were formed in 1884;[1][2] they played their first matches at Steeles Field in Birkenhead but, in 1887, they bought a new site from Tranmere Rugby Club.

The present Prenton Park was opened by the Mayor of Birkenhead, Councillor George Proudman, on 9 March 1912.

[4] There were stands (also known as bleachers) on both sides of the pitch, a paddock and three open terraces, the general format which remained until 1994.

[5] When manager Dave Russell joined the club in 1961, one of his many influential changes was to take advantage of the lights, playing regular home games on Friday nights rather than the usual Saturday afternoon.

This allowed supporters to watch Tranmere on Fridays and First Division sides Everton or Liverpool on Saturdays.

[4] At a cost of £80,000, today's Main Stand was erected and opened by Minister for Sport and former referee Denis Howell.

[5][8] The Kop End was closed, and the Main Stand capacity was reduced by 3,000, because there were insufficient access points.

The Taylor Report suggested that all stadia in the top two divisions of English football should no longer permit standing.

[4] Completed in 1995, it replaced the earlier open terrace (also called the Kop) which had stood behind the goal at the Bebington End.

[13] Built in 1995 and formerly known as the Borough Road Stand,[13] it was renamed in 2002 to recognise former Rovers manager John King.

With a 3 peak roof of corrugated iron, walls of wooden plank and a cinder bank floor it visually resembled an agricultural building.

[16] Attendances began to fall towards the end of the 1960s; this trend continued through the 1970s, though the decade did give Tranmere its largest-ever crowd: 24,424 on 5 February 1972, for a fourth-round FA Cup match against Stoke City.

[16] By 2010, this had fallen to around 5,000 per game; however, 12,249 supporters took advantage of an offer of free admission to watch a replayed match against Notts County F.C.,[18] on 19 April 2011.

In the season 2011–2012, there were two £5 administration offers available; one of them was on a Bank Holiday and the other was for a celebration of 100 years of Prenton Park 1912–2012 with an attendance of 6,824, with many events on before and after the game and at half time.

On Boxing Day 1935, Tranmere faced Oldham Athletic at Prenton Park in the Third Division North.

[19] At the time Bell's feat was an individual record, but it stood for only four months before Joe Payne netted ten for Luton Town, on his debut against Bristol Rovers.

[23] Due to fears of sectarian violence, and after discussions between the two clubs and UEFA, Prenton Park was chosen as the venue for the first leg, with Shelbourne as the home team.

[23] The match finished 3–5 in favour of Rangers after Shelbourne (at the time a semi-professional side) had earlier taken a 3–0 lead.