EARLIER this week it was announced that sports stadiums will be at full capacity in the new season.

This means that Brentford FC will play their first season in the Premier League in front of a full house at the new stadium's second season of use.

Prior to the 2020/21 season, the Bees played their games at Griffin Park for over 100 years, ever since it first opened in 1904.

During the 15 years between Brentford's formation in 1889 and the stadium being built in 1904, the Bees played at five different grounds nearby.

In 1903, Fulham chairman, Henry Norris, who was a prominent estate agent, along with Brentford manager, Dick Molyneux, and club president, Edwin Underwood, negotiated a 21-year lease on an orchard along Ealing Road, owned by local brewers, Fullers.

There was also an option to buy the freehold at a later date for £5,000.

Building works started in January 1904 and the stadium officially opened on September 1 of that year, with an initial capacity of 20,000 fans, with a provision to increase it to 30,000-40,000.

Season tickets for the stadium's debut season in 1904/05 were all sold out, costing 10 shillings and one guinea.

The first competitive match played at the stadium was a Western League fixture against Plymouth Argyle on September 1.

The changing rooms had not been completed in time and the players were forced to change at the public baths on Clifden Road.

The game ended 1-1, with around 5,000 fans in attendance.

The first competitive fixture to be played at the ground was a Southern League First Division match against West Ham United two days later, on September 3, which ended 0-0.

The Bees secured their first win at Griffin Park on October 22, with a 2-0 win over Milwall.

The first Football League match to be played at the ground was against Milwall on August 30 1920, with the Bees winning 1-0.

Prior to Brentford's first season in the First Division in 1935/36, the New Road terrace was extended and a roof was added, bringing the stand's capacity to 20,000.

Little development occurred at Griffin Park during the five decades from the 1930s to the 1980s and the ground's capacity of 38,000 was the largest in its history, whereas as of 2016 the capacity had been reduced to 12,573.

Following the club's promotion to the Championship in 2014, lots of improvement works took place, including extra CCTV, new heated seats in the dugouts and even goal-line technology in 2017.

Damage Sustained:

Griffin Park lived through two World Wars, surviving the bombing raids of the First World War unscathed, while being hit twice by high-explosive bombs during the Second World War, with six matches having to be abandoned.

On February 1 1983, a fire broke out in the Braemar Road Stand, which quickly spread through the timber used in the construction of the stand.

The groundsman who lived under the stand was rescued by a then-player, Stan Bowles and his wife Jane.

60 people were evacuated from nearby homes and an estimated £150,000 worth of damage was caused, including 800 seats, the away dressing room, the gymnasium, the kit store and the laundry.

It was after the reconstruction that the players' tunnel was moved to the western corner of the Braemar Road Stand, with the players previously emerging from a tunnel at the halfway line.

Cool Facts:

• There are two different stories as to how the stadium got its name: firstly, the use of the word 'griffin' comes from the logo of Fuller's Brewery which owned the orchard the ground was built on and secondly, it is rumoured to have got its name from a nearby pub, The Griffin, which was owned by the Griffin Brewery.
• Brentford set an English football record when the club won all 21 home games during the 1929/30 Third Division South season. Despite the record (which still stands), the Bees finished runners-up and failed to win promotion to the Second Division.
• It's known as being the only English league football ground to have a pub on each corner.
• Record attendance was 38,678 fans at a sixth round FA Cup clash against Leicester City on February 24 1949.
• The Heinz baseball team played at the ground in the late 1900s, after gaining admittance to the National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland.

Griffin Park was steeped in history, hopefully the Brentford Community Stadium can replicate that, especially with the dawn of a new era in the Premier League.