St Jame’s Park – the home of Exeter City Football Club (EFC)- may be able to take some of the credit for the inspiration of Quidditch – the famous magical sport.
J.K. lived in the Pennsylvania area of Exeter, the main residential area for students in the city. As a student, she most definitely walked past the stadium, and may have even watched a game, according to the following account:
“What appears to be less well known is that JK attended a match at St James Park. This was the game against Cambridge United on 21st February 1986. Apparently, according to the local newspaper, it was quite a dour game. The manager at the time was Colin Appleton and we were not a great side that season, finishing in 21st place, in front of ever dwindling crowds.
The local newspaper reported that the evening of Friday 21st February was a cold and blustery one. Not conducive to good football. Not that this mattered too much for the Grecians, as the paper reported that the ball spent so much time in the air that they could have dispensed with the pitch! The only moment of excitement, notes the match report, came early in the first half when a passing gull got caught by a hoofed clearance from Exeter City’s Keith Viney.
Was this then the inspiration for Quidditch? The ball, up in the floodlights, suggesting the Quaffle? The hit gull the basis of the snitch? The fact that the ball spent so little time near the ground, could have led to the brainwave that it would have been better if the players had been on broomsticks? To us, having looked at the evidence, the answer is clearly yes.”
(via http://www.exeweb.com/2012/04/01/jk-rowling-harry-potter-quiditch-and-exeter-city-fc/)
Location:
The inspiration for Harry Potter in Exeter 