Extreme Football Tourism: ENGLAND: Milton Keynes Dons FC

Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (Milton Keynes Dons FC a.k.a. MK Dons FC)

England, county: Buckinghamshire

17 II 2026 / Milton Keynes Dons FC - Crawley Town FC 0-0 / EFL League 2 (= ENG level 4)

Timeline

1967 / Foundation of the new town of Milton Keynes. At designation, its area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Wolverton and Stony Stratford, along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between. From the first days of Milton Keynes as a new town, the Milton Keynes Development Corporation envisaged a stadium capable of accommodating a top-flight football team.
1977 / Wimbledon FC, a club from South London founded in 1909, is elected to the Football League, replacing the bottom team in Football League Division 4, Workington AFC, following a successful application. Wimbledon FC would go on to be hugely successful in the following decades, winning promotion to the top flight of English Football (Division 1, later renamed FA Premiership / Premier League) in 1985 – due to hold out at that level for fifteen years – and winning the FA Cup in 1988.
1995 / In Milton Keynes, the newly built National Hockey Stadium is inaugurated. It has a covered stand running the full length of one side of the pitch, opposite of which is an unroofed stand running about one third of the length of the pitch, straddling the halfway line. This field hockey stadium with a synthetic pitch and a capacity of 4,000 became the venue for national and international hockey events.
2000 / What would become Stadium MK is proposed for the first time by the Milton Keynes Stadium Consortium or Stadium MK, led by Pete Winkelman and his company Inter MK Group. This consortium proposes a large development in the southern Milton Keynes district of Denbigh North, including a 30,000 capacity football stadium and a retail park. However, given that there was still no football club in Milton Keynes even near the higher echelons of non-league football, the development of such a stadium could not be justified. Therefore, the consortium started talks with various Football League clubs about moving to the projected stadium, including Luton Town FC, Crystal Palace FC, Barnet FC, Queens Park Rangers FC, and Wimbledon FC.
2001 / Wimbledon FC, groundsharers at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park since 1991, adopt the Milton Keynes plan following the appointment of a new chairman, Charles Koppel, who claimed that a move away from London was necessary to prevent Wimbledon’s going out of business altogether. He announced Wimbledon’s intent to move in August 2001 with a letter to the Football League requesting approval, stating that Wimbledon had already signed an agreement to relocate and, “subject to the necessary planning and regulatory consents being obtained”, intended to be playing home games at a newly built stadium in Milton Keynes by the start of the 2003-04 season. With the proposed move being broadly opposed, the League Board unanimously rejected Wimbledon’s plans in the summer of 2001.
2002 / With Wimbledon FC chairman Charles Koppel appealing against the decision of the League Board, a three-man independent commission is appointed by the FA. In spite of opposition from the League Board as well as the FA itself, the commissioners would go on to rule in favour of Koppel’s plan, two to one. Wimbledon hoped to move to Milton Keynes immediately, but as the new ground was yet to be built, an interim home in the town would have to be found first. The first proposal, to start the 2002-03 season at the National Hockey Stadium, was abandoned, because the field hockey ground did not meet the Football League’s criteria. While alternative temporary options were examined, Wimbledon started the season at Selhurst Park and set a target of playing in Milton Keynes by Christmas 2002. A temporary stadium in Milton Keynes proved difficult to arrange and Wimbledon F.C. remained at Selhurst Park for the duration of the 2002-03 season. Meanwhile, a group of Wimbledon FC fans protested by setting up AFC Wimbledon, to which the vast majority of fans switched allegiance, in the summer of 2002, with this phoenix club starting its existence in the Combined Counties League Premier Division, playing their home games at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames as groundsharers of Kingstonian FC.
2003 / With Charles Koppel announcing a plan to convert the National Hockey Stadium for league football in time for the start of the 2003-04 season, Wimbledon FC enters administration in June 2003. After the club missed a deadline to invest in renovations to the stadium, the administrators arranged a return to Selhurst Park. With the move to Milton Keynes threatened and the club facing liquidation, investor Pete Winkelman made “the life-defining decision of taking it on himself,” securing funds to pay the players’ wages, keep the club operating, and pay for the necessary amendments to the hockey stadium. A grass pitch was laid and temporary stands were added at either end of the pitch, raising total capacity to 9,000. Hockey matches were reallocated to various leading club grounds across the country. After hosting the first few home matches of the 2003-04 campaign at Selhurst Park, Wimbledon FC played their first match in Milton Keynes in September 2003.
2004 / A company voluntary arrangement is put together in early 2004, under which Winkelman’s consortium would take Wimbledon FC out of administration, reportedly using a holding company called MK Dons. The Football League threatened to expel the club, if the takeover were not completed by the end of July. Eventually, Winkelman’s Inter MK Group brought Wimbledon FC out of administration in late June 2004 and concurrently announced changes to its name to Milton Keynes Dons FC (commonly shortened to MK Dons). Following the relegation of Wimbledon FC from Football League 1, having finished bottom of the table in the second level of English football, Milton Keynes Dons FC starts its life in Football League 2 – confusingly renamed Football League 1, as the second tier of the football pyramid is renamed Football Championship. In its first league match, MK Dons FC manages a 1-1 draw against Barnsley FC at the National Hockey Stadium, with Izale McLeod scoring the club’s first-ever professional league goal. McLeod would go on to complete two spells with MK Dons (2004-07 & 2013-14), in the course of which he scored 71 goals – making him the club’s all-time top scorer. In the course of the 2004-05 season, in which the club struggles in Football League 1, a new manager is brought in, the experienced former Northern Ireland international Danny Wilson, who had enjoyed a long professional league career at Wigan Athletic FC, Bury FC, Chesterfield FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Scunthorpe United FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Sheffield Wednesday FC, and Barnsley FC.
2005 / Construction of the new-to-be built football stadium in the Denbigh area of Milton Keynes gets underway in February 2005.
2006 / Finishing in third-last place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC descends into Football League 2, the fourth and lowest tier of the English football pyramid, along with Hartlepool United FC, Swindon Town FC, and bottom club Walsall FC. Manager Danny Wilson leaves the club after one-and-a-half years in charge.
2007 / Finishing in fourth place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in the semis against Shrewsbury Town FC (2-1 aggr.). For the new season, the club signs former England international midfielder Paul Ince as its new manager. Ince had just finished his playing career with spells at West Ham United FC, Manchester United FC, FC Internazionale, Liverpool FC, Middlesbrough FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Swindon Town FC, and Macclesfield Town FC. Meanwhile, in July 2007, the new Stadium MK, an all-seater venue (capacity: 22,000), sees its first action, a restricted-entrance event against a young Chelsea FC XI, with the construction being officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on November 29th, 2007. Two weeks previously, Stadium MK had already hosted an England U21 international against Bulgaria (2-0). Meanwhile, at the National Hockey Stadium, the temporary stands at both ends are removed, reducing total capacity to the original 4,000. By this time, the stadium was no longer regarded as a viable venue for field hockey, especially as plans were in place to build the Olympic Hockey Centre in Stratford, London, as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics facilities. The venue was not used notably in the years following the departure of MK Dons FC.
2008 / Champions in Football League 2, 5 points ahead of closest rivals Peterborough United FC, MK Dons FC wins promotion to Football League 1 alongside the aforementioned club as well as Hereford United FC and play-off winners Stockport County FC. Furthermore, MK Dons goes on to win the FA Trophy, defeating Grimsby Town FC in the final at Wembley Stadium (2-0, goals by Keith Andrews & Sean O’Hanlon). Following the 2007-08 season, the successful manager Paul Ince leaves the club to join Blackburn Rovers FC, being succeeded at Stadium MK by former Italian international midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, who had enjoyed a colourful professional league career with spells at FC Schaffhausen, FC Zürich, FC Aarau, SS Lazio, and Chelsea FC. One of Di Matteo’s signings is 35-year-old former Norwegian international striker Tore André Flo, who joins MK Dons from Leeds United FC. Flo had previously had spells at, among other clubs, Chelsea FC, Rangers FC, Sunderland AFC, and AC Siena. Meanwhile, in the fall of 2008, the owners of the National Hockey Stadium site, English Partnerships, announced agreement with Network Rail to make the site of the ground available for a new headquarters building, which meant that the stadium faced demolition.
2009 / Finishing in third place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in the semis against Scunthorpe United FC (0-0 aggr. & penalty shoot-out). Following the 2008-09 season, manager Roberto Di Matteo leaves the club, signing a deal with West Bromwich Albion FC. Veteran striker Tore André Flo follows his example, as he returns to his childhood club in Norway, Sogndall Fotball. With another England U21 match being hosted at Stadium MK, a 7-0 rout of Azerbaijan, the FA awards Candidate Host City status to Milton Keynes in England’s unsuccessful 2018 World Cup bid. Had England won the bid, Stadium MK would have had to be increased to 44,000. Meanwhile, in December 2009, the demolition of the National Hockey Stadium got underway.
2010 / With demolition works being completed, the site of the National Hockey Stadium is cleared by March 2010, with the Network Rail’s national operations centre in Milton Keynes being opened on the location of the former sports venue in June 2012. Meanwhile, in June 2010, Stadium Mk hosted its first-ever full international friendly, with Ghana beating Latvia (1-0) in a warm-up before the World Cup in South Africa. For the 2010-11 season, MK Dons FC signs 37-year-old former German international Dietmar Hamann of Manchester City FC as their player-manager. Hamann had previously had spells as a player at FC Bayern München, Newcastle United FC, and Liverpool FC.
2011 / Finishing in fifth place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Peterborough united FC (4-3 aggr.). Manager Dietmar Hamann leaves the club after just one season.
2012 / Finishing in fifth place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC bows out in the semifinals of the promotion play-offs yet again, this time suffering a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Huddersfield Town AFC. In December 2012, the club faces AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club from Kingston upon Thames which had won promotion to League 2 in 2011, for the first time, managing a narrow 2-1 FA Cup R2 win thanks to a Jon Otsemobor goal in injury time.
2013 / In their best FA Cup run so far, MK Dons FC reaches R5, in which the club is eliminated by Barnsley FC (1-3). Meanwhile, Stadium MK is chosen as one of the venues for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the stadium due to be expanded with a second tier to allow 30,500 spectators to attend matches.
2014 / In March 2014, Stadium MK sees Wolverhampton Wanderers FC take a record away attendance of 8,943 supporters in a League 1 fixture; total attendance for the match was 20,516. Later that year, as the unfinished second tier of the stadium was first used, a record 26,969 crowd witnessed a shock historic 4-0 win over Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United FC in R2 of the League Cup in August of the same year.
2015 / Runners-up in Football League 1, 8 points behind champions Bristol City FC, MK Dons FC wins promotion to the Football Championship along with the aforementioned club and play-off winners Preston North End FC. The successful manager is Karl Robins. The hugely talented 19-year-old midfielder Dele Alli, who had made his league debut three years previously after working his way through the MK Dons’ youth academy, leaves the club to sign a contract with Tottenham Hotspur FC. Alli, who won his first cap for England that same year, went on to have spells at Everton FC, Beşiktaş JK, and Como 1907. In the meantime, with the second tier of the stadium being finished in May 2015, Stadium MK hosted three matches in the Rugby World Cup in October of the same year; France-Canada, Samoa-Japan, and Fiji-Uruguay – with the last-mentioned match drawing a new record attendance of 30,048 to the ground.
2016 / Finishing in second-last place in the Football Championship, MK Dons FC drops back into Football League 1 after just one year, along with Charlton Athletic FC, and bottom club Bolton Wanderers FC. Manager Karl Robins leaves the club after six seasons.
2017 / In February 2017, a record league attendance of 21,545 is set at Stadium MK for the MK Dons FC fixture against Bolton Wanderers FC.
2018 / Under the aegis of caretaker manager, who had taken over following previous spells under Robbie Neilson and Dan Micciche, MK Dons FC finishes in second-last place in Football League 1, thus descending into Football League 2 along with Oldham Athletic FC, Northampton Town FC, and bottom club Bury FC. In September 2018, while White Hart Lane, the stadium of Tottenham Hotspur FC, was completely reconstructed, Spurs played one league game at Stadium MK, the fixture against Watford FC, with the remainder of the club’s exile being spent at Wembley Stadium.
2019 / Finishing in third place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC wins promotion to Football League 1 along with champions Lincoln City FC, Bury FC, and play-off winners Tranmere Rovers FC. The successful manager is Paul Tisdale. In September 2019, a crowd of 28,521 attended to see MK Dons lose 2-0 to Liverpool FC in a League Cup R3 fixture – a record attendance for a football match at the stadium.
2022 / Finishing in third place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Wycombe Wanderers FC (2-1 aggr.).
2023 / Finishing in fourth-last place in Football League 1 with manager Mark Jackson, MK Dons FC drops back into Football League 2 after four years, along with Morecambe FC, Accrington Stanley FC, and bottom club Forest Green Rovers FC.
2024 / Finishing in fourth place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Crawley Town FC (8-1 aggr.).
2025 / Defender Dean Lewington, who had spent 21 consecutive seasons at MK Dons FC after joining from Wimbledon FC in 2004, hangs up his boots after 917 official matches for the club (791 in the league), a club record.