Ipswich played their early matches at Broomhill Park,

[4] but in 1884, the club moved to Portman Road and have played there ever since.[1] The ground was also used as a cricket pitch during the summer by the East Suffolk Cricket Club who had played there since 1855.[5] The cricket club had erected a pavilion, the first fixed building at the ground. More substantial elements of ground development did not begin for a further 11 years, though Ipswich became one of the first clubs to implement the use of goal nets in 1890.[1] At this time, Ipswich were an amateur side (the team became professional in 1936) and the first visit of a professional club came in 1892, when Preston North End played a Suffolk County Football Association team.

This was followed six years later by a visit from Aston Villa, a game which was so popular that a temporary stand was erected in order to accommodate a crowd of around 5,000.[6] In 1901, a tobacco processing plant was built along the south edge of the ground by the Churchman brothers,[1] a name which would later become synonymous with the south stand located there.[7]

The first permanent stand, a wooden structure known affectionately as the “Chicken Run”,[8][9] was built on the Portman Road side of the ground in 1906.[6] This structure was sold in 1971 to the local speedway team, the Ipswich Witches, who installed it at Foxhall Stadium.[6] In 1914, the ground was commandeered by the British Army for use as a training camp for the duration of the First World War. Control of Portman Road was not returned to the club until two years after the end of the war and significant work was required to repair damage to the ground caused by heavy machinery.[6]

The West Stand with several turnstiles in front of it
The West Stand, formerly known variously as the East of England Co-operative Stand, the Pioneer Stand, and the Britannia Stand, with turnstiles
For a short period during the 1920s, Portman Road was host to a number of whippet races in an attempt to increase revenue,[6] and in 1928 a small stand was built on the west side of the ground. The football club turned professional in 1936 and the cricket club were forced to move out,[5] so work began on the first bank of terracing at the north end of the pitch. The following year, on the back of winning the Southern League, a similar terrace was built at the southern “Churchmans” end and 650 tip-up seats, bought from Arsenal, were installed.[6] Portman Road was home to Ipswich Town’s first Football League match on 27 August 1938, a 4–2 victory against Southend United in Division Three (South) witnessed by more than 19,000 spectators.[10]

The Supporters’ Association funded a number of improvements at Portman Road; in 1952, concrete terracing replaced the wooden terraces at the cost of £3,000 and another £3,000 was used to re-terrace the North Stand in 1954, bringing the capacity of the ground to approximately 29,000. In 1957, the association raised £30,500 towards the building of a new West Stand, increasing ground capacity to around 31,000. Floodlights were installed two years later; the result of £15,000 raised by the association.[1] The floodlights were switched on by club president Lady Blanche Cobbold for the first floodlit match at the ground, a friendly against Arsenal, in February 1960.[11][12]

Television cameras made their debut at Portman Road in 1962 as Anglia Television arrived for Match of the Week;[13] it was another six years before the BBC televised a match at the ground, Match of the Day visiting Portman Road for the first time in 1968 to witness Ipswich’s league fixture against Birmingham City.[6] Meanwhile, ground development continued with roofing enhancements to the North Stand and an increase in capacity to 31,500 by 1963. Dressing rooms were constructed in 1965 and new turnstiles were introduced two years later, including a separate entrance for juveniles at the Churchmans end. In 1968 the club agreed to a new 99-year lease on the ground with owners Ipswich Borough Council.[6]

The Sir Bobby Robson of Portman Road, including a club merchandise shop
Sir Bobby Robson Stand with club store
The two-tier propped cantilever Portman Stand was built along the east side of the ground in place of the existing terraces in 1971, providing 3,500 additional seats and increasing the capacity of the ground to approximately 37,000. Advertising appeared around the perimeter of the ground in the same year, while the following year saw the construction of the “Centre Spot” restaurant underneath the Portman Stand. Additional seating was added to the Portman Stand in 1974 and the ground saw its record attendance of 38,010 the following year in an FA Cup tie against Leeds United. Following success in the 1978 FA Cup, the club invested in 24 executive boxes in front of the Portman Stand and, as a result of the Safety of Sports Ground Act (1975), reduced the capacity in front by introducing seats, taking the overall capacity down to 34,600.[1][6]