vale park is not the oldest ground in the world, it has had several upgrades in its history. the original ground consisted of two stands (the railway side and the lorne street main stand) with banks of terracing at the bycars and hamil ends of the ground. stands were added behind each set of goals during the 1980s and 1990s as the ground began to be made more modern. the paddock at the front of the railway stand was also made into an all-seated area, with just the lorne street side now being left as a standing area. vale fans stood for the last time on lorne street at the end of the 1997-98 season, with the stand being demolished before work began on a new £3,000,000 structure. work has yet to been finished on this, due to low funds and a change in ownership of the club. however, once new owners v2001 had taken care of the financing, work was finally begun on finishing the second half of the stand. it is due to be completed sometime in 2008.