-West and South. The worst-case scenario fallback is to build a temporary south." It was also stated that building a new South Stand and South-West Corner will now cost about £6–8 million and would raise the capacity of the stadium by 3,000. An Oystons Estate Agency sign was also erected advertising retail space for lease, a pub/restaurant and "hotel with hospitality suites for match days" in the new South Stand.
  On 8 July 2008, the club released a statement from club president Valeri Belokon stating tha
caption: The South Stand in 1995
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