It was the first English football stadium to fulfil the safety recommendations from the Taylor Report, which was commissioned after the Bradford Fire of 1985 and after the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.

Walsall's Bescot Stadium had opened in August 1990, seven months after the report was published, but construction had started before the end of 1989.

[2] The stadium was officially opened on 24 August 1992 by Conservative Party peer Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare.

[3] The stadium hosted its first game the next day, when Chester lost 2–1 in the League Cup to Stockport County.

Its tenth anniversary in August 2002 was celebrated with a special friendly against a Liverpool XI, with Chester winning 1–0.

Chester City were dissolved with huge debts on 10 March 2010, two days after being expelled from the Conference Premier (to which they had been relegated from The Football League the previous season), and as a result the stadium was left without a tenant.