Welford Road Stadium
Location | Aylestone Road Leicester LE2 7TR |
---|---|
Coordinates | 52°37′27″N 1°07′59″W / 52.62417°N 1.13306°W |
Public transit | Leicester |
Owner | Leicester Tigers |
Operator | Leicester Tigers |
Capacity | 25,849 |
Surface | Eclipse Turf System Grass[1] |
Scoreboard | 2 |
Construction | |
Opened | 10 September 1892 |
Expanded | 1920, 1995, 2009, 2015 |
Tenants | |
Leicester Tigers |
Welford Road (currently known as Mattioli Woods Welford Road for sponsorship reasons)
History
In 1891 Leicester rented a ground in the north of the city, named the
The ground was opened on 10 September 1892 when Leicester played the first game at the ground against a Leicestershire XV. The first stands accommodated 3,000 spectators[4] and that season saw derby matches produce attendances up to 7,000 whilst 10,000 saw Leicester lose 12-0 to Coventry in the second round of the Midlands Counties Cup.[5] The original clubhouse built in 1909 was located on Aylestone Road; the ground was known as Welford Road rather than Aylestone Road, for at this time the cricket club played on another sports ground on the Aylestone Road. The Members' Stand and the Crumbie Stand were built just before and just after the First World War respectively.
The east side of the ground was developed in 1995; originally terracing on an ash bank, it became an all-seater modern stand. Initially named the
The newly opened West Stand (Robin Hood Stand) is a new all-seating stand replacing the original 1909 clubhouse and a 1980s extension at the Aylestone Road end. Costing £6.7m, the new stand has 2,917 spaces for general admittance & 190 executive seats.[7] Replacing a temporary stand housing 992 places, it has brought the capacity of the stadium to 25,849. The stand is currently known as the Robin Hood Stand due to a sponsorship agreement with Nottingham Building Society.[8]
Before redevelopment of Welford Road began in 2008,
Leicester Tigers purchased the freehold to the ground and adjacent land in 2006;[11] prior to this, the club operated on a long-term 99-year rolling lease from the city council.
On 11 June 2007, the club announced plans that it was working with AFL, a company then involved in redeveloping
On 20 February 2008, Leicester Tigers received planning consent for the £60 million redevelopment of its Welford Road home. The first phase of the development would include space for 10,000 supporters in a new North Stand (Granby Halls side), raising capacity from 17,498 to 24,000. After full renovation it would have a capacity of above 30,000.[13]
In the summer of 2008 work began on the construction of the new North Stand – then called the "Caterpillar Stand" after the club's main sponsor,
An official opening ceremony took place on 6 November 2009, when Tigers beat world champions South Africa.[18]
In October 2020 it was confirmed that Leicester Tigers had extended its long-term partnership with Mattioli Woods. The new five-year deal is to run until the end of the 2024–25 season, and includes naming rights to the stadium (which became Mattioli Woods Welford Road).[2]
Stadium
North Stand
Officially opened on 19 September 2009 against
The first development on the northern side of the ground was a 3,000 seat pavilion moved from the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground in 1892, expanded by a further 500 people a year later. This stand was moved to the south side of the ground in 1899 and replaced with a new stand seating 2,020 people.[4]
In 1913, work began to replace this stand with the New Members' Stand seating 4,000. With the
South Stand (Breedon stand)
The first development of the south side of the ground was in 1893 when a 600-seat stand was erected; in 1895 a press box was added.[4] In 1899, the Old Members' Stand was moved from the north side of the ground and enlarged to 3,120 seats.[4]
The New Stand (later renamed the Crumbie Stand in honour of Tom Crumbie) costing £21,000 (approx £850,000 in 2016) was officially opened on 2 October 1920 before a match against Headingley by the President of the RFU Ernest Prescott, Tigers celebrated with a 33-3 victory.[19] Terracing was added as a paddock in front of the stand the next year to bring the capacity of the stand to circa 10,000. Due to health and safety regulations and the demands of modern-day coaches and broadcasters, the seated capacity of the stand available to the general public has decreased from 4,500 to 4,269; the addition of a central walkway to the terrace has also seen the terrace capacity decrease.
In 2010, the Crumbie Stand was renamed the Holland & Barrett Stand after health food chain Holland & Barrett had signed a sponsorship deal with Tigers the previous year. In July 2016, after the health and supplements company were declared main sponsors and naming rights to the North Stand, the stand reverted to the south stand; however, in 2018, the stand was renamed the Breedon Stand due to sponsorship reasons.
East Stand (Mattioli Woods Stand)
Originally the Alliance and Leicester Stand, the East Stand is an all-seater stand with 26 executive suites, built for £2.3m in 1995 on the East Bank of the ground.[4] With a capacity of 2,650 seats for general admittance, it increased Welford Road's capacity to 16,815. In 2010, the Alliance and Leicester Stand was renamed the Goldsmiths Stand after a change of sponsorship. In 2016, the stand's name was changed to the Mattioli Woods stand after a sponsorship deal with Mattioli Woods.
West Stand (Beehive Money Stand)
After a controversial decision in which the
Scoreboards
Since the end of the
Notable matches
The stadium has hosted seven full
Men's International matches
8 February 1902 | England | 6 – 3 | Ireland | 1902 Home Nations Championship | |
Try: Coopper Williams |
"Report". | Try: F. Gardiner |
Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Scotland )
| ||
England: John Daniell (Richmond) capt., LR Tosswill (Exeter), H Alexander (Birkenhead Park), Denys Dobson (Oxford Uni.), PF Hardwick (Percy Park), SG Williams (Devonport Albion )
| |||||
Ireland: J Fulton ( NIFC), J Ryan (Rockwell College )
|
9 January 1904 | England | 14 – 14 | Wales | 1904 Home Nations Championship | |
Try: Elliot (2) Brettargh Con: Stout Pen: Gamlin |
"Report". | Con: Winfield (2) Pen: Llewellyn Morgan Goal from mark: Winfield |
Referee: JC Findlay ( Scotland )
| ||
England: Bristol), Frank Stout (Richmond) capt., Charles Joseph Newbold (Cambridge Uni.), BA Hill (Blackheath ), PF Hardwick (Percy Park)
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Wales: John William Evans (Blaina), Arthur Harding (London Welsh), Alfred Brice (Aberavon), David John Thomas (Swansea), Sam Ramsey (Treorchy), George Boots (Newport )
|
10 February 1906 | England | 6 – 16 | Ireland | 1906 Home Nations Championship | |
Try: Jago Mills |
"Report". | Try: Telford (2) Maclear Purdon Con: Gardiner Maclear |
Attendance: 10,000 Referee: A Llewellyn (Wales) | ||
England:John Jackett (Leicester), JE Hutchinson (Durham City), JRP Sandford (Marlborough Nomads), CH Milton (Camborne School of Mines), A Hudson (Gloucester), DR Gent (Gloucester), RA Jago (Devonport Albion), GEB Dobbs (Devonport Albion), HA Hodges (Nottingham), WA Mills (Devonport Albion), TS Kelly (Exeter), AL Kewney (Rockcliff), EW Roberts (RNEC Keyham), Vincent Cartwright (Blackheath) capt., CEL Hammond (Harlequins) | |||||
Ireland: GJ Henebrey ( NIFC )
|
30 January 1909 | England | 22 – 0 | France | Friendly | |
Try: Hutchinson Mobbs Johns Simms Tarr Con: Jackett (2) |
"Report". | Attendance: 15,000 Referee: W Williams (England) | |||
England: Guy's Hospital), ET Ibbitson (Headingley )
| |||||
France: J Caujolle, T Varvier ( Racing Club de France), Marcel Communeau (Stade Français ) capt., G Borchard, G Fourcade
|
10 February 1923 | England | 23 – 5 | Ireland | 1923 Five Nations Championship | |
Try: Corbett Lowe Price Smallwood Voyce Con: Conway 2 Drop: Davies |
"Report". | Try: McClelland Pen: Crawford |
Attendance: 20,000 Referee: TH Vile (Wales Rugby Union | ||
England: Frederick Gilbert, Cyril Lowe, Edward Myers, Len Corbett, Wavell Wakefield , Ron Cove-Smith, Tom Voyce, Geoffrey Conway, Leo Price
| |||||
Ireland: William Crawford, Robert McClenahan, Finlay Jackson, George Stephenson, Denis Cussen, William Hall; James Gardiner, Michael Bradley, Thomas McClelland, Dick Collopy, Charles Hallaran, Dunlop Cunningham, Jack Mahony, Robert Gray, John Thompson (c) |
13 October 1991 | Italy | 21 – 31 | New Zealand | 1991 Rugby World Cup | |
Try: Cuttitta Bonomi Con: Dominguez (2) Pen: Dominguez (3) |
"Report". | Try: Brooke Innes Tuigamala Hewett Con: Fox (3) Pen: Fox (3) |
Attendance: 15,711 Referee: Australia )
| ||
Italy: 15. Paolo Vaccari 14. Edgardo Venturi 13. Fabio Gaetaniello 12. Diego Dominguez 11. Marcello Cuttitta 10. Massimo Bonomi 9. Ivan Francescato; 1. Massimo Cuttitta 2. Giancarlo Pivetta (c) 3. Franco Properzi 4. Roberto Favaro 5. Giambattista Croci 6. Alessandro Bottacchiari 7. Massimo Giovanelli 8. Carlo Checchinato. Replacements: 16 Daniele Tebaldi 17. Stefano Bordon 18. Francesco Pietrosanti 19. Gianni Zanon 20. Giovanni Grespan 21. Carlo Orlandi | |||||
New Zealand: 15. Inga Tuigamala 10. Grant Fox 9. Jason Hewett; 1. Steve McDowall 2. Sean Fitzpatrick 3. Richard Loe 4. Ian Jones 5. Gary Whetton (c) 6. Alan Whetton 7. Mark Carter 8. Zinzan Brooke Replacements: 16. Shayne Philpott 17. Bernie McCahill 18. Jon Preston 19. Paul Henderson 20. Andy Earl 21. Graham Dowd
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Women's international match
On 8 December 2021, Welford Road was announced as host for England's 2022 Women's Six Nations Championship match with Ireland,[24] the match took place on 24 April 2022 with England winning 69-0 in front of a record crowd for a stand-alone women's match in England of 15,836.[25]
24 April 2022 | England | 69 – 0 | Ireland | 2022 Women's Six Nations Championship | |
12:00 BST | "Report". BBC Sport. | Attendance: 15,836 |
Other uses
Since 2002 for men, and 2004 for women, the annual
In
Welford Road has also played host to
On 15 July 2010, Welford Road held its first
Welford Road hosted The Varsity Match, between Oxford and Cambridge Universities, in 2021. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the match was delayed from December 2020 and moved to Welford Road from its usual home of Twickenham. Oxford won the men's match 34-7, while Cambridge won the women's 10-5.[31]
Records
The record for the highest attendance at Welford Road was set on 4 October 1924, when 35,000 people saw Leicester play the touring New Zealand team. The highest attendance for a league fixture, and the highest post-war attendance, was 25,849 for the derby match against Northampton Saints on 9 January 2016, following the opening of the new Caterpillar Stand.[32]
References
- ^ "New playing surface for Welford Road" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 18 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Mattioli Woods invest in Tigers with new five-year deal". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-9930213-0-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9930213-0-5.
- ISBN 978-0-9930213-0-5.
- ^ "Tigers join forces with Mattioli Woods" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Nottingham extends partnership with Tigers" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 1 August 2016.
- ^ "Tigers to move to Walkers Stadium?". Archived from the original on 29 November 2004.
- ^ Tigers call off ground share plan Archived 29 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Tigers to buy stadium freehold from city council". ESPNscrum. 28 January 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "Tigers set to redevelop stadium". BBC Sport. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
- ^ Tigers stadium development Archived 13 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Holland & Barrett are Tigers' new main sponsors" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Tigers set to break record attendance". Premiership Rugby. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ Mann, Andy (19 September 2009). "Cat Stand will add to Welford Road atmosphere – Ellis". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
- ^ "The Stadium - Caterpillar Stand". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Sherrard, Gary (6 November 2009). "Caterpillar C.E.O. officially opens new stand". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-9930213-0-5.
- ^ "Club: History 2010-Present". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ "The Nottingham unveil Beehive Money Stand". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ 1991 world cup BBC Sport
- ^ 1999 world cup at BBC Sport
- ^ Bobby Bridge (8 December 2021). "Leicester Tigers to host Women's Six Nations match". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Becky Grey (24 April 2022). "Women's Six Nations: England 69-0 Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Community: Tigers Rugby: Varsity Match". Leicester Tigers. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Super League IX 2004 – Round 15". Rugbyleagueproject.org. 20 June 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Leicester – Sport – The Matt Hampson Bowl". BBC. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Gridiron: Leicester Falcons land first win of season". This is Leicestershire. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Welford Road: Concerts". Leicester Tigers. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Oxford University beat Cambridge in 2021 Varsity Match". Oxford Mail. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "Welford Road sets post-War record attendance". Leicester Tigers. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
External links
- [1] – at Worldstadiums.com