Scunthorpe United, previously known as Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, among other headings, was created in the year 1899, but did not join the football league until 1950. Their debut game was against Shrewsbury Town. At this time, their stadium was the Old Showground.

Scunthorpe were the first club in the country to build a cantilever stand, 4 years prior Sheffield Wednesday's at Hillsborough.

In 1988 Scunthorpe United became the first football club in new times to move to a new, purpose built stadium: Glanford Park.

When it looked obvious that the Old Showground needed investment to maintain its' fabric and to make it comply with new rules introduced in the wake of the Bradford Fire Disaster the club chose to relocate. The ground was sold to the supermarket chain Safeway and the search was started for a new location.

Land was secured close to the village of Guinness in what was then the administrative part of Glanford meaning that the new stadium was (just) outside the boundaries of Scunthorpe (although this changed with the re-organisation of local government in 1994 as both Scunthorpe Borough Council and Glanford Borough Council became North Lincolnshire Council).