The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow (formerly the Kingsmeadow Stadium) is a football stadium in Kingston upon Thames, London. The stadium is owned by AFC Wimbledon, but is also used for the home matches of Kingstonian F.C., who formerly owned it.

The stadium has a capacity of 4,500, though in the past it held 6,299 (modern safety requirements required the capacity to be reduced - and for a time it was even lower). There are four stands: the Main Stand, the John Smith's Stand, the West Bank, and the Athletics End (an unroofed terrace adjoining the neighbouring athletics track). The stadium meets Football Conference standards, though neither Wimbledon or Kingstonian currently play at such a high level.

The stadium has been the home of Kingstonian since 1989. Following relegation from the Conference National, Kingstonian went into financial administration and both club and ground were purchased by Rajesh Khosla and his son Anup , who were not football orientated and alienated a large part of Kingstonian's support.

An opportunity arose with the formation of AFC Wimbledon, who in 2002 needed a home for their inaugural season (in which they played in the Combined Counties Football League). After one season as tenants of the Khoslas (the rent not going to Kingstonian because the Khoslas had arranged that the stadium was owned in Rajesh's name and the club in Anup's), Wimbledon undertook to buy the ground, club owners the Dons Trust launching a share issue to finance the purchase, which was closed the following summer. They continue to pay off a mortgage debt to the Khoslas.

Once purchased, Wimbledon renamed the stadium from the Kingsmeadow Stadium to The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow, representing a commitment to the role of supporters in English football and their involvement in broader groups like the Football Supporters' Federation and Supporters Direct .

Wimbledon kept Kingstonian on as tenants and charge them a far lower rent than they themselves had been charged by the Khoslas, with both gate receipts and bar takings at Kingstonian games being retained by Kingstonian (which continues to be Khosla-owned though there have been efforts to buy them out). An annual friendly match between the two clubs is intended to defray the cost of the rent.

External links

• Official site