The Stadium was officially opened on 30th Aug 1997 by Sir Stanley Matthews in front of 23,859 fans prior to the game against Swindon Town.
The first game to be played was actually 3 days before the "Official Opening" and this attracted a crowd of 12,768. The game was against 3rd Division (at the time) Rochdale in the League Cup. Stoke drew 1-1 but won the tie on aggregate 4-2.
It is said that the stadium safety certificate was only completed 5 hours before the game.
The Britannia Stadium was designed by the same architects who designed Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium. The ground was ready in time for the 1997/98 season and St Modem suggested that there would never be a football ground that was created that quickly ever again. The ground was completed in 18 months after the go-ahead.
The ground cost Stoke City Football Club £14.7M to build with the main funding coming the football club itself and with help from Stoke on Trent regeneration project and the Football League amoungst others.
The Stadium stands upon a hill top and can be seen from most directions in the city. It has also been used to stage music concerts including Bon Jovi, Blue and several "Summer In The City" concerts aswell as the Conference Playoff Final.