The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace Exhibition building which had been destroyed by fire in 1936, and is on the same site as the former FA Cup Final venue which was used here between 1895 and 1914.
It was one of the five National Sports Centres, run on behalf of Sport England, but responsibility was transferred to the London Development Agency (now GLA Land and Property) and is managed by Greenwich Leisure Limited, under their Better brand logo.
The athletics stadium has a capacity of 15,500, which can be increased to 24,000 with temporary seating. It has hosted international athletics meetings in the past.
As well as sporting events, the stadium has played host to live open air concerts, by artists including Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Sex Pistols and Depeche Mode.
Architecture The stadium is open to the air, and has a larger West Stand and a smaller Jubilee Stand (from 1977).
The indoor sports building was designed by the LCC Architects Department under project architect Norman Engleback, between 1953–54 and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a particularly interesting interior: there is a central concourse with a complex and delicate exposed concrete frame supporting the roof, which has a folded teak lining. The "wet" side of the central aisle houses a series of pools, including a 50m competition pool, and a diving pool with a dramatic reinforced concrete diving platform. The "dry" side has a smaller sports arena used for basketball, gymnastics and other sports.
The listing from Historic England describes the building as "exceptional in the breadth of its vision, not only in the range of facilities carefully planned within it, but also in being intended to serve serious performers from all nations (there is separate residential accommodation in the park) as well as local enthusiasts."
A hexagonal tower and low-rise communal area next to the main building provided accommodation for 130 athletes.
Since 2020 the 50m pool and diving pool have been closed for repairs, which will be funded by the Greater London Authority.
In March 2026, contractor Morgan Sindall submitted plans for refurbishment of the sports centre building (including improved access to its aquatics facilities), improvement of indoor sports zones, addition of new outdoor sports courts and pitches, and renovation of existing stadium stands plus addition of a new north Stand. The proposed redevelopment, designed by architect FaulknerBrowns and WOO Architects, was approved by Bromley Council in July 2026.
Sports
Cricket
The Crystal Palace Cricket Club was established here in 1857 and played at the cricket ground built in the Crystal Palace Park. Later on, the London County Cricket Club, a short-lived cricket club, was founded by the Crystal Palace Company to play at the cricket ground. In 1898, they invited W. G. Grace to help them form it as a first-class cricket club. Grace accepted the offer and became the club's secretary, manager and captain. As a result, he severed his connection with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club during the 1899 season. The club played first-class matches from 1900 to 1904.Alan Gibson: The Cricket Captains of England (1989), p57.Christopher Martin-Jenkins: The Wisden Book of County Cricket (1981), p441. Some of the best players of the time played some matches for the club while continuing to play for their usual teams, among them CB Fry, Johnny Douglas and K S Ranjitsinhji. However, the games were little more than exhibition games – and money-making exercises for Dr Grace – and so it quickly lost its first-class status, and with that the ability to attract the top players. The club folded in 1908.
Football
An amateur Crystal Palace football team founded in 1861, played at the Crystal Palace cricket ground. It had been formed out of the Crystal Palace Cricket Club to enable its players to continue sporting activities during the winter months. The current athletics stadium is on the same land as a previous football ground,Postcard image of the stadium which hosted the FA Cup final from 1895 to 1914 as well as other sports. In 1905, the owners wanted their own football club to play at the venue, so they formed the professional Crystal Palace F.C.. The club were forced to leave by the military in 1915, and now play at nearby Selhurst Park.
The largest 'domestic' attendance ever at the stadium was in the 1913 Cup final between Aston Villa and Sunderland, when 121,919 spectators squeezed into the stands. The previous world record had been the 1901 Cup final, when 114,815 amassed to watch Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United draw 2–2, (Spurs won the replay at Burnden Park).
The 1970–71 WFA Cup (Women's FA Cup) third-place match and final were held at the new stadium in 1971, the first final of the modern competition; it was won by Southampton Women.
In January 2011, the owners of Crystal Palace F.C. announced plans to relocate the club back to their original home at the site of the National Sports Centre, redeveloping it into a 40,000-seater, purpose-built football stadium. However, the club have since shelved these plans to opt for a redevelopment of Selhurst Park. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. also released plans to redevelop the NSC into a 25,000-seater stadium, maintaining it as an athletics stadium, as part of their plans to redevelop the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. However, their plans were cancelled due to their failure to obtain the Olympic Stadium.
The now defunct football team AC London used the stadium for their home games in the club's 2015–16 season. Croydon F.C. announced a temporary switch of home ground to Crystal Palace in 2020, but only played one match there.
International football matches 3 April 1897 – England 1–2 Scotland 30 March 1901 – England 2–2 Scotland 1 April 1905 – England 1–0 Scotland 3 April 1909 – England 2–0 Scotland 4 March 1911 – England Amateurs 4–0 Belgium
FA Cup Finals (1895–1914) 21 teams competed in the twenty FA Cup Finals staged at Crystal Palace, with ten different winners. Four more teams won the FA Cup during this time, after replays at other grounds. Newcastle United appeared in the most finals at the ground, five, but never lifted the cup there, whilst Aston Villa won all four of their finals.
Results of FA Cup Finals at Crystal Palace Year Attendance Winner Runner-up Notes 1895 42,560 Aston Villa 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 1896 48,036 Sheffield Wednesday 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 1897 65,891 Aston Villa 3 Everton 2 1898 62,017 Nottingham Forest 3 Derby County 1 1899 73,833 Sheffield United 4 Derby County 1 1900 68,945 Bury 4 Southampton 0 1901 110,802 Tottenham Hotspur 2 Sheffield United 2 3–1 in replay at Burnden Park, Bolton 1902 76,914 Sheffield United 1 Southampton 1 Replay 33,050 Sheffield United 2 Southampton 0 1903 64,000 Bury 6 Derby County 0 Joint-largest ever cup final victory 1904 61,734 Manchester City 1 Bolton Wanderers 0 1905 101,117 Aston Villa 2 Newcastle United 0 1906 75,609 Everton 1 Newcastle United 0 1907 84,584 Sheffield Wednesday 2 Everton 1 1908 74,967 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Newcastle United 1 1909 67,651 Manchester United 1 Bristol City 0 1910 76,980 Newcastle United 1 Barnsley 1 2–0 in replay at Goodison Park, Liverpool 1911 69,098 Bradford City 0 Newcastle United 0 1–0 in replay at Old Trafford, Manchester 1912 54,434 Barnsley 0 West Bromwich Albion 0 1–0 in replay at Bramall Lane, Sheffield 1913 120,028 Aston Villa 1 Sunderland 0 1914 72,778 Burnley 1 Liverpool 0
FA Cup Final wins at Crystal Palace 4 Aston Villa 2 Bury, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday 1 Burnley, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers
FA Cup Final appearances at Crystal Palace 5 Newcastle United 4 Aston Villa 3 Derby County, Everton, Sheffield United 2 Barnsley, Bury, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City, Bristol City, Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur
Goals scored in FA Cup Finals at Crystal Palace 10 Bury 9 Sheffield United 7 Aston Villa 4 Everton, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Nottingham Forest; 2 Derby County, Newcastle United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur 1 Barnsley, Burnley, Manchester City, Manchester United 0 Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City, Bristol City, Liverpool, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion
Goals conceded in FA Cup Finals at Crystal Palace 13 Derby County 7 Newcastle United, Southampton 5 Everton, Sheffield United 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur 1 Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion 0 Bradford City, Burnley, Bury, Manchester City, Manchester United
Athletics The current 15,500 seater athletics stadium was built on the site of the football ground by M J Gleeson and opened in 1964. It became a major national venue for athletics meetings such as the AAA's & WAAA's, during the 1970s and 1980s. From 1999 to 2012 it hosted the London Grand Prix. However, the stadium has not been used regularly in recent years and subsequently fell into a state of disrepair. In May 2025, the Mayor of London announced that a major redevelopment was to be carried out on the National Sports Centre, including the athletics stadium, and would be completed by 2028.
Rugby
On 2 December 1905, the ground also held the first England rugby union international match against New Zealand in England, New Zealand winning 15–0.
On Wednesday 18 August 1965, the ground was the venue of the rugby league match in which the Commonwealth XIII rugby league team were defeated 7–15 by New Zealand.
It also played host to Fulham Rugby League in the mid-1980s for a couple of seasons, after they were forced to leave their previous ground of Craven Cottage. Timeline at Crystal Palace1990: Returned to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (having previously played there in the mid-1980s as Fulham RLFC).1991–1992 & 1992–1993: Used the venue as their regular home ground under the newly rebranded London Crusaders name.1993: Played their final games there early in the year before relocating to Barnet Copthall in June 1993.
Beach Volleyball Sand from the Beach Volleyball Courts at Horse Guards Parade during London 2012 was donated to Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in 2012. There are three courts outside the indoor building.
Basketball
The 2,000 capacity indoor Arena at the National Sports Centre was also home to former British Basketball League teams Crystal Palace and London Towers. Crystal Palace eventually merged into the London Towers organisation in 1998, whilst after great success domestically and in European competition the Towers ran into severe financial difficulties and folded its professional team in 2006. During its most successful period, Towers alternated between Crystal Palace and Wembley Arena as its home venues.
For the 2012–2013 season, the London Lions played the home games at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre until they moved to the brand new Copper Box in 2013.
From 2018, the Arena once more became a BBL venue when it was announced as the home of the new London City Royals franchise, the second London based franchise in the league.
Motor racing
Crystal Palace race circuit was located in Crystal Palace Park, the outline of the track can still be seen on maps providing access to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre that is also located in the park.