the club committee. Lawrence Furniss, the club secretary, ascertained that the ground was owned by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company. Following an initial letter of enquiry by Gorton player Walter Chew to railway company estate agent Edwin Barker, Furniss and Chew negotiated a seven-month lease at a cost of £10, and the club changed its name to "Ardwick A.F.C." to reflect the new location. A few weeks later, using materials provided by the nearby Galloway engineering works, a rudimentary football ground was ready for use. The ground had no changing rooms, and teams changed in a nearby public house, the Hyde Road Hotel, where the football club held business meetings. The ground's first seating area was built in 1888, with 1,000 seats, paid for by Chesters Brewery in return for the right to be the sole provider of alcohol inside the ground. Ardwick were admitted to the Football League in 1892. The first league match held at Hyde Road was a 7–0 Ardwick win against Bootle on 3 September 1892. Two years later the club reformed as "Manchester City F.C." The increasing popularity of the football club resulted in improvements being made to the ground on several occasions. Improvements costing £600 were made in 1890, and changing rooms were provided in 1896. A new stand was purchased for £1,500 in 1898, and £2,000 worth of improvements were made in 1904, resulting in a capacity of 40,000 with stands on three sides. This development resulted in Hyde Road being chosen to host two prestigious matches—an inter-league match between the English League and the Irish League, and an FA Cup semi-final between Newcastle United and The Wednesday. In 1910 multi-span roofing was built on the three previously uncovered sides of the ground, resulting in covered accommodation for 35,000 spectators. Even though improvements were made the ground suffered problems when hosting large crowds, due to narrow surrounding streets and a shortage of turnstiles. A reporter for the Manchester Football News summarised the access problems: "The croft is a nightmare in wet weather, and altogether the approach is easily the worst of any I know". On occasion, further problems occurred inside the ground as well as outside. A 1913 cup tie against Sunderland drew a crowd officially recorded as 41,709, but believed to be significantly higher. An hour before kick-off the gates were closed, with many ticket-holders unable to gain admission. The