 The area around the stadium was formerly a spoil tip for the Hem Heath Colliery, which closed in the mid-1990s; the stadium itself opened in 1997.The surrounding area has also been redeveloped and is home to a hotel, restaurant, health club and a number of car dealerships.Sideway is also home to a Michelin factory, a medium wave transmitter for Absolute Radio, Signal 2 and BBC Radio Stoke, and the base of Marcroft Engineering, a railway wagon repair company.