Chairman John Pyke, the man behind the switch, kicked off the first game at City's new home on 1 September 1908 as City beat Fulham 2–1 in a friendly in front of a crowd of around 3,000. An FA Cup tie against Reading later in the year had to be switched to a neutral venue when City's opponents complained that the Nest pitch was not big enough – but the club soon settled into their new home and it was not long before five figure crowds were packing into the compact little ground.