Borough crest signifying the hosiery industry in the town, and Hinckley Town's eagle plus Hinckley Athletic's robin were placed atop the crest. At the formation of the club, a competition was held for fans to come up with a nickname and The Knitters was chosen. This reflects one of the longest standing industries associated with the town, the wool and hosiery trade, having been factories in Hinckley since the 17th century. Stadium Hinckley United began playing their games in 1997 at Middlefield Lane, former home to Hinckley Athletic. Although having the required grade for Southern League and Conference North, it was old and would take a lot of work to upgrade to a better level. Hinckley United spent two years financing, securing land and building a new ground, and in 2005 phase 1 of the stadium was completed. Phase 2 was finished by 2007 adding a full size all weather floodlit pitch and junior changing facilities to the complex. Marston's Brewery signed a 10-year sponsorship of the ground and it became known as the Marston's Stadium. However, the deal ended early in December 2008 and the name reverted to the original De Montfort Park Stadium. In January 2009 the club announced a deal for the stadium to be sponsored by the Greene King Brewery and the stadium was renamed the Greene King Stadium. In total the complex covers and includes 3 full-size pitches, 2 three-quarter-size pitches, 3 half-size pitches and an all-weather floodlit pitch. The flagship of the complex is the De Montfort Park Stadium, a 4329-capacity purpose-built football ground, also comprising gymnasium, sports injury clinic and a social club too. The first match in the stadium was on 5 March 2005 when Stalybridge Celtic were the first team to play Hinckley United on the ground, and drew 1–1, in front of a crowd of over 2000. The FA gave the stadium international recognition in July 2012 when it was selected for two international under-17 matches, alongside Burton's Pirelli Stadium and Northampton's Sixfields Stadium, as part of a friendly tournament involving England, Italy, Turkey and Portugal. The stadium hosted the Portugal U17s 1–0 Italy U17s, and Italy U17s 3–1 Turkey U17s matches. After the end of the 2012–13 season, Hinckley chairman Mike Sutton confirmed that Greene King Brewery had decided not to renew their deal to sponsor De Montfort Park. Performance League position 1997–98 Southern League Division One Midlands 12th