Although at its peak the ground had held over 40,000 (the record attendance being 41,826 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur in 1969)[2] the Taylor Report, actioned after the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster had seen the legal requirement for English football stadia to become all-seater by the 1994–95 season[3] resulting in its capacity dwindling to just 17,500 by the mid-1990s, not enough for the then-ambitious second-tier club.

[3] Peter Gadsby, however, the club's associate director at the time and head of the Miller Birch construction company, felt the project was both too ambitious and expensive and instead plans were drawn up by new chairman Lionel Pickering to modernise and extend the Baseball Ground to hold 26,000,[4] at a cost of £10 million.

[3] On 21 February 1996, prior to a match against Luton Town at The Baseball Ground, the club announced to supporters the decision to move to a £16 million state-of-the-art stadium for the start of the 1997–98 season.

[6]"From my youth I only remember this area as railway sidings and a municipal tip and what has happened to Pride Park is wonderful for Derby.

[3] Tapping into the excitement amongst supporters, the club set up a visitors centre which included a computer-generated tour of the stadium taking shape[5] and attracted more than 75,000 fans.

Work was still in progress on the remaining corner on the opening day, leaving Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to jokingly ask Taylor Woodrow contract manager Ross Walters, "Haven't you been paid yet?

[8][9] The fixture kicked off a tradition of pre-season friendlies being held against European teams at the ground, with Barcelona (twice), CSKA Moscow, Athletic Bilbao, Lazio, Ajax and Mallorca all visiting the stadium over the next six years.

[9] The first competitive fixture to be completed at the new stadium came on 30 August 1997 and ended in a 1–0 win against Barnsley in front of 27,232, with Stefano Eranio scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.

Although the financing of the stadium's construction was carefully structured so that the club paid and owned the ground without encroaching on funds reserved for the development of the team, the club's eventual relegation from the top flight in 2002 saw it enter financial crisis[11] and eventually it was temporarily entered into receivership by The Co-operative Bank, who instantly installed a new board composed of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, for the cost of £1 each.

Financial circumstances worsened as the debt spiralled to £30 million plus and an unpopular[12] refinancing scheme was put in place which saw the stadium sold to the "mysterious"[13] Panama-based ABC Corporation and the club paying rent of £1 million a year to play there, which local journalist Gerald Mortimer described as "an affront ... to those who put everything into building [the ground]".

"When we first built Pride Park we were always aware of further development potential and when I came back to the club almost 12 months ago with the current Board of Directors we indicated we would look to maximise that potential for the benefit of the club.." During the 2006–07 season, in which Derby earned promotion back to the Premier League after five years, the club released details of a proposed £20 million development of the area surrounding the stadium, to include the building of a 165-bed hotel, bars, restaurants and office space, to create a local service centre for employers located on the Pride Park business park.

[19] The club, however, failed to maintain its top-flight status and when, in January 2008, it was sold into new American ownership, in the form of General Sports and Entertainment[20] both the plaza plan and the ground expansion initiatives were scrapped.

In 2008, a nine-foot-high bronze statue of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor – who had managed the club between 1967 and 1973 – was commissioned to adorn the north west portion of the ground to be called Unity Plaza.

The statue was designed by Andrew Edwards and features both Clough and Taylor holding the League Championship trophy which they won with the club in 1972.

Located in the north east corner of the stadium and close to the DCFC megastore, the initial phase would provide a mixture of retail and restaurant units totalling 7,000sq.ft.

The development was being undertaken jointly by the club and Cedar House Investments, part of former chairman Peter Gadsby's Ark Capital group of companies.

John Vicars, chief operating officer at Derby County, welcomed the launch by saying, "We see this development attracting perhaps a convenience retailer, and a restaurant to complement the facilities already available on Pride Park and to provide a greater choice.

Peter Gadsby said: "The area is already a proven destination for leading occupiers including Greggs, Frankie & Benny's, Subway and Starbucks.

[32] The highest attendance at Pride Park for a competitive Derby County match is 33,378 in the Premier League against Liverpool on 18 March 2000.

Notes As one of the largest football grounds in the Midlands, Pride Park has also hosted some notable matches not connected to Derby County.

Pride Park has hosted one full England international: a 4–0 friendly victory over Mexico on 25 May 2001, when the national side toured the country during the building of the new Wembley Stadium.

[38] The match ended in a 2–0 victory for Brazil, with Dani Alves and Alexandre Pato scoring the goals,[39] in front of a crowd of 13,088 live spectators and TV viewers in over 100 countries.

It first hosted singer Rod Stewart on 26 June 2005 while touring his Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III album.