The ground was first used by South Derbyshire Cricket Club in 1863 and was initially located within
Derby Racecourse, although racing ceased after 1939. It also held the games of
Derby County Football Club until their move to the
Baseball Ground in 1895. The first
FA Cup Final outside
London was held at the ground in
1886 when
Blackburn Rovers beat
West Bromwich Albion 2–0 in a replay.
England played one
football international here, beating
Ireland 9–0 in the
British Home Championship on 9 March 1895. The playing area used to feature pitches laid on an east–west axis. Most first-class grounds feature pitches laid north–south to avoid problems with the light from the setting sun. Derbyshire re-laid the pitch on a north–south axis over the 2009/10 winter at a cost of £100,000, ready for the
2010 season. This involved moving some of the floodlights and the electronic scoreboard to suit the new alignment. In early 2010 a large 1800 seat stand was erected at the Racecourse End of the ground. This stand was taken down in late 2015 in order to make way for a new £2.2 million four-storey media centre, which was completed and officially opened in September 2016. Some 1100 seats were immediately reinstated at the Pavilion End of the ground, with the remaining reinstated next to the new media centre. In February 2017 Derby Civic Society awarded a commendation in the category of Best New Build of 2016 to Derbyshire County Cricket Club for the new media centre. A new marquee was also built in 2010, which is used for private functions and entertainment during match days. In February 2016, it was announced that the County Ground would be one of the host venues for the
2017 Women's Cricket World Cup in England. Along with Bristol, Derby hosted one of the semi-finals of the tournament. ==Other events==