The club had negotiated to buy farmland that belonged to a Mr. Tennant and part of the agreement was that Sunderland would have to build a house on the site as well as their new stadium.

Within a year of the land being bought, Roker Park had been built, with the wooden stands only taking three months to build.

When England hosted the 1966 World Cup, improvements were made to the Clock Stand, involving the addition of seats, and a roof over the Fulwell End.

In 1955, Roker Park hosted an FA Cup Semi-Final replay, between (eventual winners) Newcastle United and York City, who were then in the third tier of English Football.

In the 1980s, with a downturn in the club's fortunes (which included a season in the Football League Third Division), Roker Park started to decline.

In the early 1990s, new Football Association (FA) rules following the publication of the Taylor Report meant the stadium would have to have been upgraded to all-seater status, which would have consisted of a much smaller capacity than the sort of attendances that Sunderland could expect, as they had played in the penultimate First Division campaign (1990–91 season) before the creation of the Premier League and were aiming for a swift return to the top flight (although promotion was ultimately not achieved until the 1995–96 season).

In a special ceremony after the final farewell game (coincidentally, also a 1–0 win against Liverpool, in which Sunderland midfielder John Mullin scored the stadium's final goal at the Fulwell End), Charlie Hurley (voted the club's Player of the Century) dug up the centre spot of the ground for it to be planted at the new stadium.

[9][10][11][12] Actor and Sunderland supporter Peter O'Toole described Roker Park as his connection to the club, saying that as a result of the change of grounds he was less of a fan.

[15][16] Roker Park hosted the first of three full England internationals in 1899; a 13–2 victory over Ireland in the 1898–99 British Home Championship - the highest scoring game in the history of the tournament.

The biggest World Cup attendance at the ground was 27,793 for the group stage game between the Soviet Union and Italy.