Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gigg Lane was in continuous use by Bury until August 2019 when the club was expelled from the English Football League. The ground's last competitive match was on 4 May 2019 when Bury hosted Port Vale. In November 2020, Bury F.C. was placed in administration and the ground was later put up for sale by the administrator. In February 2022, the Est.1885 fans' group completed a deal to purchase the entire property. They also acquired the trading name and memorabilia of Bury F.C. The new owners formed the company Gigg Lane Stadium Limited and stated their intention to reopen the ground as a football venue by August 2022. Gigg Lane has four covered stands and has been an all-seater stadium since 2000. Its capacity when last used in 2019 was 11,840. The record attendance is 35,000 for an FA Cup tie in 1960 when the stands were nearly all terraced. FC United of Manchester had a ground-sharing agreement with Bury from 2005 to 2014. Besides football, the ground has been used for other sports including rugby league – it was the home of Swinton Lions for ten years from 1992. History Early history Ahead of the 1885–86 English football season, the newly formed Bury F.C. leased a plot of land on Gigg Lane from the Earl of Derby's estate. On 12 September 1885, the first match played there was a friendly against a team from Wigan and Bury won 4–3. Gigg Lane is one of the world's oldest professional football venues; the oldest in continuous use (excluding wartime) is Deepdale, home of Preston North End, which opened for football on 5 October 1878, seven years before Gigg Lane. In 1889, Bury was a founder member of the Lancashire League and the ground began to be used on a regular basis. The first FA Cup tie played at Gigg Lane was a qualifying round match between Bury and Witton Albion on 3 October 1891, the home team winning 3–1. The ground staged its first match in the competition proper on 2 February 1895 when Bury defeated Leicester Fosse 4–1 in a first round tie. In 1894, Bury joined the Football