<P> The Queen opened the stadium on 18 July 1997 in front of 30,000 spectators . By this time the south west corner , which stood between the main stand and the horseshoe , had been completed . The interest from potential corporate clients had been so high that Pickering pressed the board to go the full distance with the stadium , raising the final initial costs of completing the stadium to £ 22 million . Work was still in progress on the remaining corner on the opening day , leaving Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh to jokingly ask Taylor Woodrow contract manager Ross Walters , `` Have n't you been paid yet ? '' An overture to the opening ceremony came two weeks later , on 4 August 1997 , with the first ever game at Pride Park Stadium being played against Italian side Sampdoria , the match ending in a 1 -- 0 defeat with Vincenzo Montella scoring the only goal of the game . The attendance of 29,041 was the highest for a Derby County home game in 20 years . The fixture kicked off a tradition of pre-season friendlies being held against European teams at the ground , with Barcelona ( twice ) , CSKA Moscow , Athletic Bilbao , Lazio , Ajax and Mallorca all visiting the stadium over the next six years . </P>
<P> The Queen opened the stadium on 18 July 1997 in front of 30,000 spectators . By this time the south west corner , which stood between the main stand and the horseshoe , had been completed . The interest from potential corporate clients had been so high that Pickering pressed the board to go the full distance with the stadium , raising the final initial costs of completing the stadium to £ 22 million . Work was still in progress on the remaining corner on the opening day , leaving Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh to jokingly ask Taylor Woodrow contract manager Ross Walters , `` Have n't you been paid yet ? '' An overture to the opening ceremony came two weeks later , on 4 August 1997 , with the first ever game at Pride Park Stadium being played against Italian side Sampdoria , the match ending in a 1 -- 0 defeat with Vincenzo Montella scoring the only goal of the game . The attendance of 29,041 was the highest for a Derby County home game in 20 years . The fixture kicked off a tradition of pre-season friendlies being held against European teams at the ground , with Barcelona ( twice ) , CSKA Moscow , Athletic Bilbao , Lazio , Ajax and Mallorca all visiting the stadium over the next six years . </P>
who scored the first ever goal at pride park
who scored the first ever goal at pride park
Vincenzo Montella
Vincenzo Montella