The ground was officially opened on 31 August 1932, when York played Stockport County in a Third Division North match. The club president, Sir John Hunt, marked the occasion by cutting a ribbon of the club's colours of chocolate and cream. In attendance were the Lord Mayor of York, the Sheriff of York, the vice-president of the Football League, the treasurer of the Football Association (FA) and the local Member of Parliament. York player Tom Mitchell scored the first goal at the ground in a 2–2 draw, played before 8,106 supporters. In the first four seasons at Bootham Crescent, attendances were not higher, and were sometimes lower than at Fulfordgate. There were problems with the ground in its early years; the quality of the pitch was questioned, and the "Lincolnshire Echo" remarked in April 1937 that the pitch was "almost a morass, with extensive pools of water in front of the goals". There was an incident in March 1934 where the referee and linesmen were found unconscious in their dressing room, due to fumes from a faulty heater.