In the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May 1985 which left 56 people dead , owing to the stadium 's antiquated wooden structure , it became of utmost importance to accelerate Colchester United 's move from the timber-constructed Layer Road stands to a new stadium . Just 18 days later , the Heysel Stadium disaster occurred , leading to 39 deaths and hundreds of injuries . Layer Road faced £ 500,000 of safety improvements , but with no money , the club closed sections of the ground which reduced capacity to 4,900 . A new location for a replacement stadium was mooted at Turner Rise , Colchester , as new owner and chairman Jonathan Crisp introduced developers Norcross Estates as shirt sponsors for the 1987 – 88 season . Crisp considered selling Layer Road and ground-sharing Portman Road with neighbours and rivals Ipswich Town whilst the Turner Rise stadium was constructed . However , the plans were delayed and eventually scrapped , with Crisp 's plan to ground-share swayed by a group of Colchester United 's former directors . A later plan to build a stadium at Wick Lane , Ardleigh saw plans thrown out as Colchester were relegated from the Football League for the first time in 40 years
Bradford City stadium fire
Bradford City stadium fire
Colchester Community Stadium